Restaurants in Council Bluffs

Chefs spin classic American dishes with a touch of gourmet flare. The "Americana fusion" technique, which yields such comforting cuisine as smoked-chicken-enhanced gouda mac 'n' cheese, helped Zin Room earn a spot on the Omaha World-Herald's list of Top 8 Restaurants in 2011, as well as ongoing usage in love songs written by foodies.

Located inside the luxurious Hotel Deco, the restaurant features sleek lights and chandeliers that softly illuminate diners' artistically arranged plates and rough-hewn pillars that support two floors of seating. Behind the stocked bar, bartenders mix drinks and use the wine wall's sliding ladder to allude to former lives as librarians.

The chefs at Okinawa Sushi elegantly compose plates with an eye for diverse color and minimalist design. They arrange triangular slices of raw tuna like upright dominoes down the middle of the plate and flank them with a verdant vegetable garnish. Traditional sushi and sashimi rolls share space on the menu with exotic hand rolls, classic Chinese entrees, and tempura appetizers. Diners can cleanse their palates with a specialty martini, boba milk tea, or Kirin sake bomb, which packs more punch than Mike Tyson before an extended road trip.

Baja Grill plucks inspiration from the intersecting customs of California and Mexico to craft innovative dishes such as smoked pork carnitas and poblano peppers stuffed with tender shrimp and crab. The Californian influences are particularly evident in the restaurant’s focus on fresh seafood—aside from the aforementioned peppers, the menu features blackened shrimp enchiladas and, curiously, spicy jalapeño crab rangoon. The kitchen throws another delicious curveball with its selection of flatbread pizzas, which provide 12 inches of shade from the desert sun and harbor such uncommon toppings as buffalo sauce, cilantro-lime aioli, and salsa.

At Wing Champion, seasoned wing chefs fry or char-grill batches of hot wings and slather them in more than 14 flavors, such as country sweet, bourbon, and mango habanera. The cooks supplement wing-filled moments with a menu of breaded catfish fillets, char-grilled burgers, salads, and lyre-accompanied odes to their favorite flightless bird. For breakfast, they top tables with rich biscuits and gravy, waffles and wings, and fried eggs with fried chicken.

Chef and owner of Café L Luis Palacio is fussy about food, much to the delight of his diners. Before he adds any new dish to the café menu, it must pass the test with his family and friends―any dish found lacking is tweaked until the flavors are perfect. This fussiness extends to his choice of ingredients as well. His smoked pork chops originate from free-range pigs fed a diet free of steroids, antibiotics, and grape soda. Then, local barbecue-master Ray Green smokes the meat to a state of succulent goodness. Luis puts similar care into his specialty sandwiches, 12-inch pizzas, and dinner entrees, which change each month.

Perched above the restaurant’s entrance, the Cat Daddy’s catfish mascot welcomes diners into his digs, sporting a sharp fedora and a devious grin. He's a symbol of what patrons are in for: catfish with a kick. At Cat Daddy's, the cooks fry up spicy Cajun catfish in addition to a slew of southern-style eats. The surf side of Cat Daddy’s menu rolls out heaping platters of shrimp, white fish, and tilapia, complementing inland specials including fried chicken and full pounds of rib tips. Down-home to its core, Cat Daddy’s surrounds meals with collections of knickknacks and keepsakes lining its wood-paneled walls, and outside, a spacious patio hosts heated bites during summer months.