For my birthday dinner this year, Eric came up with a list of places for me to choose from. One of the choices on the list, J. Betski’s, is a German/Polish place and I thought a beer and brat would be a lovely way to spend my birthday. I took one look at the menu and I was sold, it was clear that even though I could get a brat and a beer here, this was more upscale than say, The Flying Saucer *.

Once we found the place (our GPS was a little off), I waffled back and forth between getting a beer and a bottle of wine, but we ultimately went with a lovely Riesling that managed to magically compliment everything we ordered.

To start, Eric had the pierogies filled with walnuts, spinach and bacon and I had the bratwurst with lightly pickled cabbage and whole grain mustard. Both were outstanding, I have never tasted bratwurst that good before (I have also never been to Germany, which needs to be fixed right away). The brat was melt-in-your-mouth delicious and went very nicely with the spicy mustard. For appetizers, the serving sizes were appropriate and well-priced.

For our main courses, Eric was swayed by the description of the double cut smoked pork chop special and I tried the pork schnitzel with potato and dill cucumber salads. My schnitzel was a lovely brown color and once covered in freshly squeezed lemon and lingonberries, a treat. Eric mentioned that his dinner would rank in the top five porks he’s ever had and from the smokiness wafting across the table, I could smell why.

The evening ended with a chilled espresso martini for me and a semi-sweet cherry chocolate cake to split. The cake was very dense and crumbly, with a nice chocolate flavor.

Although the place is a little out of the way for us, I could see us coming back for a parental visit or if we happen to find ourselves in Raleigh.

* I like The Flying Saucer, but wanted to go someplace, well, a little fancier for my birthday.