Jasper’s in Plano

[NewYorkTexan]

Went to Jasper’s, Kent Rathbun's restaurant the other night after hearing good things about the place. The décor established the theme as soon as you walked through the door. A sophisticated and dramatic dining room next to a casual bar that had large Adirondack style chairs angled with a perfect view of the TVs hanging from the ceiling.

The menu looked promising and we had a hard time deciding on our choices.

The table shared an appetizer of Maytag Blue cheese potato chips (a.k.a. Yuppie Nachos). The chips were mostly undercooked leaving them greasy and limp. The Blue Cheese topping was good, but Maytag my ass.

I went with the jambalaya……what was I thinking? The concept sucked, but the execution was not bad. The individual items were perfectly cooked, the pieces of pork were tender, the fish chunks and scallops just barely cooked through and the shrimp were moist and succulent. The meat and seafood was set on a bed of linguine (instead of rice) in a thin and tasteless broth. Try eating linguine sitting in soup……any attempt would result in me splattering anyone sitting within a three table radius. I had originally asked to substitute rice for the linguine, but the waiter said they do not do that.

Another person ordered the baby-back ribs. Overcooked to the point that any attempt to pick them up left you holding a perfectly clean bone and the meat still sitting on the plate. The side dish of baked potato salad was great.

The grilled pork loin looked like the best entrée on the table. Never got a chance to sample it.

The waiter seemed to switch between indifference to just plain annoyed to have to wait on us.

At this point we were all underwhelmed and decided to pass on dessert. We adjourned to the bar, found several of the large and extremely comfortable Adirondack chairs and watched the end of the Friends finale.

Overall a mixed experience and the cost for three was a modest $120. I will probably try Jasper’s again and be a little more selective when ordering.

[Richard Kilgore]

Thanks for the report, David, but how disappointing.

[Scott -- DFW]

I've only been to Jasper's once, shortly after their opening last year. I, too, was disappointed. And I've heard similar reports from others I trust. With the talent they have, you'd think they could do much better.

Then again, I haven't seen much progress at Abacus in the past year and a half or so. Shortly after the DMN awarded the restaurant five stars, the menu became much more static, service began to slip, quality became more uneven. I haven't had a great meal there in over a year. The only improvement I've noticed was bringing in Rick Griggs as pastry chef. Though I haven't had any great desserts there in my past couple of visits, on the whole he has done very good work there. I'd really like to see Rathbun get hot and start pushing Abacus forward again.

Scott

[Raynickben]

I am surprised by the lukewarm review. I've eaten at Jasper's twice for dinner. The first time there was eight of us. We had a wide variety of salads and entrees and not one of us had a complaint. I had the pork tenderloin and I thought I made a great tenderloin...but wow, Jasper's was fantastic! The second time there was just two of us. I had prime rib and I found it to be very good but I was wishing I had ordered the pork again. My husband, who is so damn picky sometimes, really enjoyed his steak. The first visit I had the butterfinger creme brulee and found it too sweet for me but others that had ordered it loved it. I forget what I had for dessert the second time. Probably another martini. I also had the potato chips both times and I don't care if it's Maytag or not I'm having that for my last meal if I'm ever sent to prison. I liked them that much.

Both times we had great service. Rathburn visited our table and others during my second dinner.

I'm going to Jaspers this week for lunch so I'll post about that afterwards. By the way, I can be a harsh critic of restaurants so I can appreciate when others offer a dissenting opinion on a joint but put me in the "fan of Jasper's" column.

[Raynickben]

Just had lunch at Jasper's. Still a fan.

[ExtraMSG]

I'd be interested in hearing more details, Raynickben. You say whether you like it, but not so much why or what.

btw, NewYorkTexan, it probably was Maytag. imo, Maytag is mediocre blue cheese at best. In the world of blues, it's probably kind of bad, but even by domestic blue standards, comparing it to California's Point Reyes or Oregon's Crater Lake Blue, it's also pretty mediocre. I think it comes off tinny or chemically in the aftertaste without much of an interesting flavor.

[Raynickben]

I'd be interested in hearing more details, Raynickben.  You say whether you like it, but not so much why or what.

I thought my first post was pretty clear as to what I liked about Jasper's. But to help you get a picture of what Jasper's is like:

Cuisine: Fife

Atmosphere: Bluehour

Drinks: Paley's

Service: Uhhh...never had good service in Portland

[Richard Kilgore]

Raynicken -- so what did you have for lunch?

[Raynickben]

I had the Gouda and Smoked Ham sandwhich and the Jasper's Greens salad.

Menu and website: Jasper's

[Kevin72]

Went here Saturday and I'll add my voice to those of the disappointed.

We were seated by the roaring, cozy fireplace so apropos of Dallas in July. When we asked about turning it down or off, our server and the manager (who did come over directly to talk to us about it) said it wasn't possible. They did offer to move us to another table, though.

My wife had to order wine three times because they were out of the first two, even though the second bottle was recommended by our server. Other than that, though, our waiter was good. But the guy running the reservations desk up front was gruff. And next to where we sat, a party of six got up (all at once mind you), went to the restroom, leaving their to-go bags on the table. The table was quickly cleaned and turned over when the original party returned and one of them got huffy. Dessert was on its way, so really, it was a pretty bad mistake on service's part. But honestly, why would everyone at a table of six (parents, grandparents, son and daughter) suddenly get up and go to the restroom at once and be gone for ten minutes and not at least leave one person behind to hold down the fort and watch the food?

Fruit flies were a constant at our tables and we could see other guests swatting at them. We left them a decent tip though.

As with NewYorkTexan, our maytag chips were greasy and cold. But I still ate much more than I should have in my starved state. We also ordered the calamari app, and while they were good, they came with a dipping sauce that was puddled at the bottom of the serving dish first, then the calamari put over it. As opposed to putting it in a separate dish so you could, you know, dip them in the sauce.

I ordered a grilled amberjack with portabella mashers. Some of the amberjack was dry and overcooked, and the potatoes were gaggingly salty. In fact, a coworker warned me when I told her we were going here that they way overseasoned their food, and I can't believe this hasn't been fixed yet. My wife had the peach-glazed pork tenderloin and everything about it was good except that the sauce was very obviously (to me at least) a gussied-up bottled sauce, like maybe Heinz 57.

Blah. I really like that little shopping center so it's a pity one of their anchor restaurants is so subpar. And yet it was packed!

[theabroma]

 

I went with the jambalaya……what was I thinking?

The concept sucked, but the execution was not bad. The individual items were perfectly cooked, the pieces of pork were tender, the fish chunks and scallops just barely cooked through and the shrimp were moist and succulent.  The meat and seafood was set on a bed of linguine (instead of rice) in a thin and tasteless broth.   Try eating linguine sitting in soup……any attempt would result in me splattering anyone sitting within a three table radius.    I had originally asked to substitute rice for the linguine, but the waiter said they do not do that.

What were you thinking??!! Guess that depends ... was it described on the menu? And if so, how? I am most surprised that no one has rung a major warning bell over what they're calling jambalaya. I mean, your description sounds like it could have been a tasty dish, but it was not well prepared ... by a long shot. But it also strikes me that it bears about as much resemblence to jambalaya as wichetty grubs served over bangers and mash!!! Or, did I miss something in the discussion or description???? If so, hit me over the head with it!!!!

Regards,

Theabroma

Edited July 23, 2005 by theabroma (log)

[joiei]

 

I went with the jambalaya……what was I thinking?

The concept sucked, but the execution was not bad. The individual items were perfectly cooked, the pieces of pork were tender, the fish chunks and scallops just barely cooked through and the shrimp were moist and succulent.  The meat and seafood was set on a bed of linguine (instead of rice) in a thin and tasteless broth.   Try eating linguine sitting in soup……any attempt would result in me splattering anyone sitting within a three table radius.    I had originally asked to substitute rice for the linguine, but the waiter said they do not do that.

What were you thinking??!! Guess that depends ... was it described on the menu? And if so, how? I am most surprised that no one has rung a major warning bell over what they're calling jambalaya. I mean, your description sounds like it could have been a tasty dish, but it was not well prepared ... by a long shot. But it also strikes me that it bears about as much resemblence to jambalaya as wichetty grubs served over bangers and mash!!! Or, did I miss something in the discussion or description???? If so, hit me over the head with it!!!!

Regards,

Theabroma

←

Just goes to prove the point that not all fusions work. And to me, if it ain't got rice, it ain't jambalaya. Everything else in the dish is substitutable but not the rice. Oh well. I guess I am just a stick in the mud.

[Kevin72]

  What were you thinking??!!  Guess that depends ... was it described on the menu?  And if so, how?  I am most surprised that no one has rung a major warning bell over what they're calling jambalaya.  I mean, your description sounds like it could have been a tasty dish, but it was not well prepared ... by a long shot.  But it also strikes me that it bears about as much resemblence to jambalaya as wichetty grubs served over bangers and mash!!!  Or, did I miss something in the discussion or description????  If so, hit me over the head with it!!!!

←

It's "jambalaya" (in quotes) on the menu, so you know something's up. Our waiter also took pains to set it apart from the traditional dish when he described it. It's been tinkered with since NYTexan went, or was a little different when we saw it . . . fetuccine now, and it had a Tabasco redux sauce. I was a little intrigued myself, but seeing as how badly they botched the seasoning for my entree, I shudder to think what I would've wound up with . . .

Edited July 24, 2005 by Kevin72 (log)

[theabroma]

You know, this all kinda breaks my heart 'cause I know and used to work with the chef de cuisine. He is really an odd pairing: a wonderful chef and a wonderful person ... and these things don't really sound like him. I need to go back there to see if he's still in the kitchen and what's up. It all souinds just too forced and too weird.

Theabroma

[Kevin72]

Maybe they're hampered by the concept? I think the mains have to be grilled or rotisseried.