Ever since we moved to the Woodlands half a decade ago, we've frequented Jasper's, the Market Street home of Kent Rathbun's "Upscale Backyard Cuisine". A recent glorious Saturday morning had us craving brunch, so we headed over to Jasper's, and snagged a spot on the shaded patio. We'd not been in a while, and the patio was just as inviting as we had remembered. The picture-perfect spring weather didn't hurt, either.
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We were in the mood for French Toast, and Jasper's Vanilla French Toast sounded superb, complete with Carmelized Honey-Banana Syrup and Applewood Smoked Bacon. So we ordered, and after a slightly longer than expected wait, our plate arrived.
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So this is a brunch entree at Jasper's? One tiny slice of bacon? Two pieces of toast, cut in half, one slightly burned and one undercooked? I suppose the smattering of fresh berries was supposed to make up for the miserly portions. It didn't.
Honestly, this plate makes me wonder about what's going on in the kitchen. We understand that cost control is an important part of designing a menu, but one skimpy half-length slice of bacon? Two pieces of toast? Heck, even IHOP is more generous, and if your upscale brunch falls short in a comparison to IHOP, you have serious problems.
We grudgingly finished our order (the good housemade syrup disguised the burnt flavor of the toast fairly well) but were still quite hungry. So we decided to order something else; in this case, Jasper's Potato-Leek Hashbrowns.
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What arrived were two lightly browned potato discs, with some leek and scallion mixed with the potato. Nice presentation, but it resulted in one crucial problem: Once you get away from the crust, the hash browns aren't brown at all, and in this case they were nearly uncooked and mushy. We left most of them on our plate.
We've been big fans of Jasper's since they opened in the Woodlands, but this brunch confirmed rumors we'd been hearing about the product slipping. Hopefully Chef Rathbun will visit from Dallas and straighten things out at his Woodlands location, especially now that he's got serious competition from Tesars across the street. Tesars' brunch is nothing short of spectacular, miles ahead of Jasper's lukewarm effort.
We make no secret that we think Tesars is one of the best restaurants in the Houston area, and that it stands head and shoulders above its competitors in the Woodlands. But we have to confess a problem: We are so taken with Tesars fantastic burgers that it's tough for us to sample other offerings on the menu. But that changed last Sunday.
We'd heard that Tesars was serving brunch, and we were very curious to see what Executive Chefs Jeramie Robison and Austin Simmons would offer for this popular meal. So we made our reservations (always a good idea) and headed down.
We were seated, and relaxed enjoying the view and their wonderful iced tea. Shortly after, our appetizer appeared.
We're generally not big fans of cool soup, but Chef Robison has put a very interesting twist on the classic Spanish Gazpacho. Centered in the sea of moderately spicy tomato/onion/garlic soup was an island of tangy housemade ceviche - shrimp, fish, several different mild peppers, avocado, and onion. The flavors danced around each other, each being highlighted while still working together to become greater than the sum of their parts. This is a superb Gazpacho, and the one by which we'll be measuring others we sample.
After the refreshing soup, we were ready for more traditional brunch fare. We started south of the border, moving from the Catalan coast to the border towns of Mexico, and delved into the Tesars version of Huevos Rancheros, the staple of the Tex-Mex breakfast.
The presentation was one we'd not seen before. A base consisting of quadrants of of black beans, pico de gallo, roasted pepper salsa, and guacamole (all housemade) was covered by a crispy corn tortilla, and topped with two fried eggs. The combination was a study in balance; the rich, earthy flavor of the beans contrasted beautifully with the sharp, fresh taste of the pico, the slow, smoky heat of the salsa, and the smooth, creamy guacamole. The composition of the dish reflected the kind of care that we've become accustomed to at Tesars; clearly these two young chefs are sweating the details.
Next up was a traditional American breakfast - eggs, breakfast meats, grits, potatoes and toast. On paper, it sounded similar to the full American breakfast that you can get anywhere. But what showed up pretty much sums up what's so special about Tesars:
The artfully composed plate included smoked ham, two different types of smoked link sausage, applewood smoked bacon, perfectly prepared eggs, chopped breakfast potatoes cooked with a melange of peppers, coarse-ground cheese grits, and grainy whole-wheat bread. It was plenty of food for two people, and each component was considerably more interested than we dared expect.
It's as if the chefs at Tesars view every item on the plate as a composer views instruments in a symphony - they must stand alone and yet work together, playing off each other to create a piece that the audience will remember long after the performance. We've enjoyed many American breakfasts, but we can't recall when we've devoured one where we were singularly impressed by each component on the plate. We left very happy and very full, and can't wait to try the brunch here again.