Jens’ Restaurant was a large place in a strip shopping center. Jens Hansen was the original owner and his photo hangs in one room. He passed away in 2012 and in 2016 his Executive Chef Nancy Alip bought the place and still continues as chef. As you entered there was a large bar area set up with dining places on the counter and an additional large dining room with walls accented with wine paraphenalia and art that mostly was for sale. There were two really interesting ceiling fixtures with colored glass pieces in the room, some music in the background and white tableclothes and napkins on the nicely spaced tables. The walls were accented by a strip of corks that were where a waincot might have ended. They offered a large menu that featured some Danish dishes as well as crepes, pasta, seafood, meat and a daily special. The waiter told us that all the seafood was fresh, never frozen, thus you would find no crab on their menu. Service was friendly and helpful. They did charge a split fee for a pasta entree they divided for us in the kitchen.
Bread service was 3 types of bread pre-sliced in a basket – wheat, white and caraway. All were soft and light, no crunch, but were fresh and acceptable. They did have salt and pepper grinders on each table.
Basil linguini was fresh linguini tossed with chopped basil, extra virgin olive oil, fresh tomatoes and roasted garlic, topped with tomato coulis and Parmesan cheese. It turned out to be more of a fettucine than linguini but the tomato sauce was very nice and filled with the flavor of fresh tomato sauce and basil The dish was accented with broccoli, carrots and cauliflower pieces that were still quite crisp. The pasta was cooked a good al dente and clung to the tart sauce well but the vegetables weren’t needed. It did make me glad I hadn’t ordered salad though.
Panko breaded scallops were served with apple-fennel slaw, rice and remoulade. The large scallops were cooked perfectly and nicely crisped on the outside. The sauce was very good, the rice okay but the hunks of broccoli, carrots and cauliflower were present again. This time they were a little more cooked and blended all right with the tasty slaw. An excellent plate of food.
For dessert we tried the Carrot Cake but they did offer a Bread Pudding of the Day which was a mixed berry with rhubarb. The Carrot Cake was dense with a good layer of cream cheese icing and then dusted with cinnamon. It had a sweet strawberry bit in some additional cream on the side. Nice to have a cake without the drizzles from a squirt bottle. Just good dense, moist cake with perfectly sweet icing. A yummy selection.
