OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — After a devastating fire three years ago, a metro restaurant has a new home.
But at 3 News Now Anchor Serese Cole reports, it has the same mission: offering southern comfort food to folks in the metro who could use a little extra comfort right now.
From the art to the instruments, everything inside Mouth of the South looks like the big easy.
It tastes like, it too.
"I've always loved the food," said owner Ryan Ernst.
Ernst is a native Nebraskan. But after living in Louisiana for eight years, he wanted to bring that southern flavor home.
"Midwest is, you know, meat and potatoes. Down there it's real rich, savory rue-based dishes, a lot of seafood," Ernst added.
He cooked one of the restaurant's signature dishes for us: voodoo shrimp and grits. It's made with their homemade sausage.
"We grind and case our own andouille sausage and smoke it. You can't buy it anywhere in Omaha like you do down south," he explained. "So that flavor really changes the flavor of the dish."
The sausage is a perfect blend with the shrimp and their special voodoo sauce.
Once the sauce is just right, it's served up with a scoop of grits.
"It's delicious," he said.
His favorite southern dish is the etouffee.
"I could make myself sick on it," Ernst chuckled.
It's prepared with crawfish stew, his secret seasoning and a creamy sauce. It comes with grits, too.
"Etouffee is generally served with rice, but I do it with grits and it just tastes better," he explained.
As for the customer favorite....
"What everybody freaks out about is the kickin' chicken," Ernst shared.
The spicy pasta dish is served with blackened chicken.
Ryan said what makes his restaurant so unique is the southern touch. You can't find Jambalaya just anywhere in Omaha.
"You're only going to have a few places to go and actually try the true flavors," he added.
Mouth of the South has only been at its new West Omaha location since October.
Despite the pandemic...
"Takeout has been insane," he said. We're grateful. For us to take the risk to open during this pandemic is crazy, but to see the support from our customers who've come and enjoyed where we are now...it's been awesome," Ernst said.
If you haven't gotten your taste of the Louisiana cookin' yet...
"You're not going to be disappointed," Ernst stated.
Consider this your southern invitation.
"You'll be very surprised, you'll be very happy," Ernst said.
Mouth of the South just rolled out brunch on Saturdays and Sundays and it's already a hit.
The new location is at 16909 Lakeside Hills Plaza. There is indoor and outdoor seating.
The restaurant opens at 11:00 a.m. every day of the week.
To see the full menu or place your Takeout Tuesday order visit their website.
Download our apps today for all of our latest coverage.
Get the latest news and weather delivered straight to your inbox.
