A new Italian steakhouse has opened in Old Town Burleson where filets are seared tableside on heated lava rocks, and the kitchen is led by a chef who once beat Bobby Flay on national television. On the Rocks Italian Bistro is now serving reservation-only dinners at 135 W. Ellison St., with meals starting at $21 and a steak-and-lobster plate running $100.
The restaurant’s culinary director is Kent Rathbun, who won an episode of Food Network’s Iron Chef America against Bobby Flay, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Rathbun teamed up with his brother, chef Kevin Rathbun, to win the elk-themed, secret-ingredient battle when it aired in February 2008, according to his Wikipedia profile. Rathbun also founded Abacus, the Dallas fine-dining restaurant that opened in Knox-Henderson in 1999 and earned Four-Star ratings before closing permanently in May 2019 after 20 years, per CultureMap Dallas. Abacus was later inducted into Nation’s Restaurant News’ Fine Dining Hall of Fame, the Star-Telegram reports.
Rathbun’s resume extends well beyond the restaurant world. He earned four James Beard Foundation nominations for Best Chef: Southwest between 1999 and 2004, according to his own website, and he served as a featured chef for President George W. Bush’s 2001 Inaugural Ball, also catering events for figures including Queen Elizabeth II, per the same source.
A 40-Year Track Record Behind the New Menu
On the Rocks is owned by Jason Benouared and the owners of La Bistro, the Hurst restaurant Benouared took over roughly a decade ago. La Bistro itself opened in 1984, and it was there that Benouared first tested tableside cooking on hot lava rock, adding a filet prepared that way to the menu before bringing the concept to Burleson, the report notes. Benouared made the deal for the empty former Razzoo’s storefront within three hours of seeing the space, according to the Star-Telegram…