The Name Says It All

There’s no pretense about this place.

Why should there be in little Hershey, Nebraska? But even the name—Butch’s—conjures mental images of a portly, no nonsense shop owner in a stained white apron plying his cleaver in the days of neighborhood joints and “Father Knows Best.”

And, yes, it is a steakhouse, which wedges the Hershey mainstay into an already crowded file of small town grills serving choice, glistening slabs of red meat. Order a strip or ribeye and you know what to expect.

Even their chicken fried steak slumps with the familiarity of a Saturday afternoon on a timeless couch.

While the meat wears simplicity well, the crust contributes little more than a textural crackle. It lacks the slender talons of salt and pepper that draw out the savor of pounded beef.

Look beyond the usual, however, and you might spot a few anomalies.

For instance, Butch’s Steakhouse features a series of freshwater trophies mounted above the dogleg bar. That’s right—game fish arrayed to entice those settled in for a night of American beef.

More to the point, the best menu option may be Butch’s pork chops. Although single cut, they retain just enough rich fat to soften the easily parched meat. In sandwich form—yep, a pork chop sandwich—a complementary sweet and tangy sauce seared onto the surface coaxes something compelling from the bittersweet char of pan juices.

It would be something memorable, but for an unwelcome slather of dressing on the bun.

So often that’s the downfall of small kitchens: slapping one more ingredient onto a finely balance item, toppling the whole off the culinary cliff. The restaurant also indulges in the lazy pastime of flaccid French fries and common, industrial appetizers—the Cheddar cheese poppers come to mind.

So Butch’s is just your normal small town Nebraska steakhouse, in the end. Yet you can spend a warm and friendly hour here thanks to a wait staff that welcome even strangers as if they lived right next door and frequented the place on Friday nights.

There is a “how ya doin’?” or “want something else on TV?” demeanor inside that encourages guests to linger, relax and, eventually, depart with a reluctant waive.

Butch’s Steakhouse is just what you’d expect, for worse and for better.