What To Have

Went to the Duck and Dumpling again tonight and as usual it was great. I started with some sui mai. Small pockets of goodness stuffed with a shrimp and pork. Steamed in your own little bamboo basket, then topped with a drop of oyster sauce. The chef takes time every day to make these fresh, so they always satisfy.

When I go to the duck and I’m feeling like something light, but filling, I will often get the Steamed Sea Bass. It a good size piece of fish lightly steamed until flaky. There really aren’t too many spices on this dish, the fish speaks for itself. For service, it’s placed on a bed of steamed bok choy and green onions. The focus of this dish is the fish, the accompanied vegetables and the bowl of jasmine rice on the side are do their job well and add simple flavor, but make you focus on the fish

–Matt

J. Betski’s does a lot of specials. I really enjoy the different sausage specials they do. Tonight, they were doing Bratwurst. They usually have Kielbasa I consider bratwurst a lighter type of sausage, it’s less dense than a kielbasa. They served this as they do the kielbasa, with a couple mustards and sauerkraut. If you visit and it’s on the menu, I would definitely try this.

Another special tonight was Cream of Cauliflower soup, it was creamy and pretty good. What really separated this dish from other versions at other restaurant was it’s topping of truffle oil. This added a very rich element to the soup. One of the waiters actually mentioned he could smell the truffle oil from around the corner. This soup is also made to order so it takes a couple extra minutes, but you know it’s not sitting in a pot somewhere.

At this point of the evening I was fairly full, but the bartender said “try the dessert, trust me”. So I gave the Lindzer(sp) Ice Cream Sandwich a shot. By far, one of the best desserts I’ve had in a while. This was started with two gingerbread layers. The house made gingerbread pieces straddled the border between crunchy and soft, a definite treat. The filling was amazing, three small scoops of homemade ice cream. In the center, a scoop of almond ice cream, on the outside, two scoops of Lindzer torte with raspberry swirl. The whole dish was sprinkled with candied almond slices. Again, if you’re there, and this is one of the specials, go lighter on dinner and finish your meal off with dessert and a nice sherry.

–Matt

One of downtown’s newest offerings in the Seaboard area, J. Betski’s doesnt disappoint. Offerings pay tribute to the owner/chef’s German and Polish heritage. Standout dishes include their house made keilbasa, traditional schnitzel and gingerbread as well as other traditional offerings.

What I had this time was a mix of favorites and a new special dish. I started with the Keilbasa. Served with a couple spicy mustards and their house made sauerkraut. This dish is easily shared by two as an appetizer and is rich in flavor.

Dinner was a special dish. I’m unsure of the name, but it included an assortment of roasted meats including seared duck and beef kielbasa atop a bead of white navy beans. An excellent dish i would definitely recommend to anyone venturing in.

Dessert was another special. Instead of their traditional apple sturdel, they were offering a nut strudel. At around an inch think it reminded me of a greek bakalava with less pastry and more nuts. An excellent choice as well.

It appears that the resturant is getting a following. There were no available seats around the time we were there. I would definitely suggest getting a reservation on any of the traditional nights to go out.

–Matt