My first visit to Rathbun’s Blue Plate Kitchen was during Restaurant Week last year. My husband and I indulged in four courses — I ordered the Texas blue crab gratin, the south of the border Caesar, the hickory grilled 12 oz hanger steak with Parmesan-white truffle steak fries and one of Chef Jenay’s lemon bars. It was all yummy, but the steak was particularly scrumptious. We made a mental note to return for that menu item alone.
While dining, we noticed that the restaurant, true to its name, has a blue plate special on Mondays: a choice of three smoked meats, one side and homemade breads, butter pickles and specialty jams for $11.99 at lunch and $13.99 at dinner. That’s essentially the price you’d pay anywhere for a three-meat barbecue plate, so because we enjoyed our dinner so much, we returned on a Monday night.
It was delicious. I ordered the brisket, pulled pork and chicken, even though I usually stay away from chicken at barbecue restaurants because it always seems so much drier than the other meats. At Rathbun’s, though, I was pleasantly surprised by the chicken and couldn’t get enough of the pork and brisket. The side was an apple cider braised cabbage (coleslaw, essentially, but no mayo and just enough vinegar). Monday nights at Rathbun’s also mean mini Moets for $5. I’m not much of a bubbly drinker, but I reordered the 14 Hands Merlot I had tried the first time — it was just as good with the smoked meats as it was with the steak.
