This off-season I am going to review various pizza restaurants that are based or originate in Nebraska. I am hoping to review Pizza places in both Lincoln and Omaha as well as potentially others within my driving distance.
Nebraska is not known for its pizza but I continue to hear about all these good pizza places we have in our state.
Honestly, when I choose to eat out in Lincoln or Omaha, it is extremely rare that I choose a pizza place. Normally when we get pizza it is usually from Casey’s. So I thought
this was a great opportunity to try some places I would otherwise scroll right past when looking for places to eat.
During this series, I am open to suggestions. I will check out the comments on the article and see if anything pops up. I have an idea of some of the pizza places I will be trying, but I am open to changing my mind. When sending me suggestions for pizza places, please send a lot what you think I should order from there. I will likely put the suggestions in the article. Otherwise, it will likely be good ole Pepperoni.
Of all the suggestions I have seen thus far for a Nebraska pizza restaurant to try, I have not been to a single one of them. So this could be fun.
Mama’s Pizza – 15615 Pacific Street, Omaha, NE
My family and I stopped in at Mama’s Pizza on a Sunday. It was June 14th. It was following my daughter’s basketball game so we were hungry. We are a family of seven and on this day my wife’s parents were along for the ride.
When showing up to restaurants with our entire family it can sometimes be stressful to find tables that we can sit at without having a long wait. Luckily for us there was a table right by the door that fit our entire group.
What I did not realize when I arrived was that at Mama’s Pizza you order at the counter and they bring the food out to you. I think that on that day, with my children, this was definitely an ideal method.
What We Ordered: Our order included a full side of Onion Rings, a Large Peppapalooza Pizza, Medium Mama’s Combo, Cheeseburgers, Chicken Tenders, Lasagna and a Chef Salad. We definitely took home some leftover.
What We Thought of the Food: First off, the Onion Rings were delicious. I’m no chef but I have a feeling that the batter uses soda water or seltzer. It’s a lighter batter which was my thought process but the basket was large enough to satisfy four adults. The dipping sauce, which I believe might be their ranch, was real good as well. Can somebody confirm that they use soda water or seltzer?
Second, I ordered the Peppapalooza Pizza and I would definitely eat that again. There is a large portion of pepperoni both on top and under the cheese. But what I did not expect is that there is a little bit of heat. I don’t know if they used red pepper flakes or if the pepperoni itself had the heat. I like heat and it did have my nose running a little bit which was great.
My in-laws ordered the Mama’s Combo and they enjoyed that as well. I do not like olives, but everything else on that pizza was great. It is like a supreme pizza but the hamburger is under the cheese (at least that was what I remember).
Everything else we ordered was devoured by my kids and I didn’t hear any complaints.
There were a lot of food options on the menu but my favorite part of my experience was how quick the food came out. Anybody with young kids know that if the food takes too long then they start to get restless. Luckily, they had a small game area that my kids enjoyed as well.
Everything Else: I would like to give kudos to the service. Every member of the staff we talked to was extremely nice and helpful. There was a woman who was walking around and bussing tables. She stopped and talked to each of my kids about what sports they were playing this summer.
As each kid was listing their sports, I began to think that maybe we do too many. But that is for another time.
If I were to go again I think I would try the hamburger pizza as that what was suggested. I really liked the Peppapalooza but I want to give hamburger a shot the next time we stop in to Mama’s.
I was told that Mama’s is one of the restaurants that serve “Omaha Style Pizza.” I’m not entirely sure what that means. I know what New York, Neapolitan, Chicago Deep Dish and Detroit style pizza are but I do not yet know what Omaha Style Pizza might be.
Regardless, it was good.
Where should I go next? Please let me know as well as what you suggest I order.
My Verdict:
I really don’t want to do a rating out of 10 or a star rating with these pizza places. I think the question I want to ask is do I plan on going back?
My answer is yes. I would definitely go back.
Menu Recommendations I Received:
“Onion rings are legendary. If the kids are along, the mac and cheese pizza has a following. I’m all in on their combo.”
“Have to get their hamburger pizza. It’s what they are known for. And 100% on the onion rings.”
Mama’s Pizza – History
From their website:
Mama’s Pizza in Omaha started circa 1975 on Saddle Creek and Cuming St. The building was built in the 1950’s. It originally was just the North half of the building. It had a horseshoe bar and the kitchen was located in a cubbyhole on the North side. The south side was added in the 60’s and was used as a liquor store. It operated under the names: Jindo’s Lounge (owned by Jim and Naomi Paine) and The Big Tramp.
After a successful run in the early 70’s the owners of The Big Tramp (Greg Kean, Johnny and Jimmy Howell) decided a change was necessary. They moved the kitchen to the south side and started making pizzas. The name Mama’s Pizza and the recipes were inspired by two friends of the business Lou Pantano and Yano Falcone.
Around 1977, Mama’s tried opening a second location in Lake Manawa, Iowa. The run was short lived as the area was not yet developed enough to support the business.
In September, 1980, Jack and Rose Harwood purchased Mama’s Pizza. At the time, it was struggling. Originally, they had planned to change the name. When they found out how much it cost to change the name, they decided, Mama’s was a pretty good name.
In 2025, Mama’s became employee-owned, maintaining all the original recipes, culture, & staff of previous ownership.
