Sunday, December 28, 2014

A Wee Bit of Wee Betty's Cafe in Jacksonville.

Okay, I'm going to start off with this - can I really call a restaurant cute? I mean, diminutive is pretty descriptive, as is ethnic or eastfacing or blue, but cute? Okay, I have found a cute, and it helps satisfy my Doctor Who-inflicted cravings.

I speak, of course, of Wee Betty's Cafe.

One of my friends, Alex, suggested this place to me, and so Grav and I wandered out that way to meet up with Alex and his friends.  He's apparently a regular.

Wee Betty's has been open since July of 2013, and it's a grand yet tiny shop packed with British canned goods, tea and tiny round tables, perfect for two. Well, there were five of us, so we mashed together between two tables and scanned the menus.

I'll be honest, I was getting to know my new friends and didn't do what I needed to do as far as taking photos went.  Neither did Grav. We were enjoying the company and our tea, which came to the table the proper way, with milk!

I loved that the menu stated this as a good place for "a wee cuppa tea and a blether."


I also love that the menu's appetizers, or Lite Snacks as it said, included (I kid you not), toast and tea, toast and beans, toast and cheese - because of course, toast. I bit back the thought of asking if they'd cut the toast into tiny soldiers and arrange them according to rank. I've spent too much time lately watching Red Dwarf, apparently.

So we're all talking, and I get an order of curry chips. Because of course I do. Because to me, the true test of a British restaurant is whether or not it gets curry. Yes, I have had proper Indian curry sauce served to me on fries, and while delicious, it's not right. 


I didn't have anything to worry about here. Yes, clearish curry sauce on fries. I could eat this all day. Really I could.


But I didn't, because we had other things to try, like the Scotch pie that came to table. Is this not the epitome of a cute savory pie? Especially with that perfect bubble of gravy?

Gravy!  Yes!


Alex and Grav both went for the fish and chips, and this is where Wee Betty's truly shined. Mind you, it took some time for our dishes to make it to table, owing to the single cook operating both kitchen and register. But this nice curled cod is just proof that the Wee Betty's folks know what they're doing. And of course, malt vinegar was involved.

But my delight for the night was the Cornish pasty. With beans. Because... okay, yes, my Arkansas friends, this looks like someone put beanie weenies on a fried pie. And essentially, that's what it looks like at first.


But it is not. No, these beans in their lovely tomato sauce were a nice starchy addition to a pie already stuffed with vegetables and beef. Oh my. I am quite pleased.

I need to make a return trip and do a proper review, but as I said, we all got to talking. These things happen. And how wonderful it is to share dinner with friends. That has to happen more often.

Wee Betty’s Cafe is located at 1336 John Harden Drive in Jacksonville (501-765-3531). There's a Facebook with news and such. I'm coming back for scones, y'all.


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