Restaurant Hoppen

Margartia Gonzalez's food has always thrilled her family; so much so that it became a goal to open a food truck since they came to the United States from Jalisco in 2010. That dream was finally realized in 2023, and Omaha has absolutely fallen in love with the tacos, tortas, tamales, and especially the vampiro tacos coming off this truck! Hear the story of this family-run business and how they're using the food truck to share their culture with Omaha. 📍 Ma Mona Food Truck 3536 Q Street Omaha, Nebraska +1 402-706-1424 Mamonaomaha@gmail.com https://www.instagram.com/mamonaomaha https://www.facebook.com/p/Ma-Mona-Omaha-100091494742488/ This is a Hurrdat ONE Production. Hurrdat ONE is a podcast network and digital media production company based in Omaha, NE. Find more podcasts on the Hurrdat ONE Network by going to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hurrdat ONE Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hurrdat ONE YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Timestamps: 00:00 – Omaha's Taco Truck Hidden Gem: Meet Ma Mona 01:05 – The Meaning Behind "Ma Mona" & A Mother's Dream 02:15 – Bringing Authentic Jalisco Mexican Food to Omaha 04:10 – Moving from Mexico to Nebraska & Building a New Life 05:02 – Margarita Gonzalez: The Inspiration Behind Everything 06:15 – Why Food Has Always Been the Heart of This Family 08:00 – Everything Is Made From Scratch Every Single Day 09:15 – Launching Ma Mona Food Truck & Learning the Business 11:30 – Customers Started Building the Menu 13:05 – What Is a Huarache? Traditional Mexican Street Food Explained 14:15 – Creating a Small Menu With Big Flavor 15:20 – Omaha's Obsession With The Vampiro Taco 17:10 – How the Vampiro Taco Was Created 19:00 – The Best Proteins to Order at Ma Mona 21:05 – When Restaurant Hoppen Sent Omaha To Ma Mona 22:15 – Going Viral & Selling Mountains of Vampiro Tacos 23:20 – Running a Food Truck as a Family Business 24:30 – Working With Family Without Losing Your Mind 25:15 – The First Three Months Were Brutal 27:05 – Faith, Persistence & Refusing to Quit 28:35 – Finding the Perfect Food Truck Location 30:05 – The Dream of Opening a Brick-and-Mortar Restaurant 31:20 – Recipes Passed Down Through Generations 33:00 – Why Sharing Mexican Culture Through Food Matters 34:20 – Final Thoughts & Wrap-Up #RestaurantHoppen #OmahaFood #MexicanFood #FoodTruck #OmahaRestaurants Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For all the great food Omaha has, indigenous and Native American cuisine wasn't really available... until this food truck/pop-up arose! Cassie Hinman started baking and cooking with Against the Current because she enjoyed it, but she and Quentin realized Omaha deserved to experience the brilliance of Indian tacos, bison ribs, and other indigenous foods. Hear their story on this episode! Check them out today!! Tradish(Ish)https://tradishish.square.site/?location_id=LNEPVHX9545VZ&fulfillment=PICKUP Against the Currenthttps://www.facebook.com/againstthecurrent/ Tradish(Ish) Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/tradishish/ This is a Hurrdat ONE Production. Hurrdat ONE is a podcast network and digital media production company based in Omaha, NE. Find more podcasts on the Hurrdat ONE Network by going to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hurrdat ONE Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hurrdat ONE YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Timestamps: 00:00 – Omaha’s Indigenous Food Scene Needs This 01:10 – What Is Against the Current? 03:00 – How Shared Meals Helped Heal Families 05:12 – Why Food Became Their Love Language 07:05 – The Inspiration Behind Tradish Ish 09:20 – The Real History of Fry Bread 11:35 – Dan’s First Experience with Indigenous Cuisine 13:00 – How Cassie & Quentin Met 15:00 – Helping More Than 70 Youth Through Boys Town 18:20 – Cassie’s Journey Into Cooking & Baking 22:05 – From Birthday Cakes to Catering 24:40 – Why They Rebranded to Against the Current 27:10 – The First Indian Taco Pop-Up 30:25 – The Dream of Indigenous Food in Omaha 33:00 – Why Ingredients & Sourcing Matter 36:45 – The Grand Opening Chaos at Bushwhackers 39:20 – Creating the Omaha Cheesesteak 43:10 – Omaha’s Reaction to Fry Bread & Native Cuisine 47:05 – The Bigger Vision for Tradish (Ish) 52:10 – Why Indigenous Food Belongs in Omaha 57:00 – Final Thoughts & Where to Find Tradish(Ish) If you love Omaha restaurants, chef interviews, food culture, entrepreneurship stories, or discovering hidden gems in the Midwest food scene — this episode is for you. #RestaurantHoppen #TradishIsh #OmahaFood #NativeAmericanCuisine #FoodTruck #IndigenousCuisine #FryBread #IndianTaco #OmahaRestaurants #FoodPodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So often we talk about restaurants in terms of food, but so much of your experience at a restaurant has nothing to do with what you eat. It's all about how a restaurant makes you feel, and that's what Matthew Brown (V. Mertz), Melissa Barnett (Semo Pasta + Wine), and Ron Mettler (Dante) discussed with me on this panel. We talked about ways to go above and beyond to delight guests, the magic of delivering above expectations, whether the customer is "always right", and so much more! This was one of the most eye-opening conversations I've had on the podcast. As much as I love food, talking about the experience was truly special and helped me understand restaurants on a whole new level. Featured Restaurants: V. Mertz – https://www.vmertz.com/ Semo Pasta + Wine – https://www.semofremont.com/ Dante – https://www.danteomaha.com/ This is a Hurrdat ONE Production. Hurrdat ONE is a podcast network and digital media production company based in Omaha, NE. Find more podcasts on the Hurrdat ONE Network by going to Hurrdat ONE Website or visit Hurrdat ONE YouTube Channel! Timestamps: 00:00:00 Intro & Teaser 00:01:01 Hospitality Makes the Biggest Impression 00:03:50 Hospitality vs. Service 00:13:35 Is Hospitality Selfish? 00:21:01 Guest Expectations 00:28:59 The “Wow” Factor 00:39:14 Is the Customer Always Right? 00:55:13 Evolution of Food Service Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ricco's life has taken him in all kinds of directions: he served in Iraq, started a catering company in New York, worked as a private chef on a yacht, spent time at Mario Batali's restaurant... so how on earth did he end up operating a pizza food truck in Omaha?! The story is wild, and you have to hear it! Ricco's has been blessing Omaha with legit NY-style slices since 2015, but big changes could be coming soon, and you don't want to miss anything this guy (or his truck) is involved with. Johnny Ricco’s Brooklyn Pizzahttps://johnnyriccos.com/ This is another Hurrdat Media Production. Hurrdat Media is a podcast network and digital media production company based in Omaha, NE. Find more podcasts on the Hurrdat Media Network by going to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HurrdatMedia.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hurrdat Media YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ channel! Timestamps: 00:00:00 - Intro & Teaser 00:01:23 - What is Johnny Ricco Pizza? 00:10:20 - You Gotta Try This Pizza! 00:19:47 - Erik’s Cooking History 00:27:52 - Feeding First Responders During 9/11 00:34:47 - Versatility in Cooking 00:42:19 - Erik’s Military Service 00:53:01 - Omaha’s Pizza Scene 00:57:32 - Wrap-up Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices