Fairytale Foodie Night at an Epic Woodlands Restaurant Boosts Texas Children’s Groundbreaking Neurological Institute

Two new menu items are coming to The Woodlands’ highly-touted Amrina restaurant — a cocktail and a dish that Chef Jassi Bindra will create with special prize winners. All thanks to a live auction that netted $46,000 for The Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital (NRI) by itself. The evening of fine dining included a passionate update from Duncan NRI director Dr. Huda Zoghbi, who highlighted the processes and progress on several clinical trials.

The evening was hosted by the newly named president of Texas Children’s Hospital — Dr. Debbie Sukin — and her husband Dr. Steve Sukin, and longtime Duncan NRI supporters Barbara and Mike Feigin. Through generous donations and exciting live auctions, the evening turned out to be a grand success, raising more than $400,000 for the groundbreaking neurological center.

Ralph McIngvale served as the auctioneer for the two live auction items of the night — creating a drink and creating a menu item at Amrina, one of the best restaurants in the entire Greater Houston region. The winner of the drink auction gets to have their named cocktail on the menu at Amrina for one year, with a portion of the proceeds from its sale going back to The Duncan NRI. For the menu item auction, the winner gets to create a dish with executive chef Jassi Bindra.

Of course, anyone who attended this special charity dinner in The Woodlands turned out to be a winner. Especially if they love food (and who doesn’t?).

One hundred and twenty five lucky attendees mixed and mingled at a VIP reception surrounded by the effortlessly sophisticated flairs and touches Amrina provides before sitting down to enjoy a grand five course dinner with wine pairings.

Chef Bindra, fresh off his Chopped victory, prepared an astounding menu. The first course featured a tuna tartare paired with a Contadi Castaldi sparkling rose from Italy’s Franciacorta wine region. That was followed by a crispy chicken dish served alongside a glass of Abazia di Novacella, a ripe and full white wine from Alto Adige, Italy. The third course brought chilean sea bass paired with the Louis Jadot Chardonnay from France while the fourth course showcased a beef short rib with a glass of Chateau Boutisse Bordeaux from France.

To cap everything off, dessert brought a sweet sampler that included peanut butter and caramel eclairs, blueberry swirl mascarpone cheesecake, a hazelnut and chocolate truffle torte and a lemon basil tart, paired with a glass of Vietti Moscato d’Asti from Italy.

PC Seen:  Ralph and Gaylene McIngvale, Bruce and Diane Kink, Jim and Leigh Ann Carman, Stacey and Brad Risner, Robert and Kim Marling, Drs. Steve and Debbie Sukin,  Barbara and Mike Feigin, Dr. Huda Zoghbi, John and Joan Scales, Niousha and Ali Ansari, Vijay and Maria Goradia, Lonny Soza, Shirley and Ralph Alexander, Patricia and Scott Wilson, Carol and Mike Watford, and Virginia Tomlinson.