Author: OmahaNebraska

Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium Reopens Lee G. Simmons Aviary at Zoo and Bird Exhibits at Wildlife Safari Park

From our friends at the zoo:

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For Immediate Release
Contact: Diane Kohout (402) 738-2015
Zoo Public Relations (402) 980-9285

Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium Reopens
Lee G. Simmons Aviary at Zoo and Bird Exhibits at Wildlife Safari Park

Omaha, Neb. (June 24, 2022) – The Lee G. Simmons Aviary at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium is open to guests today, Friday, June 24, after being closed since March 3, 2022, due to concerns regarding the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) virus. The birds who live at the Lee G. Simmons Wildlife Safari Park have also returned to their outside habitats.

“The Avian Influenza virus has affected birds all over the country, including millions of chickens in Nebraska and Iowa alone. It was incredibly important that Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium make changes to protect our birds from getting infected with Avian influenza,” said Dr. Sarah Woodhouse, Director of Animal Health for Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. “We are very happy to report that 100 percent of our birds stayed healthy. With the help of Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, we were able to test samples from the wild Canada geese on Zoo grounds, all of which were negative. We feel confident that it is safe to return the birds to their outdoor spaces.”

“We normally start putting birds out in batches of 20 to 30 in late April and finish by about Mother’s Day weekend, which gives the birds cool nights and light guest traffic during week to acclimate,” said Bob Lastovica, Supervisor of Birds for Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. “This time, we used the flamingo building to hold over 80 birds over three nights, which allowed them to take their time leaving the building.” Lastovica continued, “We moved 215 birds into the Aviary over 4 days, plus cranes, storks and pelicans back to their outside exhibits. They were all very excited to be back out on terra firma.”

“All of the Zoo’s employees had a role in protecting our birds, from the bird keepers themselves to the horticulture, facilities, and Education staff,” concluded Dr. Woodhouse, “I am so grateful to the entire Zoo team for their efforts, and we are all excited to welcome guests back to the Zoo and Wildlife Safari Park to bird watch.”

Aside from the birds returning to the Aviary at the Zoo and Aquarium, including the flamingos, the Dick and Mary Holland Meadowlark Theater has resumed programming, the Budgie Encounter in the Bay Family Children’s Adventure Trails is open, and the peacocks are again wondering Zoo grounds. The American white pelicans in the Pelican Wetlands, the sandhill

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cranes and trumpeter swans in Crane Meadows and the chickens at the Hands-on Corral have also returned to their outside areas at the Wildlife Safari Park. The Eagle Aviary is open and the whooping cranes are also outside.

Consistently ranked as one of the world’s top zoos, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium is an independent not-for-profit organization accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The Zoo is recognized nationally for its conservation, animal care and exhibit design. As a leader in conservation, the Zoo’s Center for Conservation and Research focuses on areas to benefit animal husbandry and species conservation including conservation genetics, conservation medicine, reproductive sciences, and comparative nutrition. More information is available at www.OmahaZoo.com.

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Omaha Interview: College World Series Media Tasting, Alec Woockman

OmahaNebraska.com interviewed Alec Woockman,Executive Chef at Levy Restaurants.

What are the inspirations for this year’s offerings for the College World Series?

I try to stay updated on the trends as much as I can.

Also, these are flavors I personally like, and I think they fit well in the ballpark.

I take inspiration from a lot of things and Chris Myer. Everything from a sandwich with a lot of pickles on it to a vegetarian fried cauliflower curry aioli and sriracha. I think there is a broad spectrum of things that I like that I think also work well in a ballpark.

What are some of the items that you are most excited about?

Right, so some of the things I am most excited about are first the fried chicken sandwich.

I really wanted to overwhelm it with pickle ingredients.

I think you either love pickles or love pickles and I am the latter so . . . I took bread and butter pickles, aioli, a sweet and creamy aioli. Then we have fried pickles. We also have these really nice long crinkle-cut dill pickles that just hang over the bun.

I think one of the most fun items that we have is a shared item called The Slugger, an Italian beef sandwich.

So, it’s pretty classic Italian beef. We braise it in house with beef stock, Italian seasonings, and pepperoncini.

We braise that, shred it, and save that braising liquid to make an au jus which we serve along with the sandwich.

A 14-inch, full loaf of bread that we cut open ourselves, put a pound of Italian beef in, and top with cheese and we toast it in our pizza oven.

Then we top that with giardiniera and grated Parmesan cheese and add a cup of au jus.

We cut the sandwich in three pieces. It comes in a nice box with a handle on it that you can carry.

I say it easily feeds three really hungry people, but I think probably you can feed four.

What is your inspiration for the shrimp po’ boy? I’ve never seen that at a ballpark.

So, a shrimp po’ boy . . . it’s a very traditional shrimp po’ boy. We didn’t do anything too crazy. It’s fried shrimp on a hoagie with shredded lettuce and tomato and a remoulade.

It’s just a flavor that I think should be at a ballpark. I think it will appeal to the masses. I think it is missing from this environment. You don’t see shrimp po boys. Why not shrimp po’ boys?

Another very classic flavor this year is our Chicken Parm Sandwich . . . mozzarella, marina . . .I think it fills a slot that a lot of people will enjoy.

How did you become a chef?

I’ve loved cooking from a very young age. I’ve been cooking since I was 16 years old.

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A few years went by and I went to culinary school and started cooking in restaurants.

I started with CHI, as well as the ballpark here. I’ve been here with this company for about seven years now.

And so, I have been just climbing the ladder.

This week I’ve been very excited. I’ve been wanting to be here for a long time.

I can’t imagine how hard this was, but amazing it is.

Yes. It’s absolutely amazing. Obviously, I love to cook, so getting to do this every day is dream come true.

I would say you are coming up with ideas and creating recipes.

I would say that it gets easier the more time you are doing it.

Starting at the beginning, it is a little harder to put this together, but I think we did a really good job this year in what we are offering. Yeah, it’s a blast!

Thank you.

Absolutely.

Omaha Media Event: College World Series Food Tasting 2022-Images and Description, 15 June

Here are some of our photographs and descriptions of the CWS food sampled at the College World Series Food Tasting 2022 at Charles Schwab Field Omaha:

So how can you have more than one favorite? Go the the College World Series this year and find out for yourself and sample these restaurant quality offerings.

Up next? More food and interviews! Please visit back later to view.

 

 

Omaha Media Event: College World Series Food Tasting 2022, 15 June

This Omaha media event, College World Series Food Tasting, is looked forward to by all. Omaha gets its first taste, pardon the pun, of the new food offerings for the series. This year we have an interview with the creator of this fine fare, Alec Woockman. Check out the menu and photographs below and visit back later for our interview with the Executive Chef at Levy Restaurants.

 

 

Click here, 2022 MCWS Media Tasting 6-15-22, if you need it for a screenreader. It has the same information as the above images. The only things missing  are text in the images above are the NCAA CWS Logo,  “Charles Schwab Field Omaha” logo and the one for “Levy”.