Monarch Prime and Bar is a sleek, upscale restaurant, filled with dark wood, vintage-inspired furnishings and large chandeliers. It gives one the feeling of stepping onto the set of “Mad Men” or even “The Great Gatsby.” Despite the vintage feel of Monarch, the menu is anything but that. The meats on the menu are dry-aged, a process not seen in many other places in the city. “There are a lot of steakhouses in Omaha. We wanted to make a modern one,” Micheels says. “We wanted to try dry-aging meat. You need time, temperature, humidity and airflow to do it. That’s the focus of the menu. It’s a big project.” Besides dry-aged cuts of meat that include steak, duck and bison, Monarch’s menu has many classic dishes that have been updated or given a modern twist. The menu is broken into sections labeled “To Begin,” “To Continue,” “To Devour” and “To Carve.”
MCC alumni are a common sight in the Monarch kitchen, with many of the chefs and cooks having attended the College’s culinary program as well. “With the people that apply, a lot of them have MCC on their application,” he says. “I know they have that good foundation. You need somewhere to start and the College’s culinary program is that perfect start to get seasoned. We have so much talent in the kitchen, it’s crazy.” Seeing a former student go on to open a restaurant is always exciting, O’Malley says, but it’s not something he ever doubted Micheels would do. “After meeting Patrick, it was obvious that this day would come,” O’Malley explains. “I’m glad it happened. It reinforces that you have to care and put in the work.”
“Everything is made in-house,” Micheels explains. “I don’t have a mayonnaise jar in that kitchen. Everything is from scratch. There is also never anything on the menu that’s not from or surrounding Nebraska. It’s very focused.” Since Monarch’s opening in October, things have been going well, Micheels says. “It’s been good. I’m happy with the way things are going so far,” he says.
For more information about MCC’s Culinary Arts program, visit mccneb.edu/culinary.
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