Vegetarian Restaurants in Beatrice

“What a great dining experiences!! Food, service, and ambience were top notch. From the baked apple old fashioned cocktails through the chocolate decadence dessert everything was fabulous. Thanks so much to the chef and staff at the Black Crow and congrats on your 30 year anniversary!!“

“I'm going to preface this review with a disclaimer--my parents own this restaurant so some people may see my review as potentially biased. But some people also think being a Yelper makes them royalty and they derive Karen powers from Elite status so... The past reviews I skimmed through are right--it's not the most exciting "Chinese" food ever. But then again, real Chinese food probably wouldn't fit the local culture all too well. So, if you are in fact seeking genuine Chinese cuisine... the closest Chinatown that exists is in Chicago and OMA airport is just 1.5 hours away. Now, if you're a true local who has seen the restaurant evolve over the years, then you will know just how much love and effort the owners, Susan and Bob, have put into their restaurant and the food. The exterior walls were recently repainted a tan/beige color. Previously it was a stone and white paint exterior. In the past, there would occasionally be racist slurs graffitied on the white walls, which Bob always painted over promptly to ensure guests hopefully didn't have to see such unpleasantries. The interior decor is rather tacky looking in my opinion--but it looks like every other "Chinese" restaurant in small-town Midwest. A neat fact many people may not realize, the paintings that line the walls are hand painted by Bob himself. He was an artist in China before moving to the U.S. There's no music playing in the restaurant but that's because the owners would need to undergo a ton of paperwork and licensing procedures to be able to do so--which isn't exactly something you have time to do when you spend 6 days a week working in the restaurant with the 7th day being dedicated to food prep and administrative duties.. All of the food is prepared fresh in-house, including the breaded chicken, orange sauce, sweet and sour sauce, and crab rangoons. Well, ALMOST all of it is...I am sad to report that the non-existent Anaheim peppers are only figments of people's imagination and the JALAPEÑOS are obviously not grown in the kitchen. (SHRUG) Many people travel to Beatrice and to Shanghai Inn for the crab rangoon and lo mein especially, though. The lo mein recipe is a proprietary in-house recipe that you won't find anywhere else. Lastly, what really gives this restaurant that authentic feel of a "Chinese" restaurant is the fact that the owners still have an accent. They've worked tremendously hard to assimilate into a town that initially was rather weary of newcomers, including learning a new language without taking any classes to do so. So, in a town that has managed to somehow shrink from 13k people to 10k people over the course of 25 years, Shanghai Inn is the only "Chinese" restaurant remaining and I dare say it--for damn good reason. Overall, they get four stars instead of five because their restaurant hours are annoying as their daughter who never gets to see her parents because they're always busy working and trying to impress the food critics who clearly should quit their day jobs, instead. (This is pure sarcasm by the way.) Go, keep your expectations in alignment with the location, enjoy some American Chinese food that is prepared fresh, and for gods sake, tip like a decent human being--or just go to a fast food restaurant or the frozen aisle at the store. (AND DONT TELL MY PARENTS I WROTE THIS OR THEY WILL DISOWN ME!!!)“