Jasper’s

Market Street in The Woodlands has a handful of great restaurants with a variety of foods to choose from. Jasper’s stands out as having the most upscale & appealing décor.

The modern contemporary design offers a relaxing feel, though still maintaining the fine dining vibe. The outdoor covered patio is incredibly inviting, more so than any other restaurant in The Woodlands.

Owner & Chef Kent Rathbun is a successful restauranteur who has been nominated as the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef/Southwest four times.

Couches and tables are surrounded by beautiful stone columns, with an enclosed fire burning beneath a flat screen television… Perfect for watching the Jets, um, the Texans play football on Sundays.

Jasper’s offers the best of both worlds. Sit in the bar or dining room, upstairs or down, and the lighting is extremely low during lunch & dinner. For those that enjoy the sunshine, well, step outside…

While dining at Jasper’s throughout the summer, my absolute favorite entrée is the Prosciutto Wrapped Shrimp ‘n’ Grits, with lemon-thyme butter sauce. I always ask for… no prosciutto.

It is refreshing how flexible the kitchen is when substitutions are requested. They have no problem working with different likes & dislikes from their guests. Some chefs growl at the very thought of changing an entrée, while Jasper’s welcomes it.

Jasper’s has an excellent Happy Hour offered Monday – Saturday until 7:00 p.m, and all day Sunday. The “Edibles” menu consists of seven items which cost $5 each.

One item offered is the Smoked Sausage Mozzarella Pizza with grilled sausage & smoked marinara. I requested to sub an explosion of veggies to replace the … sausage.

Jasper’s will also serve a cheese pizza for $5 as well. It’s not nearly as exciting as the veggie pizza.

While ordering from the Happy Hour menu, I eyed the Buffalo Style Rock Shrimp, served with pickled red onion & Maytag blue cheese… if it could be sautéed.

While waiting for my appetizer, I met a couple at the bar that are married, but on a “date.” He works out of town five days a week, while she takes care of their three girls. Having such hectic schedules, they make time to reconnect on Sundays at Jasper’s.

They raved about the food at Jasper’s, saying that even the fried food is cooked light, leaving them feeling just fine. After hearing such positive comments about the fried food, I wish I ordered the Buffalo Shrimp fried instead of sautéed.

This past Sunday, I decided to have brunch at Jasper’s. A new bartender greeted me with a Happy Hour, brunch, and dinner menu. The regular lunch menu is combined with the brunch menu.

Right away, the Yellow-Fin Tuna Burger with tempura green beans & wasabi mayo was my first choice. Being in the mood for Redfish, I was excited to see this offered in the sandwich section of the menu.

The Cajun Grilled Redfish Sandwich is served with caper remoulade & spicy French fries. Not being big into fries, the bartender suggested ordering the Jasper’s Green Salad, which is served with pecans & Maytag blue cheese.

Due to lots of bread & scary dryness, I decided to use the always handy “Put your fish on top of your salad” trick. Happiness occurred within seconds.

Included in the entrée section of the brunch menu is Pecan Crusted Rainbow Trout served with purple sweet potato whippers & bourbon butter. Another appealing entrée is the Pan Seared Salmon served with grilled asparagus & creamy mascarpone polenta.

The dessert menu’s title is “Jasper’s Minis.” For $15, you have a choice of three desserts. This is outstanding! I went with the three recommendations from the bartender.

This is beyond the highest level of dessert excitement possible… Apple Pie Bread Pudding served with caramel brandy sauce & candied pecans… topped with vanilla ice cream.

PHENOMENAL.

The Vanilla “Dessert Toast” is served a la mode with candied pecans & bananas…. A French toast miracle beyond words! Jasper’s is not playing dessert games with anyone. Do yourself the favor of a lifetime and order it all.

The Rocky Road Ice Cream Sandwich is ridiculous! It is in fact an ice cream sandwich which feels more like a glorified S’more! This dessert is served with chocolate, caramel, and gooey marshmallow crème. Help.

Jasper’s also offers Cherry Limeade Pie with Swiss meringue, Molten Chocolate Cake with vanilla crème anglaise, and Butterfinger Crème Brulee.

The NY Jets… heart… were playing the Texans on Sunday during brunch. The celebration for Texas came a moment too soon…With only 10 seconds left, Jets receiver, Santonio Holmes, made a touchdown for the win!

All of the sudden, appearing from the kitchen wearing a white chef jacket… Sous Chef Erik Smith.

Not only is Sous Chef Erik a New York Jets fan, he is dashingly handsome in a … High Fashion Dreamy… kind of way.

As he struck a pose at the bar, he gazed at the flat screen tv… showing his approval of the Jets exhibition of true talent.

He slowly made his way towards me…

Is he lost? Does he have an appointment with someone of great worthiness? Is he taking the long way back to his home away from home… the kitchen?

He stopped beside me & took a seat. What is more exciting than Sous Chef Erik sitting beside me at the bar? Nothing.

We discussed AVH, as well as different items to consider during future visits to Jasper’s. With a variety of options for ordering, along with a flexible kitchen, I can’t imagine anyone being anything but happy while dining at Jasper’s.

FIVE: High 5!
FOUR: Please & Thank You
THREE: Yada
TWO: Double Wow
ONE: Wow + Ouch = Wouch


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6 thoughts on “Jasper’s

  1. I have been to Jasper’s twice and had similar experiences… Minus the desserts. After the photos from the post though, the latter will be changing. Your making a great round of the restaurants, I enjoyed Mockingbird as well (the beet salad and bread pudding were excellent). Have you tried Hubbell and Hudson in the Woodlands? Service can be sketchy, but food is usually good. The bakery puts out some good stuff. I never made it to Gravitas, but was able to make it to Textile in the heights (same management) and the service was just as poor. We ordered tea, but they did not have any brewed. No cokes. They offered one at the table No drinks other than alcohol and water… Strange. They would disappear for 15-20 minutes leaving plates minus utensils. They did have some great desserts though.

  2. Forgot to finish the post, had to come back for the surreal creepiness of it. So he offers one of my sisters a hot chocolate, which she had no interest in. She did not feel like alcohol, but they had nothing else. So he pushes the hot chocolate and she relents finally. Around 15 minutes later he comes back and mentions the kitchen staff is not happy that she ordered it, although he is making sure its getting done. After 35 minutes a chocolate something arrived, I would call it hot chocolate, but it was around 85% chocolate and rich. She could only sip on it. If I remember right he took offense that she didn’t down it right away. It’s closed in the last few months, did you ever try it? Strange/creepy would be the way I could describe it.

  3. I can only say that I’m very pleased seeing this article, the description of the restaraunt was spot on and the food is exactly as you described. I’m also very happy because Erik is my brother. I worked at Jaspers from July of 2009 to June of 2010. I’m proud to see my brother getting the recognition he’s worked so hard for.

  4. Sous Chef Erik is fabulous! I’m thankful for the chance to chat with him… Lot’s of talent & dreaminess.

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