Within months of its opening, Abacus began to be recognized as a pinnacle of fine dining and has received numerous accolades including:

• Mobil Four-Stars
• AAA Four Diamonds
• Five Stars from the Dallas Morning New
• Bon Appetit's Best of the Year 2001 issue which named Abacus' Chef's tasting menu a "Top Pick;"
• "Best Chef" by D Magazine
• "One of the Top Meals Around the World" by USA Today

The Induction Into Nation’s Restaurant News Fine Dining Hall of Fame was, however, the pinnacle to Kent. Abacus was a success and continues to delight the Dallas area, but Chef Kent Rathbun still had more to give and by listening o the old adage of building on success, Kent started planning his next venture.

Kent wanted to create a more casual concept coming up with Jaspers which Is a gourmet backyard cuisine concept. Jaspers offers a home cooking style with the best of the Americas regional cuisine.

From the start it was a hit, being named one of Esquires top 20 new restaurants In the country. This started the ball rolling. After the opening of its first location in Plano, TX, Jasper’s recognition helped kick-start Rathbun’s idea of expanding to additional locations in The Woodlands, TX and Austin, TX..

As if all of this wasn’t enough, we sat down with Kent at the newly opened third restaurant concept. the Blue Plate Kitchen. Drawing influences from family recipes while focusing on the “roots” of cooking, Kent uses the freshest ingredients from regional purveyors to create an eclectic yet comforting menu of rustic home-cooked favorites with a touch of elegance. This new Mecca of casual, affordable cuisine has already generated plenty of positive buzz, securing its place in Chef Rathbun’s family of highly acclaimed restaurants.

See Chef Rathbun Recipe