Jasper’s Plano 10/31/2009
This is going to be a quick review, since it has been way too long (four weeks) since we ate there.
Location: The Shop’s at Legacy is a nice little open air mall that provides plenty of free garage parking if you are willing to walk a block instead of valeting, but there really wasn’t much of casual interest there. The wine bar Cru nearby, and I would like to stop in for wine and a appetizers, but we weren’t that early, and we aren’t really big enough eaters to pull that off. The area is nice, but rather boring.
Atmosphere: The restaurant was nicely decorated, and the patrons well dressed. The lighting was low, steak house style, but the building had floor to ceiling glass windows, and the walls were dark but not wood paneled. Probably a little on the trendy side.
Service: The service was great. Our waiter was not stuffy or pretentious nor overly friendly. He had been with the restaurant for quite a while and had worked previously as a sommelier, so he was very familiar with the menu and the wine list. Since it was our first time, and we passed on appetizers, he brought us a their signature appetizer to try, small order of bleu cheese potato chips, which I devoured. They were very good, and I hate potato chips. His wine recommendations were intelligent. I asked about a glass of interesting wine on the menu (Atlas Peak, non vintage cab blend), and told him I usually drink Pinot Noir, but I had tried everything on their menu except the Pinot they were out of and wanted to try something new (by the glass menu, not their full wine list). He said I might like the Atlas Peak, but it was a very non standard Cab, and also recommended something else Pinot like. I told him I would take the Atlas.
Our server returned with our wine, with two glasses for me. I got to sample both the Atlas and the recommended. He was spot on with his recommendation, on the dry side with lots of mineral which was very similar to a lot of Pinot I have had recently. The Atlas had a very soft mouth feel, with a lot of red fruit flavor without being fruity or sweet. I went with the Atlas.
Food: We shared the small potato chips, which were very good, and might have been the best thing I ate that night. I enjoyed the Jasper’s Greens salad, which was mixed greens, candied pecans and blue cheese. The vinaigrette was a very light lemon, whose tartness just offset the sweetness of the pecans and the tang of the cheese. I enjoy bold flavors, but someone else might have found the bleu cheese dominating in the salad.
For my main course, I asked the server between the Rotisserie Roasted Prime Rib and the Hickory Grilled Flat Iron Steak. He hands down recommended the prime rib, which has won awards. The prime rib was good, but I was not over welled. There was a good 2-3 inches of smoke ring around the prime rib, but that only accounts for about 25% of the meat. After that, it was just plain prime rib. Good, but I have had just as good prime rib that has not won any awards.
Sadly, no dessert for me. This is typical, since the portion size at a restaurant is usually larger than the largest portion I would prepare at home. I am considering resolving this by ordering appetizers, salads and dessert, since so often the creativity of a restaurant lies there. Well, the salads aren’t creative, they just make me feel less gluttonous.
Overall: I enjoyed Jasper’s and would be happy to take people there.