Your post is part of what prompted me to post about the mac & cheese. I really wanted to mention it b/c people seemed to be really knocking you for your review but what you had to say is true- Jasper's mac & cheese is not mac & cheese but really a pasta dish. I know the menu explains what it is but IMO it is just terrible no matter what you consider the dish to be. Like I said it is very greasy and mushy. Mac & cheese no matter what it is made of should be creamy and Jasper’s is greasy and clumpy. I’m not trying to tell anyone not to go to Jasper’s, rather, I just want people to know some of the things that I consider to be a miss so that if they do go they can save themselves the trouble of ordering something that really wasn’t very good since Jasper's can be a little on the pricey side.

This place is soooo unimpressive. I’m not sure what all the rave reviews are about b/c Jasper’s is not Dallas/ Plano’s finest. It is at best mediocre. I was there a few days ago for lunch w/ a group and had mixed feelings about this place.

We started our lunch w/ some wine. I didn’t think the wine selection was all that impressive b/c I can pick up Penfold’s or Santa Margherita at my local Super Target. We had the Maytag chips as a starter which is supposed to be one of the must tries at Jasper’s. Hmmmm, a little soggy and very reminiscent of the greasy potato spirals that you can get at the TX State Fair only these are topped w/ blue cheese. I will give Jasper’s points for the blue cheese that they use as it had a very nice flavor to it. This item is definitely meant to be shared as it is very creamy and rich.

I had the “sink” salad which is basically a Greek salad loaded up. This was very tasty. It had a lovely feta vinaigrette and the toppings consisted of feta cheese chunks, pepperchini’s, olives, tomatoes and a couple of pita chips. The tomatoes were actually small grape tomatoes that had been sliced in half and roasted in their oven so that they had a flavor very similar to sundried tomatoes. Lettuce was a mixture of crisp romaine and baby spinach. I really liked this salad but someone else complained that they thought it was “busy.” A couple people at the table ordered the house salad which appeared to be mixed greens, Maytag blue cheese, & candied pecans. There weren’t any complaints so I take it that it was good.

I wanted to go light so I tired the almond crusted rainbow trout. Trout was very tasty but a little too buttery to make for a light meal. Nice presentation. There were three small square fillets stacked upon a mound of cauliflower puree with a very smooth and almost velvety red bell pepper sauce that had been drizzled around the cauliflower puree. I believe they used saved zucchini as the garnish on top of the trout. The ribs are supposed to be another it item but a person at the table tired them and said they were just okay. Tender but the sauce was a little too sweet was the exact comment.

Gouda Mac & Cheese-
This was gross. It sounds good but it was very, very greasy. It seemed like the little mini bowtie pastas were mushy and over cooked. A complete miss in my opinion.

Then we did dessert and I must say this was very disappointing. The server raved and raved about the cherry limeade pie. I’m not sure what is so special about this desert but I found it to be just so- so. First off it is a mini-pie and not a slice. It was topped with Swiss meringue and has graham cracker crust. It was also chilled and the inside is a tangy, sweet/sour cherry topping resting on dense layer of what would best be described as a key lime sherbet. I think people love the fluffy meringue/ chilled combo but the is the same as a Sonic cherry limeade so it’s nothing to be impressed by since it is three time the price.

Here is a + and - breakdown of Jasper's:
+ Zen like atmosphere. Very hip and trendy and very Dallas.
+ Prompt service.
+ Good variety of food items so I think that even the pickest of eaters could find something of interest.

- Waitress had very little knowledge of the menu. We asked serveral questions of which she kind of seemed confused.
- Food can be a hit or miss. For a place of this caliber it should be a hit everytime.

I give it a B-. If I didn't have to pay to dine there I might go again but I would never take someone to Jasper's as I think there are better palces to eat in Dallas.

My BF & I (my first visit) went to Hard 8 last Friday 11/14 and found it to be a good experience over all. This particular night they were having a happy hour special on the brush poppers & ribs- 1/2 off. I believe they do this every Friday until 7pm and it is dine in only.
BF has been to Hard 8 a couple of times and fore warned me about the mediocre sides. Our original plan was to try the turkey sandwich and brush poppers and pick up a side and some beans but when we saw that they were running a special on the ribs we changed our plans. I must say that the ribs were the meatiest(sp?) and tenderest that I have ever had, so good that I didn't eat them with any bbq sauce. Speaking of bbq sauce I wasn’t really impressed with Hard 8’s sauce. The brush poppers were good but at most I could eat three b/c they are a little rich.
Tried the coleslaw and it was okay- nothing to write home about. It was a little on the sweet vinegary side so if you like that then you would probably think it was spectacular. I would probably pass on the coleslaw next time and get the roasted corn or maybe try out the fries. Had the beans and they were a little on the bland side until I discovered the jalapeño which makes a world of difference. If you get a jalapeño from the pot of beans and cut it up and eat it with the beans then the beans taste pretty good. The jalapeño is really spicy so if you don’t do spice I would avoid scooping up a jalapeño with the ladle. For something that is free they are not bad but I’m not sure I would pay for them.
We also tried the peach cobbler and found it to be way too sweet for our liking and a rip off at $3- I think it was over $3 but I can’t remember.
Our whole meal for two cost about $18. We got a pound of brush poppers (only ate 5 and took the rest home) and about ½ pound of ribs+ coleslaw & peach cobbler. Found this to be pretty cheap for bbq.
We are planning on going back again when they have the ½ special for ribs. I am hoping that they just as good as the first time but I have heard other people say that they have had a dry batch and they were terrible. BTW MY BF has had the brisket sandwich and thinks it’s terrible. I get the feeling that they can be inconsistent with the quality of their meats.
Personally, I like Sammy’s near the Fed Reserve building downtown. Too bad they are only open during lunch!