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Lobster Capitol of Nebraska is a surprise in more ways than one
by Betty Sayers, Pam Soreide, Phil Soreide

Lobster is one of those dishes one associates with silver platters, fine crystal, waiters in tuxedos with vaguely French accents and perhaps a little Mozart from a string quartet in the background. Alternatively, lobster goes with a weathered-wood shack on a Maine pier with picnic tables covered in newspaper and a chef in a white apron that doesn’t say much beyond, “Ayuh”. Lobster is not so much the kind of thing that goes with a place called Jane’s Tavern, in a town of 85 on the high plains of Nebraska, where the locals also come in for the $1.75 burger ($1 more for the fries) and a beer.

We’d heard about a place in Rockville, Nebraska, a few miles north of Ravenna that was called the Lobster Capitol of Nebraska and was well-known for making this crown prince of shellfish available to a Nebraska audience.

We admit to being skeptical.

We meet in Rockville

The Rural Foodies, as you may know, is a loose-knit group of food aficionados ranging from a minimum of three up to six or seven depending on the perceived interest of the adventure at hand. This evening, we had six, arriving from three disparate locations. Because Pam was the first to arrive and the one who got the back story of Jane’s Tavern, she’ll begin the narrative:

“I had spent the day in meetings in York, and as I drove back, through Grand Island and west on Highway 2, I was on a stretch of road I hadn’t been on before along the Middle Loup River. The sun was setting, throwing long shadows of golden light over the river and stubbled fields, and highlighting the white farmhouses dotting the countryside. Sooner than I thought, I was slowing down to enter Rockville and saw the sign – ‘Rockville – Lobster Capital of Nebraska’.

“Driving down the main street, I saw a few cars and a sign proclaiming Jane’s Tavern. I checked in with my fellow foodies only to learn that they were about 45 minutes out. They encouraged me to go on in and have a drink and see what I could find out. Now, I am not the best interviewer among our group, but with the better part of an hour to kill and no book in my briefcase, I walked in.

Frog legs and catfish

“The inside was pretty much what you might expect of a tavern in the rural Midwest: neon beer signs, a big NASCAR banner, large tables and whiteboard signs advertising specials. I claimed a table, then started using the camera on my phone to take pictures. Not exactly low profile behavior, I know, but I had to get a shot of the sign advertising Frog Legs and Catfish on the first Sunday of each month. Unsurprisingly, the presence of a strange lady in the bar taking pictures was too much for the manager’s curiosity. He walked over, introduced himself as Lester Gutchow, and asked as politely as humanly possible what I was up to. Smiling, I told him about Nebraska Rural Living and the Rural Foodies, and that our plan was to highlight their lobster dinner in an upcoming article.

“’Well, you will want to talk to my sister.’ Lester said. ‘She’s been here longer than I have,’ and he pointed to a woman watching us from the kitchen. In a few moments, Betty came out to chat.

“The tavern has been there as long as anyone can remember, she told me, and the lobster specialty was introduced by her son-in-law, Greg Rasmussen, his father and his twin brother in 1996 at the first annual Rock Stock festival. Rock Stock featured a street dance with two bands, lobster, catfish and hot dogs until 2008. There are only 89 people still living in Rockville, Betty told me, and while they did get people coming from as far away as Minden, there just weren’t enough visitors to make the festival seem like a real party.

The stories begin to flow

“As Betty and I chatted, Lester came back with another gentleman, Norman McDonald, in tow. They sat down to join the conversation. Norman’s great-grandfather had homesteaded near Rockville on a timber claim in 1885, so his roots are deep. He told me that the building we sat in had originally housed a dry goods store. The owner was John Baum in 1937 when Norman was a teenager. John had a pot-bellied stove in the corner, and made a habit of sitting close to the heat, smoking a cigar and telling stories while his wife Mary ran things.

“That tradition of storytelling lives on — that night, between Betty and Lester and Norman, stories of dance clubs, Friday night hamburger suppers for 300, and a livestock trucker who loaded up his trailer with hay to take the kids to Farwell for a basketball game, were all remembered and laughed over.”

The Foodies arrive

About this time, the rest of the Foodies arrive and Lester leads us to the table specially prepared for us in the back room. In truth, Jane’s Tavern is more tavern than lobster shack, although there is a prominent lobster tank and the wall decorations run toward fishing nets and crustaceans.

We ordered the onion rings as part of our ongoing search for Nebraska’s finest onion rings (these were quite good, but not sublime) and the deep fried cauliflower, because, well, we hadn’t seen deep fried cauliflower before (it was interesting, but not likely to become a staple). We also ordered wine, which in a tavern may have been a mistake. Jane, owner and manager of Jane’s Tavern recommends guests bring in wine of their choice.  She said, “Here in the Tavern we don’t have much call for wine.”

As part of the meal, we each got a trip to the salad bar. And while there was not a lot to go with the crisp iceberg lettuce, the specialty salads were special indeed. The potato salad, cole slaw, three-bean and pasta salad were made by hand from recipes that reflected the ethnic origins of Rockville.

“The town was settled by Czechoslovakian, Polish and German families,”  Lester told us, and the salads reflected that — large chunks of egg yolk in the potato salad and a cooked salad dressing that was flavorsome without being sweet and heavy laden with mayonnaise convinced even the most cynical among us that it was truly homemade, and the others were uniquely flavored and delicious as well. One of our group claimed it was the best she had ever tasted. She inquired about the secret ingredient, and Jane generously offered it. “Horseradish,” she said, “makes the difference.”

As we ate our salads, someone made a joke about the pie order. He explained that he’d heard they have delicious homemade pie at Jane’s, but when it’s gone, it’s gone, so people order dessert first. There was a life lesson there, so as soon as Lester returned, we all ordered pie. How could we do an adequate job of reporting without including the pie?

The lobsterman cometh

We all ordered lobster. The only debate was whether to get it plain or accompanied with shrimp or steak. Those of us who can show restraint from time to time ordered the lobster alone, knowing they could snag a shrimp or a bite of steak from one of the other plates. We did look over the whole menu, to be fair, and just to see what other options were available. The Rocky Mountain oysters stirred some comment, as well as the hamburger for $1.75. The dinners were priced more at market, but we could imagine that meeting at Jane’s Tavern for a hamburger could become a regular outing for the locals!

Soon, plates full of steaming lobster tails, with baked potatoes or country fries, steak and shrimp were delivered. The lobster tails were large, juicy, well-cooked and served with plenty of melted butter. The shrimp were nicely battered and deep fried (is there any other way?) and the side dishes were plentiful and delicious. The pie, waiting at the end of the table until we were ready, was a homey delight. Personally, I’m not a big fan of raisins, but in combination with the creamy filling and flaky crust, they made a wonderful tart counterpoint to the meal.

Jane’s Tavern serves lobster Tuesday through Sunday. Fried catfish and frogs legs provide a reason to celebrate on the first Sunday of every month. Every Sunday between 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.  Jane presents a sumptuous brunch of steak and eggs, omelets, chicken fried steak, pancakes, waffles, French toast, hash browns, and country fries.  Jane’s Tavern celebrates the Czech, Polish and German heritage of the Middle Loup region with Polish sausage, sauerkraut, and potato dumplings and when the Czech Friends Big Band from Big Joe’s Polka Show come to play on Sunday afternoons, they clear a big space for people to dance. The tavern closes at 7 p.m. on Sundays, but all other evenings, it closes at 9 or until the crowd leaves.

As we left the restaurant and started our trip back south, we started talking about our dreams of retirement. One item on the “bucket list” is to visit Maine and find one of those lobster shacks where they dump lobster and whatever out on a newspaper-covered table and you just dive in expecting juices to run down your wrists while someone in the background intones, “Ayuh”.

This frigid January evening in Nebraska, we might have been missing the sunburns and sandy feet, but perhaps for that enjoyed the seafood dinner all the more.

Who to Contact

Jane’s Tavern
136 N. Ley Street
Rockville, NE 68871
Phone: 308-372-7275
Email: janew@nctc.net

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