Last night I had the opportunity to be one of the first people to eat at Smokin’ Betty’s Restaurant on 116 South 11th Street for the Philly Beer Week Dinner. The restaurant is offering the dinner  June 4th-13th from 5:00PM-10:0oPM.  The price for this dinner is an unbeatable $35 per person.  Smokin’ Betty’s has the Beer Dinner Menu set up to let you choose different plates for the 3 course dinner. Then every plate is matched with a specific beer that they chose to pair with their food.

I had a really difficult time trying to decide what I was going to order because everything on the menu looked awesome.  For the 1st course you could either have a Cheesesteak Spring Roll with pale ale spiked chili sauce paired with Furthermore Knot Stock American Pale Ale; BLT Slider with fresh mozzarella, confit pork belly and garlic aioli paired with Troegs Hopback Amber Ale; Buffalo Chicken Wings with celery root puree and blue cheese cream sauce paired with Breckenridge Agave Wheat.  I ended up ordering the BLT Slider which was unreal.  Not only was the pork belly cooked perfectly but it paired extremely well with the Troegs brew, the beer cut the fat nicely and left you with a clean mouthfeel.  I made no mistake in ordering this course because it was a bright plate with big flavors. I highly recommend it.

The 2nd Course gave you four options.  Braised Short Ribs with goat cheese and scallion smashed potatoes, broccoli and porter jus paired with Eel River Organic Porter; Grilled St. Louis Ribs with braised red cabbage and hoppy baked beans paired with Bear Republic Red Rocket Red Ale; Beer Battered Mahi-Mahi with sweet potato fries, carolina slaw and spicy remoulade paired with Southampton Double White Ale; Bock and Bourbon Glazed Burger with fried shallots, bacon, smoked goudo and burnt orange aioli paired with Lakefront Big Easy Imperial Maibock.  For this course I ordered the Short Ribs with the Organic Porter.  Short ribs usually are about 6-8inches long and have a mix between meat and fat.  The short ribs that they have at Smokin’ Betty’s are about 10 inches long and are loaded with meat.  I don’t know where they found short ribs like this, but they were monsters.  No need to use a knife either, again, just like the pork belly, the meat was cooked right on.  As I went to move the bone to the side of my plate the meat just fell off the bone.  It was so juicy and tender that I don’t think I put my fork down through this whole course. I don’t even think I picked my head up either to look around.  The porter jus and the Eel River Porter with its dark, roasted coffee flavor along with the slow cooked short rib was perfectly matched.

For the final course I had four options to choose from for dessert.  As I am not a huge fan of dessert, since by this time in the meal I am usually too full for it. However, this time I had to dive on in and order something, and oh what a shame it was.  You could choose from Apple Fritters with carmel dipping sauce paired with Original Sin Apple Cider; Betty’s S’mores with black bier marshmallows, bittersweet chocolate and graham crackers paired with Dark Horse Reserve Special Black Bier Ale; Creme Brulle Cheesecake with balsamic strawberries paired with Lancaster Strawberry Wheat; Deep Fried Oreo’s with homemade raspberry framboise and double chocolate stout ice cream paired with Lefthand Milk Stout.  For me it was a toss up between the S’mores and the Fried Oreos, and in the end, I picked the S’mores.  What came out to me, what not expected.  It was such a beautifully presented plate that in a way, that I did not want to touch it.  The marshmallow which was gooey and warm, the shaved chocolate, the graham cracker and the beer all paired so nicely that again, something changed my mind about dessert in a good way.  The heavy malt and deep dark roasted notes in the beer really played well together.

Everything I ordered was amazing and everything paired very well with the beer that was offered with it.  You get a full 12oz. bottle of beer with every course you order, not just a small 4 oz. sampling of it.  If I ended up going back again, I would keep the BLT Slider, change to the Bourbon Glazed Burger, and go for the Oreo’s for dessert.  The only reason being is that when I was looking around at other peoples tables to see what they ordered, everything seemed to look so good.  I would love to go back and try out more of the menu before it ends.

Smokin’ Betty’s Restaurant is right across from Jefferson Hospital.  They have been open for almost a year and are doing very well.  Their normal everyday menu has plenty of options to choose from and all the food on that looks great also.  Smokin’ Betty’s offers 16 beers on tap ranging from local brews, east coast and west coast beers, and even some ciders.  I also want to thank Emily the Manager for letting me come in an attend this dinner and also to Jill my server, she was the best!

Smokin’ Betty’s Restaurant
116 South 11th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107-4801
(215) 922-6500