Cow Hollow restaurant Betelnut, in case you didn’t know, was at the forefront of this thing they used to call Asian fusion back in the mid-90s, under chef Bruce Hill. For the last ten years, chef Alexander Ong has been doing more straight up contemporary Asian cuisine, and now, via a new deal on Blackboard Eats launching today, he’s experimenting with some off-menu, family-style offal dishes, like fish head tamarind curry, and salt-and-pepper veal sweetbreads. The deal marks a bit of a shift for Blackboard in terms of trying to offer more exclusive, off-menu-type experiences, rather than just discounts.
It’s available for 60 days, once you grab a passcode, and for this deal only they’re giving the passcode away for free like they used to, rather than charging a dollar for it. As per usual, you’ve got 24 hours to get the passcode. (The deal goes live here at 2 p.m. PT)
Below, the “secret” menu.
Offal Good Menu
Crispy chicken liver, black pepper sauce $9.88
Battered and deep fried, drizzled with black pepper sauce and oyster sauce with roasted onions, served on a skewers.
Cured lamb tongue, galanga, lime, crispy taro $11.88
A Northern Malaysian dish with Thai influence, poached lamb tongues are shaved into thin slivers tossed with galanga, lime juice, chilies, sugar and salt. Taro fries are served on top.
Salt & pepper veal sweetbread $12.88
Classic ingredient in traditional French cuisine but with a Cantonese-style salt and pepper sauce. The sweetbreads are served with scallions, ginger, garlic, five spice, sichuan peppercorn and salt, cooked in a wok.
Fish head tamarind curry $15.88
A spicy dish with in-your-face flavors from South India. It has shrimp paste and coriander, turmeric, curry spices, shallots, little bit of coconut milk and tamarind with eggplant, okra and fish head braised whole in the sauce.
Betelnut - 2030 Union Street - 415.929.8855 - Open Sunday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., and until midnight on weekends.
