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by Heather Akerberg I photography by Chris Machian

ryan and Tina Tweedy have created a paradise in downtown Omaha. Sweets ofEden opened last November and presents Omaha with a new kind of dining ex-perience-casual and inviting while serving artisan chocolates, fine individual

desserts and a savory lunch menu.The caf6, located at 315 S. 16'h Street, is decorated in warm golden and russet hues,

which create a homey atmosphere. "'We wanted the place to feel like someone's home butwith lots of tables in it," Bryan says. This sense of comfort permeates the space with wel-coming smiles and attentive counter service.

While the environment is casual, the menu is uncompromising in its flavors and the pre-sentation is spot-on in its attention to detail. The dessert menu changes daily but may includesuch indulgences as a Chocolate Dome, a chocolate genoise layered with chocolate and ha-zelnut mousse separated by a layer ofhazelnut dacquoise, coated with a chocolate glace andadorned with a chocolate d6cor piece customized with "sweets of Eden" in gold script.

The artisan chocolates offered include more than 9 different flavors, such as raspberry,earl grey and apricot-champagne. Each chocolate has a unique finish and a cocoa ratioranging from 55 to 70 percent. The hand-painted raspberry chocolate, a popular selec-tion, has the appearance of polished marble.

ngredients in a simple way to allow the flavors to stand out," Tina says. Inaddition to the lunch menu, the shop offers a full-service espresso bar and breakfast items,such as croissants and scones. Tina, who operated a home specialty cake business for 6years, is continuing to design custom creations for weddings and themed events.

This truly is a family business. Bryan is often joined at the counter by their lO-year-oldson, Nathan, who is eager to lend a hand. In the kitchen, Tina entertains claire, 8, and

___lGabe, 4, with marzipan figures while she creates culinary delights.

Smitty, the BartenAn Old Market Creature

by Heather C. Akerberg I photography by Bill Sitzmann

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alk into M's Pub, located at 422 S. II'hStreet, on any given Friday night and theplace is generally packed. Wait staff jet

through tables and around the crowd of patrons liningthe bar. The air is filled with the cling-clang of flatwaremeeting plates and a sea of voices that ebbs and flows.Amidst this storm of activity, in the narrow space en-closed by the rectangular island bar, is a calm center-the kind of calm that comes with experience. With hischipper voice and kind face, Smitty has been tendingbar at M's Pub for more than 13 years.

"I'm an Old Market creature. I love the Old Market,"Smitty says.

Smitty got his start in bartending at another OIdMarket watering hole, Mr. Toad's. Having graduatedfrom the University of Nebraska-Omaha with a degreein banking and finance, he had difficulty finding a job

due to the unstable financial climate of the late 1980s.Smitty was hired as a doorman at Mr. Toad's and even-tually received his "combat training" when the manage-ment moved him behind the bar.

After nearly 6 years at Mr. Toad's, Smitty came to workfor Ann Mellen and Ron Samuelson, the owners of M'sPub, at their other restaurant, Vivace. He put a few moreyears under his bartending belt before Ann and Ron of-fered him the coveted bartending position at M's Pub.

"I used to hang out here and always wanted to work

here," says Smitty of M's. "So, when they offered it tome, I said'yes' in a second."

W'ith M's extensive wine list, Smitty says becoming abetter bartender is an everyday process. Each year thewine list changes, and he learns new vintages. However,the ability to remember names, drinks and faces is at thetop of Smitty's list of traits that a good bartender shouldpossess. He prefers Skyy vodka and club soda and placesgin and coffee among the most unusual drink orders.

Second on that list is attitude. "You can't come towork in a bad mood," says Smitty. "Because no onewants to have a grumpy bartender wait on them."

Smitty also believes that it's important to surround yourselfwith good people. He attributes his long tenure at M's Pub tothe people-the clientele and his fellow co-workers. He refersfondlyto TreyI(not! withwhom he hasworked closelysinceday one. "He and I have been a team ever since," Smitty says.

An Omaha native, Smitty admits that very few peopleknow his real name. Born feffrey Schmidt, he recalls atime when his mother called the restaurant and askedfor feff. The person who answered the phone told herthere wasn't a feff working there, which caused Smitty'smother to think that he had been fired.

There doesn't seem to be much that is out of place inSmitty's world, which must come from years of donninga good mood and striving to make people happy andrelaxed. Smitty says, "I get paid to hang out in a bar." lffi i

March/April 2007 | The Encounter | 15