It's a celebration, bitches!

Jasper’s – The Review

It’s been a while since Team Robertson has spent a ri-GD- diculous amount of money on a fine meal, so celebrating a great friend getting engaged seemed like a good enough excuse. And a celebration it was! The group started off the evening by toasting the newly engaged with a very fine bottle of Moet’s Nectar Imperial, which made all of us dream of being uber-rich and installing champagne rivers that run throughout our homes. Seriously, who wouldn’t want to stick their face in a river of champagne and drink it up?

APPETIZERS
Aps at Jasper’s were an incredibly easy decision…Maytag Blue Cheese Potato Chips ($10), Prosciutto Wrapped Shrimp and Grilled Corn Grits ($16), and Crispy Calamari with Toasted Orange Soy and Cilantro ($14). All of them were spot on.

The chips are drizzled with a Blue Cheese sauce that is unbelievably good…and I don’t even really like Blue Cheese. The one thing I thought they lacked was a little bit of heat…like a Sriracha drizzle would’ve really set it off for my tastes. The Shrimp and Grits were good, but I really think the grits were big winner on that plate. You can wrap a shoe in prosciutto and it will be amazing. But Ahhhh…grits, there in lies a challenge. These grits were definitely the best I’ve ever had. Fluffy and roasted creamy corn goodness…I could eat a pound of them, easy. The Calamari was Linds’ favorite…I thought it good, but nothing I’d rush back to order again. The wide cuts of calamari were great, because it gave you an opportunity to taste the squid, not just the batter…definitely not the Olive Garden rings you grew up on.

ENTREEES:
I opted for the Texas Peach Barbecued Pork Tenderloin with Bourbon Creamed Corn and Scallion Twice-Baked Potato ($26), which was perfect for what I was in the mood for. Pork was tender and full of smoky barbecue flavor, but I have to say that I was hoping for a sweater glaze because of the Peach. The creamed corn was great, though not really that creamy. It was basically kernels of roasted corn that had been soaking in a creamy sauce. It may have not been traditional, but it was still rather tasty. The only loser of the entire night was the dry and boring twice-baked potato. I had about two bites and called it quits on the potato.

Linds rocked the Crispy Seared Sea Scallops with Butternut Squash Wild Rice ($30). Seriously, they were probably the best scallops I’ve ever had. Tender, juicy, and smoky; prepared just perfectly. I really liked the wild rice medley, too. If scallops are your thing, you’ve to get these.

Jasper’s also has a selection of cast iron sides, and you know Team Robertson had to get the Aged Gouda Mac and Cheese ($9). Dude…this stuff is really, really good. Mmmm, creamy melted gouda…mmmmm. 2nd best Mac and Cheese in town…Bread Winners Green Chili Mac is hard to beat in my book.

As for other entrees I tried Brad’s, 16 oz. Delmonico Ribeye ($36) and it was just as you would expect…awesome. Huge chunk of good meat, “grilled” to bloody rare perfection. What else could you want?

DESSERTS
I thought that the dessert menu had a lot of good variety and nothing really looked that ordinary or bad. My dessert choice was made when Mike, our waiter, said his favorite was the Vanilla Dessert Toast ($6), which consisted of slices of Challah dipped in crème brulee custard, then fried up like French toast, and drizzled with a maple syrup reduction. Yes.

Linds got the Butterfinger Crème Brulee ($6), with homemade butterfingers. The dish was as good but suffered by the growing trend of putting crème brulee in a deep dish. It makes for a nice presentation to bring out the crème in cool little espresso cup and saucer, but lets be honest…all anyone really wants in a crème brulee is a ton of crispy caramel with every bite of custard. The little cup left with you no crust after two bites, and a cup of custard. I’d skip this next time.

The real winner on the dessert menu was the Banana Parfait ($6). It has got tons of banana pudding and moist cookies layered up in an ‘ol fashion milk shake glass. (insert “I drink your milkshake! I drink it up!” quote, HERE .). I loved my Dessert Toast, but I would get the parfait the next time.

OVERALL
From the moment you walk into Jasper’s you know you’re going to get a meal that’s off the charts good. It’s got a hip vibe that never came off as pretentious or uppity. The kitchen is wide open and in the middle of restaurant, which is always fun for food nerds like us. The staff was absolutely perfect. Mike was full of suggestions, knew every bottle on the wine list, and wasn’t afraid to say “Ehh, you could do better.” Service like that is few and far between.

And the food…yikes, there’s a lot of good stuff on the menu.

Even though it’s a bit of drive to North…North…Plano, it’s still worth it for the crazy good meal you’re going to get. I really dig the variety of choices and the different way Kent worked in the “back yard grill” flavors into every single entrée. Jasper’s definitely gets an A+ rating from me, and would rank up there with Salum and Pyles for places to go and drop a weeks pay.