What To Have

My parents came into town tonight, and they asked specifically about dinner at J Betski’s because i’d raved about it for a while. We started with a couple of the regulars fresh bratwurst and beef/pork keilbasa which were great, and you can read about in other articles.

The new starter was asparaus soup. This had a really great taste, it was smooth and creamy. You really get the flavor of the vegetable in this dish, the broth/cream didnt weigh it down.

For the main dish i had the schnitzel. This is a fried pork chop with various sides/sauces. My favorite is the dill cucumber sauce. What I liked most about the dish is the fact that it wasn’t over-cooked. You could almost cut it with your fork. I will have this again.

-Matt

Tookie’s Grill recently opened in Seaboard Station and I decided to give them a try for lunch. Two things really impressed me about this meal. The first was the quality in the preparation of the food. I had the steak and cheese, a fairly simple thing to make. This one was reasonably priced, and came with everything I wanted. What I like about it was that they toasted the bun. I’m guessing this isn’t done on most philly cheesesteaks, but I’ll say I’m a fan. It was a simple thing that notched it up in my book.

The second part that impressed me was the great service. During the course of my meal I had no less than 3 different people ask me if everything was ok. These a couple were working the grill but when they slowed down they stepped away and made sure the customers at the bar were good. This little thing shows me that the group there really cares about the customer experience.

I’m definitely going back, look for some other reviews soon. And yes, this is the place with the chicken salad

-Matt

Where to start with this one is the hard part…This trip to 18 Seaboard had me wanting more. I don’t know if it was the main part of the meal or the accompaniment that was the best part. On the menu it’s listed as the Cracklin Pork Shank (with blue chees grits), so naturally I was intrigued (loving blue cheese and being from the south). The pork shank sat on top of a bed of blue cheese grits with a layer of spinach between. It was topped with an apple-onion compote. This was a large meal I must say, I’ll also say I couldn’t stop.

The shank was cracklin, crunchy on the outside, tender on the inside almost like slow roasted and seared at the same time. The grits were creamy with chunks of blue cheese. This dish was hard to push away. Luckily I didn’t have any appetizers and I was able to finish most of this. I could easily eat this again and if you think it sounds good, wait until you try it.

-Matt

This trip to the Duck and Dumpling was what I consider one of the very special meals David fixes. Tonight, he went into the back and conjured up some Vietnamese Pho. This soup is on of my favorites. It’s broth based with noodles, sprouts and onions. Sliced beef and meatballs are added to make it hearty. Traditionally a lime is squeezed into it and I like to add some hoisin and pepper sauces. I like this dish any time of the year, it’s not too thick to be served during the summer, but hearty enough to be served during the winter. If you have a chance, be sure to try this very traditional Vietnamese dish.

-Matt