After a
long time I finally scrounged around for some money in all of the couch
cushions and car cup holders and decided to grab a bite at a restaurant I had
never tried. The lucky winner was Nick & Sam’s off of Maple Avenue in
Dallas. I was meeting friends there for a small celebration of potential life
but that does not apply to this review.
Nick
& Sam’s is your typical Uptown restaurant, its hip, its modern, it pays
homage to the classics, and it requires you to valet park. Congratulations and
thank you to the Nick & Sam’s valet team, it is not often you get to drive
a 2007 Honda Civic with a missing wheel cover and 3 inches of dirt on it but
you did well and took great care of her! Upon entering Nick & Sam’s I was
quickly confused by the sight, to my left there appeared to be a cocktail area but
it was hard to tell with everyone standing in masses with glasses in their
hands. I quickly confirmed that it was a wine bar and behind that where I met
my party was the bar and what must have been the cocktail area.
We
stood there between the two rooms trapped in what Limbo must be like; to our
left was a dark but cool colored room that was overly crowded but very active,
much like I imagine hell. Left of us, was a warm and open waiting area with
community tables that were basically standing room only and wine selections
covering the walls. I imagine this is what it would be like to get into heaven,
waiting for Saint Peter to call your name while you admire the offerings but
cannot touch. Also there were busty women in cocktail dresses moving back and
forth between the rooms but let’s be honest, both heaven and hell will have its
fair share of breasts.
After a
twenty minute wait we were lead back into another dining room, one that was
very large with lovely arched ceilings and beautiful crisp lighting. It looked
into the kitchen where all of the magic happens and I must say this truly did
give one the feeling of heaven on earth, but much like any euphoric feeling of
bliss it quickly passed as I flew to close to the sun and landed in the back
dining room that resembled a modern take on a New York steak house; Warm woods,
its own private bar and plenty of interesting art on the walls. I should
mention this; all of the art in Nick & Sam’s is created by independent artists
and if I remember correctly, for sale. This room reminded me of everything I
ever wanted in my own bar back when I was bright eyed, bushy tailed, and 21.
Behind
us was the entrance to another private dining room with a long community table
that was styled very much like our own. After settling in our server came to
the table, I am uncertain what his name is now but he could very well be the
son of Thomas F. Wilson, you know, Biff from Back to the Future, but only more
lanky. He greeted us and gave us the typical script that every 5 star
restaurant gives you, especially when they are about to impregnate you with their
food child for the first time.
Okay
enough about the décor and atmosphere, let’s talk about the food. They started
us off with a complimentary plate of caviar with onions, chives, some whipped
egg whites, and some other stuff on the side. I personally had never tried
caviar because I missed that day in culinary school and was easily convinced
that now was the time because it is not often that someone lays down a plate of
fish roe in front of you for free. I waited for two of my companions to try it
first, the one to my left swallowed and stated that caviar has been over hyped
and he was not impressed. His younger brother to my right explained how he was
in fact, wrong, and that it was very delicious. I scooped a bit onto a toast
point and tossed it back in order to be tie settler and was very surprised, I
mean who pays that kind of money to eat what taste like dirt from the bottom of
a lake? There is nothing appetizing or appealing to caviar, it is simply a
status symbol of food and a waste of time and chewing muscles! From there, I
opened the menu to decide what to have and was quickly lost in the wine list,
not because it was first in the menu but because I had managed to miss the food
entirely and end up in the cabernets. While scanning the wine list I noticed
that they did not offer a 2015 Franzia or Barefoot cabernet from Sonoma County
so I decided to settle for a Zinfandel but still could not manage to find one I
was familiar with. We decided to settle for something else.
Moving
on, my three companions ordered salads while I had a Jim Beam and Coke along
with a glass of Malbec that had come from the bottle we ordered for the table.
I must say that Las Perdices 2013 Malbec is really opened up in flavor when
paired with Jim Beam; it releases the earthy tones more and makes it a much
smoother taste than the Malbec normally has. The salads came out and I was taken
aback, for the cost I would expect to not have to cut my own Caesar salad! I
will admit that the mozzarella and beefsteak tomatoes with basil, or as most
would call it Caprese salad, did come out looking like art on a plate. It was
vibrant and had depth and looked very appetizing.
After
or salads, and alcohol, Biff returned to the table to explain the steak cuts to
us using a large ceramic tray displaying each cut in its raw form. The tomahawk cut looked amazing but how would I
manage to get that bone home for my canine companion without wrapping it up in
a napkin and sticking it in my back pocket. I decided to go with an off menu
cut that Biff said was a Kentucky style although it tasted much more like
Kansas to me. The cut was thick and had a great marbling of fat on the edges
which is something you like to see when you are spending more on one meal than
you do on a week of groceries. When the steak came out I was hungry and very
happy to fill my stomach with what had to be five times the daily suggested
amount of protein but I will say this, when you are cooking a steak that thick
it requires so much work to get the internal temperature high enough to make it
safe that you have to obliterate the outside and that is exactly what happened.
The exterior tasted more like crispy ash than it did steak and although the
inside made up for that by being pink and juicy it makes me question why high
end places choose to cut so thick and fail to season. I would have happily
devoured a steak half the thickness with a more even cook and plenty of flavors
for a fraction of the price less but this wasn’t Outback.
The
sides were phenomenal, the sautéed broccoli was perfectly cooked, the garlic
mashed potatoes were smooth and creamy, although lacking in garlic, the mac was
warm and flavorful, but the “Damn Good” fries are being over sold. I will say
it again, do not trust the “Damn Good” part of the fries because they are
simply fries, warm and crispy, made in house, fries. There is nothing that
makes them great let alone damn good, the proper name should be mediocre fries
or maybe even, “Just Fries.”
After
splitting the check three ways and tipping, you should always tip, we made our
way out when a flashing puff of cotton candy caught my eye. I don’t even want
to know why they serve edible storm clouds but the idea seems cool. My party
stepped out of the doors and waited for out vehicles and I quickly thought to
myself just how nice the night was even though it was outside of my standard
price range and it’s steaks and sides could easily be replicated at home for a
fraction of the price. I reminded myself that we don’t go out just for the
food, but for the memories and experience and that Nick & Sam’s was just
that, a place to have an experience and make some memories. As my car pulled up
I was also reminded of the ten I found in the couch cushion and handed it to
the valet before hopping back into my filthy Civic and driving off down Maple
Avenue with my axel screeching and an empty pocket reminding me that it would
probably be another year before Yelp ever saw another review from me…
To summarize,
Nick & Sam’s is a modern take on the old school New York steak house with
the typical high prices you pay when going out to experience the atmosphere and
satiate your appetite. I would suggest going if you can afford such places and/or
are celebrating a big occasion like an engagement. If you think that Red
Lobster is fancy then this is not the place for you, but don’t let that deter
you from trying it. I would give Nick and Sam’s an overall 4 stars because it
is an interesting place that caters to the upper class of the Dallas/Fort Worth
metroplex.
