The first time Carlos Cuevas made tamales, the dish was a birthday gift for his girlfriend Gillian, a vegan who craved a meal nowhere to be found in Nebraska. 

The second time it was for their 200 wedding guests. 

The third time was the launch of their made-to-order tamale delivery business. 

Now, Cuevas and Gillian Cromwell Cuevas have partnered with Katie and Noah Mock, the couple behind fan favorites Nite Owl and Fizzy’s, to turn that craving into a full-fledged, brick-and-mortar restaurant in Little Bohemia.

Masa Luna opened in September to much buzz. After a recent visit with friends, I can see why. It has the singular retro-fun look and feel that the Mocks have become known for in Omaha, a “your grandparents’ basement but cooler” vibe. 

It also stars a succinct menu of tamales, shared plates, tacos, tortas and some uber-creative cocktails created by bar manager Ben Marxsen. Of all the drinks and dishes we sampled, we took issue with only one.

Let’s start where most diners at any Mexican spot start: chips. 

The chips and dip at Masa Luna are $8, and let me assure you, before you raise your voice, that they are worth every penny. 

One of the friends I dined with — I’d call his palate sophisticated — simply could not stop talking about these chips. And he was right: They are a rich hue of dark golden brown, each triangle not just fried but fried to perfection. Fried to the point where they essentially shatter with a bite, then melt away. 

Cuevas makes them with El Milagro corn tortillas from Chicago. They’re made with a simple list of ingredients: corn, water and lime.

“I’m from Mexico, and they remind me of my mom,” he said. “She always said, ‘These are good tortillas.’”

Masa Luna double fries the tortillas into chips, lets them cool, and then fries them a third time. That final fry, he said, results in that “extra little crunch.” 

We got ours served with the house queso, which is creamy and rich, and an unusual take on guacamole made with asparagus. As a certified avocado hater (it is truly the only food I don’t like), I was excited to see a different, avocado-free version of this popular dip. Though not traditional, it gives the same smooth, savory vibes as the usual does, with a hint of spice and herbs. 

Tamales are the backbone of the restaurant’s origin story and at the heart of its menu. Cuevas had never made a single tamale when he set out to make them as that birthday present.

“I decided to try,” he said, “and they were pretty good.”

It seemed doable, then, when Gillian suggested he make them again in 2022 for their wedding reception. 

“It was a lot of work,” Cromwell Cuevas said, chuckling. “We made 600 tamales. Friends helped us out. It was really the first time Carlos ever made tamales on a large scale.”

The couple met working at Omaha’s Brazen Head pub, and Cuevas worked at several other spots before landing as chef at Nite Owl. After Cromwell Cuevas got laid off from her nonprofit job, they decided to turn their tamale experience into a side gig, launching Masa Luna on Instagram and delivering vegan, vegetarian and meat tamales. 

It was the Mocks who suggested they turn the business into a restaurant. Together, the two couples pursued it in Little Bohemia, down the street from Fizzy’s in the space formerly occupied by Muchachos, which closed its Omaha location in 2024. 

“We probably would not have opened up a brick-and-mortar had it not been for Noah and Katie,” Cromwell Cuevas said. 

The restaurant still serves three versions of the tamale, a vegan, a vegetarian and a third with meat. But this isn’t just a cheese-and-beans situation. 

The vegan version is made with chipotle squash, and the vegetarian spinach, corn and onion. And the meat? It’s a tamale Runza. 

The “Funza” tamale sits next to other modern interpretations of the flavor combination, including David Utterback’s “Bunzai,” a bao bun with a similar filling, and a vegan bierock that chef Isa Chandra Moskowitz featured in one of her cookbooks and on the menu at her former Omaha restaurant, Modern Love.

I really liked this Masa Luna version, as did my dining companions. It’s subtler than the usual bierock, and the corn masa flavor nicely complements the beefy, cheesy filling. Pickled onions, crema and cotija bring the Funza back into Mexican cuisine. I know I’ll be ordering this one again. 

Cuevas said they keep the Funza’s ingredients simple, using beef from Jon’s Naturals, onion, cabbage, mustard, pickles and seasonings.  

Saucy, crunchy, smoky chicken taquitos are better than many I’ve tried. Adobo chicken had ample smokiness and exploded with flavor when paired with buttery chihuahua cheese, queso and salsa verde.

nd gets served in two warm corn tortillas topped with pineapple, cilantro, onion and lime. Photos by Sarah Baker Hansen for the Flatwater Free Press

Omaha diners have no shortage of variations on a classic bierock, the “Funza” being the latest: This time, ground beef, cabbage, American cheese and spices are wrapped inside soft masa dough and steamed until tender. They are served with beans, rice and additional toppings.

The al pastor tacos had a strong hit of pineapple. The kitchen cooks the meat on a trompo — a Mexican vertical rotisserie. They top it with more fruit, cilantro, onion and lime. Texturally, it’s a winner. The contrasts are lovely: crisp-tender, soft, juicy, sweet and tart. 

The one disappointment we encountered surprised me: the fried pork on the torta, served on a soft, traditional bolillo bun, had a too-dry texture and not enough flavor. Asparagus guac appeared here again, along with a black bean spread, but it didn’t do the necessary heavy lifting to bring flavor or moisture to the sandwich. 

There are many more dishes I want to try on the Masa Luna menu: 

There’s a pierogi, a nod to the history of the South Omaha neighborhood, filled with chorizo and potato. There’s focaccia served with ancho honey butter and filled with charred corn and pepper that’s made with a masa-fed sourdough starter. There’s a goshdarn habanero peach cobbler.

But before I get hungry all over again, let’s pivot to drinks. The cocktail menu is big, creative and tasty – exactly what you’d expect from the people who brought you Nite Owl and Fizzy’s, two of the most original bars in the city.  

Ben Marxsen, the bar manager, said several Nite Owl bartenders collaborated on the menu. Mostly, he said, the inspiration for the drinks came from the food. 

The mole in the Mole Takes Manhattan, he said, comes from the kitchen’s mole recipe, and it’s what the bar uses in the infusion. The achiote, a red-hued spice with an earthy, peppery flavor, appears in the Pastor highball. Guanabana, also known as soursop, shows up in the frozen margaritas and lends their sweet-citrus flavor.

Our group tried several of the above cocktails with nary a complaint; the Mole Takes Manhattan, with a sidecar of Mexican chocolate and spiced oranges, is a highlight. 

Pricing at the restaurant, for me, feels fair given the homemade nature of the food and the focus on local, quality ingredients across the food and drink menus. The most expensive dish on the menu clocks in at $16, and several shared plates and tacos are less than half that price.

Cromwell Cuevas and Cuevas said they’re working hard to change the narrative around Mexican food being “cheap.” 

Cuevas said when they were making the menu, they knew some diners would want a $5 taco, and that’s where they priced their al pastor taco. 

“But then some dishes, we can charge a little bit more, knowing it’s good. It’s important for people to know if you’re paying low prices for food, the people probably aren’t being paid well,” he said. 

His partner in life and in business, Cromwell Cuevas, took it from there. 

“If we’re supporting local farms, if we’re supporting the folks who work here and live here and play here, all that money stays in the community,” she said. 

It’s a hard concept to argue with. I’m willing to pay a bit more at a restaurant that showcases that thoughtful approach to the business. 

And I simply enjoy Masa Luna. It’s a great fit in the neighborhood. It serves thoughtful, creative cuisine at the right price. It doesn’t take itself too seriously. 

And those chips …

This story was originally published by Flatwater Free Press, an independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories in Nebraska that matter. Read the article at:  https://flatwaterfreepress.org/the-sbh-review-popular-masa-luna-brings-creative-mexican-and-matching-cocktails-to-little-bohemia/