This Dallas chef is cooking for Derek Jeter, Rudy Giuliani and the NY culinary crowd in NYC tonight


nick sams sunday supper Nick Sams sunday supper by MIchael Hiller-10 Nick & Sam's Steakhouse Omi, Kobe and Wagyu_-10

UPDATE: Did you know you can watch all the kitchen crimes action LIVE on the JB kitchen webcam? Tune in beginning at 5 p.m. CST tonight.

The first time I met five-time MLB World Series champ Derick Jeter was at dinner at Nick & Sam’s Steakhouse in Dallas. The second and third time, too. It’s also where I’ve bumped into Tony Romo, the singer Bono, former New York city mayor Rudy Giuliani, half the Maverick’s roster, a good chunk of the Dallas Cowboys, and a wheelhouse of NFL owners, sportscasters, Tour golfers and Hollywood celebs. When someone notable visits Dallas, there’s a good chance you’ll see them one night at Nick & Sam’s – usually bear-hugging the steakhouse’s prime beef chef, Samir Dhurandhar.

So it’s no surprise that Samir was invited to cook for the culinary cognoscenti of New York tonight at the venerable James Beard House. Though the Hatch staff isn’t able to get there for dinner tonight, we previewed the menu at a private practice tasting a few weeks ago and wheelbarrowed away mightily impressed.

I’ve nominated Samir Dhurandhar for a James Beard Award as restaurateur of the year, and I’ll do it again. The guy runs one of the most successful and celebrated restaurants in Dallas, and damn can he cook. No one can touch the variety of extravagance of his steakhouse menu, which ranges from impeccable sushi to superprime beef to Deadliest Catch king crab that arrives in 3-foot-long wooden coffins. He unabashedly imports rare cuts of Japanese beef like Ohmi and Hokkaido Snow Beef that run more than $63 an ounce — and sells dozens of pounds of it every week. (Only one other U.S. restaurant sells Hokkaido, btw.)

We told you that Nick & Sam’s is expanding its steakhouse empire to Manhattan —opening a Nick & Sam’s in Rockefeller Center, no less — so that the New Yorker regulars of the Dallas steakhouse won’t have to travel so far.

Tonight, that same crowd gets a preview taste of why the new Rock Center steakhouse will take NY by storm — and show those old school city folk what a real steakhouse is all about.

Here’s what’s on tonight’s sold-out wine dinner menu:

  • Hors d’Oeuvre
    • Crispy Oyster Sliders with Barbecued Beef Bacon and Apple–Fennel Slaw
    • Crabcakes with Tomato Preserves
    • Chicken Liver Crostini with Port Jelly
    • Pappadam with Spiced Eggplant and Gorgonzola
    • CHAMPAGNE ARMAND DE BRIGNAC ACE OF SPADES BRUT GOLD NV
  • Dinner
    • Surf-and-Turf Crudo > Allen Brothers Prime Filet Mignon and Bluefin Toro with Truffles, Caviar, and Fresno Chiles
    • DUNHAM CELLARS LEWIS ESTATE VINEYARD RIESLING 2013
    • Little Gem Lettuce Caesar Salad with Crispy Egg and Bottarga
    • STOLPMAN VINEYARDS SAUVIGNON BLANC 2014
    • Australian Wagyu Short Rib Cannelloni with Parmigiano-Reggiano Fonduta, San Marzano Tomatoes, and Bottarga
    • TABLAS CREEK VINEYARDS CÔTES DE TABLAS 2012
    • Chilean Sea Bass Tikka Masala with Crab Brandade and Mustard Greens
    • BEAUX FRÈRES PINOT NOIR 2013
    • Ohmi Beef Tenderloin with Cipollini, Oxtail Croquettes, and King Crab Oscar
    • AMAPOLA CREEK CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2010
    • Gingersnap Cappuccino with Candied Pecans, Cappuccino Foam, and Chocolate Brûlée
    • GRAHAM’S 10-YEAR-OLD TAWNY PORT NV