pop-we Dinner Club Reviews Agave

Agave in Dundee

Agave: a broad-leafed succulent plant found in warm, dry regions of the tropics; there are some 300 varieties of this plant, but it is from only a few that Tequila or Mescal is produced. This month pop-we dinner club member and author of this post -- chose for us to dine at Agave.

Agave is a Mexican restaurant located in the heart of Dundee at 5013 Underwood St. in Omaha, NE. The Dundee-Memorial Park neighborhood, where the restaurant resides, recently was named to the American Planning Association 2011 Great Places in America: Neighborhoods. Agave is tucked back off the street a little bit so there is some parking in front. However, most in our party found parking in the adjoining neighborhoods, where we got a glimpse of the old school architecture that helped earn Dundee its recent top ranking. At Agave, there is ample seating: an area outside and inside where there are three sitting areas. The bar area is near when you walk in. When you name a place after the plant from which Tequila is made you would expect Tequila, they claim to have over 100 different labels.

Agave plant

When you order from the Joe’s favorites section of the menu you receive complimentary chips and salsa. The salsa is red tomato-based and has a nice bite, but it is not hot enough for my taste. Something unique to Agave, they provide complimentary hot sauces at each table. They are jalapeno and habanero pepper-based sauces. The waitress showed us a trick to screw off the top of the decanters for better pouring. I preferred the habanero, which most at our table did, too. It had a nice heat and rich aftertaste flavor. For my main meal, I tried the smothered chicken burrito plate on this occasion. It was a large burrito that came with rice and beans...the portion size was big. I enjoyed the dish; the chicken was fresh (not out of a can) and plentiful, nice flavor, rice and beans were good. To get a glimpse at some more of their Mexican cuisine, population-we™ readers can check out Agave's complete menu at http://www.agaveomaha.com/wp content/uploads/2011/07/agave_online_menu_1.pdf.

After compiling the surveys from the other foodies the pop-we Dinner Club gives Agave: 4.1 star average on a scale of 1-5.

Atmosphere/Decor – 4.33

Cleanliness – 4.22

Wait Staff – 3.88

Menu – 3.77

Food Presentation – 3.66

Food Portions – 4

Food Taste – 4.11

Cost (was the cost worth meal?) – 4

Noise Level – 4.11

Overall Experience – 4.11

Fellow population-we™ readers, if you've been to the Agave leave us a comment and tell us what you thought?

Want to do this yourself? To review how to start your own dinner club, visit our January post about doing just that. Remember it is a template; tweak it to fit you and your friends’ tastes. pop-we Dinner Club: good food…good friends…good times.

-population-we™ blog post by Brian Brown
© 2011 population-we, LLC 

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Home Instead Senior Care and HyVee Spread Holiday Cheer with 'Be a Santa to a Senior' Program

As we approach the season of giving, we sometimes begin to think about those less fortunate; however, most holiday giving and drives revolve around children and families. Home Instead Senior Care and local HyVee stores are trying to alleviate that problem by offering a program called "Be a Santa to a Senior."

Based off a "Secret Santa" concept, the holiday event matches up participants via a Christmas tree. Each Christmas tree is covered with paper ornaments, each bearing a senior's name and gift request. Secret Santa's choose an ornament and return the unwrapped gift under the tree by Tuesday, Dec. 6. Visit here to watch a video on how the program works: http://www.beasantatoasenior.com/.

This tree of giving starts with a paper ornament.

For the second year in a row UNO's Department of Gerontology also sponsored a tree. This is the tree where population-we™ Secret Santa's got matched up with their seniors. Other Christmas trees are located in Omaha HyVee stores scattered throughout town.

"We originally got involved with the effort as transportation elves," said Marietta Sewell, president of UNO's Sigma Phi Omega, a national gerontology honor society. "Gerontology students helped deliver the gifts to the Omaha Home Instead headquarters and to other various social agencies."

Each population-we™ staff member has committed to being a Secret Santa for a senior. The following "Be a Santa to a Senior" participants will receive a holiday gift from each pop-we contributor:

Name: Marge
Senior: Stationary set, stamps

Name: Linda
Wish: Stuffed teddy bear, lotion

Name: Catherine
Wish: Caffeine free diet coke

Name: Ben
Wish: Nebraska shirts or sweatshirts and sweatpants

Name: Wallace
Wish: Husker sports book

Name: Mary
Wish: Book about Omaha Gold Coast area

Social workers identified the needy seniors to event sponsor -- Home Instead Senior Care -- who compiled the list.

"You can tell the quality of life some of these seniors are living by their requests," Sewell said.  "One lady only requested a box of mints."

Again this year, students will pick up gifts from UNO and HyVee stores to help wrap them before social services drops them off to seniors. All gift donations go to seniors in the Omaha community.

Adopting a senior is open to the public, so tell your friends and family, and begin the season of giving off right, by helping elderly in your very own community. To volunteer or to donate a gift in your area, visit Home Instead at http://www.beasantatoasenior.com/.
- population-we™ blog post by Becky Bohan Brown
© 2011 population-we, LLC 
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