Runza

937 South 13th Street, Lincoln, NE - (402) 475-7320

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Posted By Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle on July 9, 2009 9:53 AM

One of the problems we have with fast-food chains is how the food's had all traces of regionality wrung out of it. To a large extent, the success of national or global fast-food chains depends on their ability to serve the same burger and fries in Maine that's served in New Mexico. So we think it's interesting when we encounter a local fast-food chain serving something unique to its region, like Runza does in Nebraska.

The first Runza opened in Lincoln in 1949, yet it was another 30 years before they began franchising. Today, Runza is a chain of 70+ restaurants in Nebraska and the surrounding states, and also the trademarked name for the unique food they serve.

A Runza is a hot bread pocket filled with ground meat and cabbage and onions. The bread is soft, freshly-baked white bread, and the filling is mildly spiced beef; the cabbage stays well in the background. They make a warming, filling bread-and-meat lunch, similar in spirit to pasties and loosemeats, two other Upper Midwest ground beef favorites. The concept has been expanded to include things like BBQ Bacon Runzas and BLT Runzas (untried and untempted).

Runza restaurants have a full menu of typical burger-fries-chicken items, and in our experience, most people seem to order those things rather than the Runzas. The burgers and such do look good for chain food but, frankly, if we weren't going to eat Runzas, we doubt we'd pay a visit. We could be wrong but our guess is that as Runza (the chain) continues to expand, Runza (the food) will recede further and further into the background. We wouldn't be surprised if, one day, Runza no longer sells Runzas.

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Posted By Chris Poole on November 18, 2007 12:25 AM

I put myself through my first three years of college working at a Runza. Unlike most other fast-food restaurants, you don't ever have to worry about homogenization. The reason the owners don't franchise to far outside Nebraska is because it's too difficult to guarantee the quality of the food. They are maniacal about quality at that place.

The bread, the Runza filling, and the onion rings are made from scratch every morning for use the next day. This gives the bread a chance to proof in the cooler, the filling to meld flavors, and the coating on the rings to adhere to the onion. The rings are double-dipped, which is why they're so crunchy. The hamburgers, at least when I worked there, are made using 50-pound boxes of hamburger from Omaha Steaks. Runza patties up their own burgers and the meat is never frozen at any point from slaughter to Runza. It's the best fast-food burger in town.

That said, I ate so much of the food when I worked there that I can't stand to eat there much anymore. It's excellent, but I've just eaten too much of it in my life.

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