Twenty-eight seat Jack's Luxury Oyster Bar has been open just a few short months, but already it's received enviable press, including an outstanding review and two stars from dining critic William Grimes of The New York Times, who called it "one of the most distinctive restaurants to come along in years." At the helm of this small but ambitious carriage house restaurant on East 5th Street is ICE grad Allison Vines-Rushing, a veteran of such top restaurants as Brennan's, Picholine and, most recently, Alain Ducasse.

Born in Louisiana and raised in Florida, Vines grew up in a family indifferent to food and dining. A vegetarian in her student days, she began cooking "just to get something decent to eat," but ended up with a passion and plans for a career. After graduating form Florida State at Tallahassee with a BA in Biology, she moved to New York to attend ICE and then returned south to explore her southern roots and extern at New Orleans' venerable Brennan's. She moved on to Gerrard's Downtown, then headed back to New York in 2001, taking a garde-manger position and later becoming grill cook at Picholine, and then landing a job at four-star Alain Ducasse in 2002.

In 2003, with her wedding to Slade Rushing (executive chef of Fleur de Sel restaurant) on the horizon, she gave her resume to Jack Lamb who, along with wife Caroline Lamb, owned top-rated sushi spot Jewel Backo. The couple were about to open a new raw-bar restaurant, and Lamb saw Vines' combination of southern experience and top New York credentials a perfect fit for the new venture.

Drawing on her experiences in both New Orleans and New York, Vines' menu at Jack's combines Southern and classical French influences in a raw-bar setting. "It's a perfect fit for me, really manageable for a first-time chef, and gives me a chance to get inspiration from back home," says Vines. "It's happened very fast, but it's been great."

January, 2004