New Dallas restaurant Rathbun’s Blue Plate Kitchen whets appetite of local media

xdavidwattsx says:

I'm definitely wanting to try this place but damn, the lines are gonna be ridic for the first few months.

jtmbls says:

Alright, what gives with the backgrounds? At first I thought it was the latest comment that was highlighted but now I see that is not the case. Is it the smartest comment? The sexiest avitar? Splain please.

jtmbls says:

Ok - It must be sexiest avitar cause it just moved from Alex to me! :b

jtmbls says:

Fancy! Thank you Jeremy.

So…before Collin was so rudely interrupted…Should he not even try?

CitizenKane says:

Is this the place that use to be Carrabas's before it was Zea's before it became Blueplate?

What it was before Carraba's is too much for my failing memory.

Rumor has it that GW has the corner table.

luniz says:

TG you're going to stop getting invited if you don't up your gush quotient.

Any favorites of what you tried? Crab gratin sounds moderately interesting at least.

dbjh378 says:

I attended the mock dinner at Blue Plate last night as well and must elaborate more on the food then this "review" did. For all those who haven't (or have) tried one of Kent's creations at Abacus or Jasper's, please visit Blue Plate because you will not be disappointed with anything on the menu. Please please PLEASE begin your meal with the Texas Gulf Blue Crab Gratin. Texture wise think of a spinich-artichoke dip spread onto grilled sourdough bread. From all I spoke with, this is the signature starter of the restaurant and doesn't disappoint what so ever. For my entree I must recommend the Dr. Pepper mopped chicken, the Pan Seared Scottish Salmon, and the Crispy Mustard Crusted Catfish. The chicken, which you can cut with a fork, is accompanied by a completely orginal BBQ sauce that I've never tasted before and will be going back for multiple times I assure you. The Salmon was cooked to perfection and was full of flavor while the Catfish was so light and fluffy that you could only feel the weight of the fork once you picked up a piece. For dessert I recommend the Dried Cherry-Fudge Brownie. I'm not a huge fan of fruit with my chocolate but my God this dessert (served with a much needed glass of milk) made me change my mind on keeping fruit and chocolate seperate. You cannot beat Blue Plate's incredible pricing, atmosphere, and most importantly, food which was created by a nationally acclaimed Chef who has a customer for life in me. Please give Rathbun's Blue Plate Kitchen a try..you will not be disappointed. To Ms. Gubbin's, I would have liked to have seen a bit more description of the food as opposed to stuff like Kent's accident and the fact that the media got a free dinner. I like the positive review, I just feel that the food needs to take priority over the show when writing a restaurant/food review column. Just my two cents.

Scott says:

I wonder what dbjh378 means by "incredible pricing." If one were to order the cheapest appetizer ($7 soup of the day), the cheapest entree ($15 fried catfish), and the cheapest dessert ($7, various options), it would run $29 (without drinks, tax, or tip). And it's not clear from the menu whether sides are included with entrees or have to be ordered ala carte. If the latter, the average side item is $7, pushing you up to $36 (if you stick with one side item).

With tax, tip, and drinks, plus maintaining the flexibility of ordering something other than the cheapest items on the menu, it seems like the per person average is going to be somewhere between $50 and $60. The food may be good, but it isn't cheap.

dbjh378 says:

Actually I was the slightly balding gentleman wearing ass-less chaps and a ball gag. You had the blue hair and facial features of Edna 'E' Mode correct? I'm confused though on why a restaurant would invite the media type to their establishment and expect to be reviewed on only certain aspects of the place. The point of inviting friends, family, and media is to get those reviews and understand what works, what doesn't work, what is good, what sucks, and what needs to be fixed before they open to the public and get sandbagged with complaints about those problems. They are expecting you and I to tell them these things so they can fix the problem before paying customers come in and rip the restaurant on message boards and blogs. Again...just my two cents.

Babyarm

xdavidwattsx says:

I've been to Abacus and the like. It's a doable price but I'm not sure I'd go so far as to call it incredible.

dbjh378 says:

Scott: This place is not Applebee's, Chili's or your typical restaurant. If you were to visit Kent's other restaurant's Abacus and Jasper's then you would happily shell out the $50 per person. Keep in mind you are paying for the best ingredients you can possibly get at any restaurant in the metroplex. You are also getting top notch, A+ quality service from the wait staff. Each time I got up and returned to my seat, my napkin was re-folded and placed on my chair. My water glass was never even half way empty and new silverware was brought out with each new course. I never said this place was cheap, but comparing it with Kent's other restaurants it is. If you can find a chef who owns a restaurant, has cheaper prices, and has beaten an Iron Chef on national TV then please let me know.

jtmbls says:

:::Each time I got up and returned to my seat, my napkin was re-folded and placed on my chair.

Maybe that was just their polite way of saying please cover your ass.

CitizenKane says:

Haven't we had this whole "moppped" chicken thang before in Dallas?

"Please please PLEASE begin your meal with the Texas Gulf Blue Crab Gratin.." Nothing special about this dish except the fat content.

I don't get all this gooing and gaggaing over a celebrity chef restuarant...is it because it uses the fashionable chic word "blueplate" in the name?

And

Some people are ridicoulas food slaves.

jtmbls says:

It was the ball gag that gave it away, wasn't it?

luniz says:

I'm pretty sure Scott's been to Rathburn's other places. Just because the prices here are lower than those two, doesn't mean they're completely justified. It may not be Applesuck's but is the food going to be 3 times better on an average night when nobody is folding my napkin for me? Is it 2.5 times better what I'd get at Kelly's Eastside?

Any TG is right, you don't do a thorough review of the food for a media event as if that's what customers on a given night are going to get. It is nice to hear a little bit about the food though. I do kinda wonder about the waffles (pecan waffles are the reason to go to waffle house), but I'm not surprised you didn't like them...doesn't seem like something that's up your alley (not having tasted them at RBPK myself)

dbjh378 says:

I actually hate the name Blue Plate but hey, I don't own the place. Whatever floats his boat. And I agree with you on the waffles TG...something about them just didn't seem right. Couldn't quite put my bare ass on it. Yes the price is justified and yes the food is going to be 3 times better. Enjoy waiting 10 mins for that Diet Coke refill.

Scott says:

I've been to Rathbun's other restaurants, dbjh378. Unless you work there (and judging from your alternating promotional and defensive tone, perhaps you do), I'd wager I've been to Abacus more times than you have over the years. (I've been to Jasper's fewer times just because, frankly, it hasn't been that good. I'd rather pay more and have better odds of a good meal at Abacus.) I like Abacus. I respect Rathbun's talents as a chef and restaurateur.

With that said, no, I don't consider the pricing to be "incredible." Is it reasonable given the quality? Maybe, maybe not. But it's not cheap.

Regarding Iron Chef, did I miss the episode in which Roger Kaplan beat Masaharu Morimoto in the Catfish Battle? Because Roger Kaplan is the name appearing on the menu as "Chef" of Rathbun's Blue Plate Kitchen--the same Kaplan associated with the ZEA Woodfire Grill that preceded Rathbun's Blue Plate Kitchen in that location.

dbjh378 says:

Congrats on taking 3 hours to do your research Scott...I applaude you. No I do not work for anything Kent associated I just know good food when I taste it and in my personal opinion I think it merits the price. And once again...I never said it was cheap. Oh and thank you for scoreboarding me on being to Abacus more times than I. The fine people at Chicken Express knew me by name during my college years so beat that.

jtmbls says:

Alright dbj fess up! Seriously, who are you bangin, hon? You don't fool me ;-)

I also applaud you Scott but only because I love, love, love lobster shooters and Abacus is currently not in my budget. Just fyi...

Still applauding...

Billusa99 says:

Nice comments and comeback, Scott.

It's always nice to see a shill, gushingly touting a restaurant, and slamming others back, on their first-ever Peg posts, put in their place. Kinda like dbjh378 just was.

We'll have to give it a try, TG ...and good report for what it was supposed to report: a media event!!!

adkim says:

i hate oxymorons for restaurant names...

form wikipedia:

Blue-plate special or blue plate special is a term used in the United States by restaurants, particularly (but not only) diners and cafes. It refers to a specially-low-priced meal, usually changing daily. It typically consists of a "meat and three" (three vegetables), presented on a single plate, often a divided plate (rather than more elegantly on separate dishes). The term was very common from the 1920s through the 1950s. As of 2007[update] there are still a few restaurants and diners that offer blue-plate specials under that name, sometimes on blue plates, but it is a vanishing tradition. The phrase itself, however, is still a common American colloquial expression.