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Reviewed by:
  • The Better Half: Nebraska’s Hidden Treasures by Matthew Hansen and Sarah Baker Hansen
  • Margaret Davenport
The Better Half: Nebraska’s Hidden Treasures. By Matthew Hansen and Sarah Baker Hansen. Omaha: Omaha World-Herald, 2017. 164 pp. Illustrations. $29.95 cloth.

To be a flyover state is not to be taken lightly. Being labeled as such means you have to work a little extra to prove yourself as a state worth visiting. Matthew and Sarah Baker Hansen’s book, The Better Half: Nebraska’s Hidden Treasures, shined light on places that are contributing to the changing conversation about new Nebraska destinations.

This Omaha World-Herald couple’s road trip across the state is broken down into chapters, each telling a story of people who took a chance to try something new in towns where sticking to the status quo is practically rule of law. They wrote of spots that maintain traditions as old as Nebraska, like the Norden Dance Hall barn dance, a once-a-month hoedown taking place thirty minutes east of Valentine.

There are chapters on hidden sites that the average Joe may not know of, such as Taste of India, a Punjabi-style restaurant owned by a couple from Gujarat. It’s located in a remote truck stop—the closest town is Overton, population 570.

With each chapter are side blurbs of recommended eateries or hot spots in or near the featured town. I do wish the Hansens had sprinkled a little more zest into their reviews of the must-visits. Adjectives such as “good” and “delicious” don’t coax the imagination. For example, the Flat Iron Grill in Atkinson got reviewed as “good” twice in a three-sentence review. (Also, a fellow foodie’s review input: people frequent Grateful Bread in Lincoln for the macaroni and cheese more than they do the soup. I’ve never heard that “the real reason anyone goes here is the soup.” The soup is exquisite, but the macaroni and cheese will always please!)

The Better Half will make Nebraskans homesick for places they have frequented and are familiar with. It will draw the reader to start mapping out a road trip to discover places that have aided in revitalizing towns across Nebraska. If you’re from here, you’ll feel pride—I certainly did—and if you’re from far away, you will no longer consider Nebraska a flyover state.

Nebraska may not have flashy mountain ranges or beaches to beckon visitors, but this just means you have to go looking for the exceptionally cool spots in Nebraska. Consider The Better Half your first road map.

Margaret Davenport
Lincoln, Nebraska
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