Great Moments at Dan's GrillHampton 2016
Dan’s GrillHampton 2016 was a hit on Friday night, June 22! After an evening full of fabulous food and libations, official tabulator Grassi & Co. crunched the numbers and announced the big winners.
The excellent chefs from Team Hamptons won the day over Team New York’s talented grillers, but a good time was had by all.
Team Hamptons chef Jon Warnock of Grey Lady Montauk brought home the Judge’s Choice Award, while Team New York chef Joe Isidori’s Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer earned the Blue Moon People’s Choice Award (more on that later).
And now for some moments from this evening of food and fun…
Keith E. Davis of Golden Pear fame greeted attendees in a bright pink polo shirt while standing in front of his bright pink Keith’s Nervous Breakdown Margarita Mix bottles. He said, “I’m in the pink tonight!” and offered tastes. Then a couple in swimsuits came out “baring” samples…
Soon-to-be Good Morning America host Michael Strahan stopped by wearing some strikingly red pants. Did he just come from Nantucket?
Sean from Pete Ambrose’s Endless Summer returned to GrillHampton with his Viking warrior helmet. It’s becoming a regular sight at the event.
Rumba and Cowfish chef David Hersh‘s Dominican Ribs weren’t fall-off-the-bone tender, they were “fell-off-the-bone” tender! The serving plates offered up a tender piece of meat next to its bone. The morsel cried out, “C’mon, you know you want me!”
Speaking of “knowing you want it,” New Life Crisis rocked all evening, but their performance of Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” was the turning point. By 8:55 p.m., the crowd was in full dance mode, laughing, smiling and moving with hands held high.
The Peter Yealands wine server was situated very close to the band, and she was dancing all night. Somehow, she also seemed to know the lyrics of every awesome song.
GrillHampton’s host Adam Richman, of Man v. Food fame, generously posed for selfies with fans, including that dancing wine server!
Richman admitted that he expected the Hamptons to be far more “posh” and “luxurious” than it turned out to be. He called our community and GrillHampton “refreshing,” noting that Southampton has an amazing variety of food and shopping, and a certain amount of warmth from the people. “I was so pleasantly surprised at every turn,” Richman said, noting that the town’s maritime roots were evident to him.
Surf ‘n’ Turf on the seashore—Chef Chris Cariello from 1 North Steakhouse served skewers of butter-poached lobster tail and seared filet mignon with grilled asparagus. They were a hit with patrons.
The Jonsar Photo Studio was giving direction and making guests look their hottest in portraits throughout the evening. They’ll be back for Dan’s Taste of Two Forks Saturday night—don’t miss a chance to get your photo.
GrillHampton newbie Shake Shack was in the house! Mark Rosati’s Bacon Cheddar Angus Hamburgers hit all the caveman notes—salt, fat, meat, with the bonus of goo in the form of aged Wisconsin cheddar cheese sauce (clearly the cheese was aged, not the sauce). Lip smackin’, finger-wiping-anywhere-you-can-find-a-surface-good! That was smoked Niman Ranch bacon, of course.
That looked like none other than The New York Times columnist Bruce Buschel behind the Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer table with a bevy of young ladies at his side. Their signs were all punked out—black spray paint on cardboard, most of them read KOBE BEEF! Brianne Flood, the young woman in front of the table in braids and tight T-shirt called out, “Guys! Best burgers in New York!” These Greg Norman, Kobe-style Wagyu beef with delectable house buttermilk-dill bleu cheese dressing and arugula babies made a good case.
Of course, winning the Blue Moon People’s Choice Award at night’s end helped prove that claim.
For a moment it looked like a mirror was in the front of David Burke’s Tavern62 table, but no, it was a pile of pig faces. These were carved up over the course of the evening to produce mildly spiced pulled-pork soft tacos.
Someone put bubbles in Glacéau Smartwater. Awesome! And the Smartwater people provided lanyards to hold the bottles of water around your neck.
The VIP lounge was right on the bay!
The hairdo on the pretty young woman behind the Owl’s Brew table was spectacular!
Learn a new acronym – NLC: New Life Crisis; BMP: Blue Moon Pilsner; CCWASOL: Cold Corona with a Slice of Lime
Planeta’s red wine, La Segreta 2014, had a splendid mouthfeel and it was just right for pairing with loads of red meat.
Now it’s time to prepare for night two of Dan’s Taste of Summer’s biggest weekend. Head back to the beautiful Fairview Farm at Mecox for Dan’s Taste of Two Forks on Saturday, July 23. The eating begins at 6:30 p.m. for VIPs, and 7:30 p.m. for general admission ticket holders.
We’ll see you there!
Visit DansTaste.com for tickets and info for all our Dan’s Taste of Summer events.