Who here hasn’t seen Omaha Steaks ads online or received their leaflet-filled envelopes in the mail? I’ve seen the ads all over the net and received their leaflets with their 50-60% off deals for years. The prices always seemed too rich for my blood. I had $20 in gift certificates with my Wachovia Visa credit card, so I finally decided to splurge and try their food. I wanted to see if the food lived up to the hype.
I bought The All American Combo for $89.99, Stuffed Antipasto Bread for $19.99, and Italian Breaded Veal Patties for $19.99. The total was $129.97 plus $17.99 shipping for a total of $147.96. I used my $20.00 certificates, so I only paid $127.96. You could say I got free shipping. Omaha included another 6 burgers and a cutlery set with a cutting board free.
The package arrived in only a few days by FedEx. Everything came neatly pack in a styrofoam box. Each item was packed in individual cardboard boxed and, inside each, each piece of meat was sealed in air-tight plastic wrappers. Inside the foam box, everything was kept frozen cold with several plastic bags of dry ice. $17.99 for shipping might seem very high but it’s adequate for the speed of delivery and quality of the secure packaging.
My Order
The All American Combo $89.99
NOW ONLY $99.00
Reg. $220.00.
4 (5 oz.) Filet Mignons
4 (6 oz.) Top Sirloins
4 (4 oz.) Boneless Pork Chops
2 (4.5 oz.) Stuffed Sole with Scallops and Crab
4 (4 oz.) Omaha Steaks Burgers
8 (3 oz.) Gourmet Franks
10 (2.8 oz.) Potatoes au Gratin
2 (22 oz) Stuffed Antipasto Bread $19.99
8 (4 oz.) Italian Breaded Veal Patties $19.99
6 (4 oz.) Omaha Steaks Burgers Free
1 Cutlery Set W/cutting Board Free
Review
Filet Mignons
I’ve never eaten filet mignon before but have heard it tasted great. I was excited to try these steaks. I was too excited. I grilled it and used a garlic butter sauce. I didn’t like it at all. I’m not sure if I just don’t like filet mignon or if it’s Omaha’s fault. It was tough and rubbery. The flavor was rather wild for my taste. 4/10
Top Sirloins
These steaks were just delicious! They were some of the best steaks I’ve ever eaten. The meat was soft like butter and tasted beefy, unlike the filet mignon. The first steak I grilled and ate it plain. The second one I chopped up in a stew. This steak is perfect in every way. I recommend it over the filet mignon. 10/10
Boneless Pork Chops
The pork chops were fine but no better than the store meat that you can buy for a third of the price. They weren’t very tender but most chops aren’t. We grilled these plain with side dishes and they tasted fine. 8/10
Stuffed Sole with Scallops and Crab
These made me feel cheated because they were so small. They list it as stuffed sole but I didn’t know that the scallops and crab were part of a bread stuffing. Inside stuffing was just a tiny bit of scallops and crab – I’d say that each sole stuffing contained about a tablespoon of scallops and crab. Very disappointing. The sole wasn’t bad but it was small like a sample size. 6/10
Omaha Steaks Burgers
These were very good. They were a bit softer than the burgers made by Philly Gourmet or the now closed Topps company. They are tough enough to require some chewing but my jaws didn’t get tired. These and the top sirloins are the two best beef products from Omaha. I got four plus six free, which isn’t a bad deal. 8/10
Gourmet Franks
These were pretty bad. They didn’t taste like any hot dog I’ve ever eaten. They tasted more like knockwurst. I ate one on a bun with mustard and hated it. The second, I ate with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes – it tasted much better. I think the vinegar from the sauerkraut masked the weird seasoning in the frank. 4/10
Potatoes au Gratin
These were individually wrapped mashed potato blobs with light cheese and odd spices. They might’ve been good if not for the sweetness and spices used on top of each one. They seem to have added nutmeg to the potatoes, which totally ruined it for me. I like potatoes au gratin and nutmeg but not together. The nutmeg gave it a desert taste that just doesn’t go well with burgers, steak, or what have you. Some might love this and like it with non-desert dishes but it’s not for me. My family agreed with me. We still have a few left in the freezer. 5/10
Stuffed Antipasto Bread
I ordered two of these in addition to the combo. It’s basically like a giant stromboli without sauce that is served as an appetizer. The filling contains Provolone cheese, pepperoni, spicy Italian sausage, green peppers, onions, mushrooms and Italian seasonings. The dough was tough and the filling was dry, so I dipped my slices in a marinara sauce. Omaha claims this is a 91-year-old recipe – well, they can keep this one and burn it. 3/10
Italian Breaded Veal Patties
This is the other non-combo item that I ordered and one of the best. These were made with ground veal and coated with breadcrumbs, Romano cheese, garlic, and cornmeal. They were tender, tasty, and delicious. We made veal parmesan with our first batch and it was perfect! I thought I died and went to heaven. The second we just served plain with side dishes and it was just as good as the first dish. 10/10
Cutlery Set With cutting Board
I didn’t expect much for free. The knives aren’t great and the cutting board is just a flexible plastic mat.
Issues
I’ve a few issues with Omaha outside of the food quality.
First is the way Omaha lists the prices. I’ll use The All American Combo as an example. Omaha listed it at $89.99 but below it says it’s regularly priced at $220.00. They make it sound like they’re giving you a huge deal when it sounds over-priced at $89.99 to me. I don’t like exaggerated deals. It somehow seems dishonest.
My second problem is with the Omaha website. It’s like a maze of descriptions and prices. They have hundreds of combo deals listed on their site and many deals are so alike that you need to compare what’s included in each combo dozens of times. This wouldn’t be bad in itself but all of the combos have different prices and if you don’t compare or search enough, you can miss out on $20-50+ in savings by choosing the wrong deal. Very deceptive. If this weren’t enough, Omaha has a least two different sites, one with much lower prices but they don’t promote it much.
If you want the lower prices, go to http://www.osincentives.com . It says it’s for businesses but my order went through just fine.
Conclusion
Omaha Steaks has some good products but, all in all, is a bit over-priced. Out of my order, about half wasn’t worth a quarter of what it cost. The other half was good to great but still, the same quality can be bought for about half the price at a good supermarket.
Their customer service was great though. Due to ordering on the other site, I couldn’t order the free burgers and cutting board online. One phone call and they added it in without a problem.
After I tried some of everything in my order and discovered some of the negative aspects, I called customer service and told them. I didn’t ask for a refund. They offered me free food as a substitute for items I wasn’t satisfied with. They couldn’t so they credited my credit card for $82, bringing my total price to $45.96. Not a bad deal. I got to sample Omaha’s food for a third of the price.
I’ve a love/hate relationship with Omaha Steak. Some of the food is really good but over-priced. The customer service is great but the food, even when good, is still over-priced. If you don’t mind the higher prices and choose your food wisely, Omaha isn’t a bad company. I recommend trying combos where you can sample smaller quantities to see what you like before buying larger quantities of specific items.
