Diners, Drive-ins and Dives (2006–…): Season 23, Episode 1 - A Bowlful of Soul - full transcript

Hey, everybody.

I'm Guy Fieri,
and we're rolling out

looking for America's greatest
diners, drive-ins, and dives.

This trip...

Yeah!
...it's crazy characters...

I don't know
to take him seriously.

...dishing out hot bowls...

Hot is hot!

...and cool soul.

Soul Rolls.

In Los Angeles, California...



Yee-haw!

...an extreme chili joint.

He does not miss a beat.

Suit me up for a wild ride.

Well, I'll tell you,
partner.

In Charlotte,
North Carolina...

Here we go.
Let's get after this.

...a down-home
Southern spot...

I'm a grit-eating fool.

...launching
a full-flavor explosion.

This is a soul-food
missile pop.

And in Las Vegas, Nevada...

Oh, brother.
...over-the-top crepes...

That's like
liquid apple pie.



...put out
by one surprising chef.

Crepe guy.
You're kidding me.

[ Laughs ]

That's all right here,
right now,

on "Diners, Drive-ins,
and Dives."

I'm here in Culver City,
California,

right down the street
from Sony Pictures,

and I know these parts
pretty well.

I used to shoot
"Guy's Big Bite" down here,

"Rachael vs. Guy: Kids,"

and I got to tell you,
I wish I would have known

about this joint
I'm about to visit.

I hear they're serving up eight
different types of chili a day.

That's my kind of joint.

This is Tub's Fine Chili
& Fancy Fixin's.

Cowhand Casserole.

Tub's is
a really unique spot.

Outlaw Taco Grande steak.

If you want to, like, get crazy
with your chili, you come here.

FIERI:
Where you'll be in good hands

with the off-the-wall owner,
known as Rancher Rick.

You got it, right here.
Yee-haw.

Where'd you learn to cook?

I just like to eat,
so I learned to cook.

And in 2009,
he and his wife, Margie,

or BossMama
around these parts...

Chuck Wagon Grind,
no beans.

...turned that hobby
into a booming business.

Turkey Drive Chili
in a bread tub.

It has so much flavor.

MAN:
It's one of the best ones, baby,

'cause it's been here
the longest.

Well, what we're gonna do is
make our Turkey Drive Chili.

Turkey Drive.
So, we have ground turkey.

We're gonna mix it
with a little seasoning in here.

A little chicken base?
Yes, sir.

And what we want to do
is get that all mixed in.

Onto a sheet tray?
Sheet tray.

And then we're gonna score it
into little squares.

You have too much time
on your hands.

This is fun.

Then it goes into the oven.
Roast that off how long?

About 40 minutes, 350.
Okay.

Take some olive oil
and a little onions.

He looks like he should run
a chuck wagon, doesn't he?

Yep.
We're gonna add our garlic.

Next thing going in
is our roasted ground turkey.

Now can I dump some ingredients
in for you?

Please do.
Apple cider vinegar.

Okay. And a tremendous amount
of chili powder.

It is good stuff.

That's paprika.
Okay.

All our chilies are tasty
without being spicy.

So if people want
to spice it up, they can.

Tub's-Nitro-Tonic --
our T-N-T.

Tub's-Nitro-Tonic.

Next is Worcestershire.

Oregano.
Mexican oregano.

Mexican oregano.
Mexican oregano.

We got steak seasoning.
Sounds like a rattlesnake.

Cajun seasoning.

Cumino.

Uh... [ Whistles ]
That's a Mexican beer.

That's a big
Mexican beer.

Yellow mustard.
Okay.

Get some tomato sauce
in there.

Salsa fresca.

Yeah, it's
a Mexican tomato sauce.

Chicken stock.

That's a lot
of chicken stock.

We let it simmer
about half-hour,

then we add
these green bell peppers.

Okay.
And this is our oatmeal.

That's our
steel-cut oatmeal.

Next is...
One of my favorite beans.

Now, how long
is this gonna cook?

About 40 more minutes.

Now what's up?

We're gonna make you
a bread tub.

Take our flatbread,
drop it down for 50 seconds,

and a bread tub comes out.
Hence the name Tub's.

So the whole thing of Tub's
comes from this idea?

Pretty much.

All right. Chili.

Help yourself to some fixin's.

Okay.
I'm a sour cream guy.

Good.

Little cheese.

I'm definitely
a lot-of-onion guy.

And a little cilantro.

Oh, and I got to have
some corn nuts.

I've never seen that.

That's good chili.

You can make it
the way you want it.

I like the little
corn-nut crunch in there.

I love the tub.
Goes along with it great.

You have a personality
about it.

I mean, it's worth coming down
just to see the road show.

This is what makes
coming to L.A. beautiful.

You can have funky, little
joints just like this

doing rockin' business.

Dynamite.
Dynamite chili.

Turkey Drive over bread tub.

The texture of it and the
flavor, it's just delicious.

For those that need a fix
in the middle of the night,

we have frozen boil bags.

He does not miss a beat.

You always know it's gonna be
fun coming in the door.

The number-one thing
for chili --

go ahead and grab that.

[ Laughter ]

Now you can make
Tub's chili.

Well, I'll tell you,
partner.

FIERI:
And next on the menu...

I'm gonna make you
a Double-Barrel Dingo Dog.

I don't know
to take him seriously.

Is there such a thing?
Oh, yeah.

Double-Barrel Dingo Dog
fully loaded!

That right there says
gym membership, doesn't it?

[ Laughs ]
When we come back.

FIERI: "Triple D" has rustled up
some culinary gold

in Culver City, California...

Yee-haw!

...at Tub's Fine Chili

s n
Yby Rancherk.

with your buffalo chips.

How would you explain this
to people?

It's, like, the best.
Chili any way you want it.

With a rep like that,

you know they've got to have
a killer chili dog.

Double-Barrel Dingo Dog.
Yee-haw.

It is amazing.

Rancher Rick,
what are we up to now?

We're making the buns
for our Double-Barrel Dingo Dog.

Double-Barrel Dingo Dog.

Right.
So, we're making cornbread?

Cornbread.
Got it.

Wet our bowl with some soda
water. Keeps it nice and light.

Then we use
some cornmeal,

pancake mix.

There's some leavening
in that.

Sugar, salt,
little Cayenne pepper,

granulated garlic,
and a light canola oil.

How about I'll pour?

All right. Pour slow.
It's gonna bubble up.

Man, it looks like the goo
from "Double Dare."

What, is Marc Summers
gonna show up next?

You never know
who shows up.

[ Man laughs ]

Only in L.A.

Was that Marc Summers?

Okay, now, this...

It's another little jig we make
for our cornbread buns.

Here we go.

All right, so,
drop that on there?

Yes, sir.

In the oven
for about 20 minutes.

That's it.
Look at that.

You pull the jiggy off it.

Gettin' jiggy with it.
I had to say it.

We're gonna freeze them off,

and then we're gonna
flash-fry them 30 seconds,

and they're ready to roll.
Word.

Okay, next, we make the dogs.

All-beef jumbo dog --
got to start with that.

Okay.

Give it a little spiral cut
all the way down.

Throw that in the fryer
about 10, 15 seconds.

So it kind of expands.

Then it goes on
the char broiler.

All right.
Cornbread bun,

spiral-cut dog.

I do like
your spiral-cut idea.

It's good.
What chili are you giving me?

You're gonna have
my Chuck Wagon Grind.

Definitely got to
have cheese on there.

Tub's Mojave Mash Mustard.

When I think chili dog,

this is what I think
it should look like.

Few tomatoes on there.

Some onions
and some green onions.

Onions.

Little of that
to calm it down.

Chopped cil-an-tro.
Cil-an-tro?

So fresh it'll slap you.

You like a few jalapeños?
I can do them.

You got to have
your corn-nut fix.

You didn't have enough
last meal.

That right there
should be on a calendar.

I don't know a calendar of what,
but it should be on a calendar.

Look at that.

Mmm.

The cornbread's outstanding.

It's sweet,
got a nice little crunch.

The dog...

little snap to it.

The mustard's outrageous.

And then you're just attacked

with this onslaught of chili
and cheese and onions and...

cilantro and corn nuts
and crunch.

Nicely done, my brother.
Thank you, Guy.

Two Double-Barrel Dingo Dogs are
up.

Just tastes so good.

With the chili
and all the fixin's,

makes you feel warm inside.

[ Whistles ] Steak Town Chili
over brown rice.

Sitting here with two faces that
you know really well from TV.

FIERI: Hey, that really was
Marc Summers

from "Double Dare"
and "Unwrapped."

And Dann Florek
from "Law & Order."

Chili with cucumbers in it?

The way I see it, this is
the closest he comes to a salad.

[ Laughs ]

If Christopher Walken
was eating this chili, Dann,

what would he say?

[ As Christopher Walken ]
He would say, "You know,

hot is hot,

but this!

This is hot."

You're making it real-deal.

Crazy place.

Coming up,
in Las Vegas, Nevada...

Wow.

...a funky spot rolling out
the sweet and savory...

You will love this place.

...into some killer crepes.

You take on each crepe
like it's a five-course meal.

So, I'm here on the southeast
side of Las Vegas, Nevada,

right on the border
of Henderson, Nevada.

And I tell you,
when I went to school here,

they didn't have any shopping
centers like this out here.

No way. Look at this place.
It's got everything.

It's got a cooking school,
it's got a pet bakery,

and it's got a -- wait for it.
Wait for it.

Exactly -- a crepe shop.
A crepe shop?

This is Crepe Expectations.

Greek in the window.
Get it out of here.

You will find nothing else
like this place.

Table 21, bananas Foster.
Blackjack.

The menu just blew me away.

Reuben, table 12.
Sell that.

They have such a great variety
of creative interpretations.

And then, of course,
what you'd expect --

a crepe restaurant
from ZZ Top. Yeah.

Doesn't everybody that looks
like me have a crepe shop?

FIERI:
The rock star fronting this gig
since 2011 is Lou Remillard...

Two in one bowl, wife.
Two in one bowl.

...along with his wife, Jenn.

We actually bought this
as an existing crepe restaurant,

revamped it, and made
everything from scratch.

I need another
lemon curd, please.

Lemon curd, heard.

In your opinion,
what makes great crepe?

Being not afraid to put anything
in the world inside of it.

MAN:
We have the Sonora here. Enjoy.

It's like a Mexican dish
in a crepe.

Homemade salsa,
homemade guacamole.

You've never had carne asada

until you've eaten it
out of a crepe.

Let's get into this, boss.

Dude, we're making
our crepe batter here.

Liquid chicken.
Do you know --

Your favorite?

No, let me lick the bowl.
Yeah? Yeah!

Water, whole milk.
Salt.

Just get a little froth to it.
Okay.

All-purpose flour.
We're gonna drizzle

a little bit of whole
melted salted butter in.

I know that normal people
don't use salted butter.

Well, we know
you're not normal.

All right,
what are we gonna make now?

Teres Major.
Okay.

Shoulder cut.
Fantastic.

It gets very tender.
Teres Major's down.

Fresh LJ.
Lemon juice?

Lemon juice.
Fantastic.

Fresh garlic, garlic powder,
kosher salt, onion powder.

This is actually
carne asada seasoning.

Gotcha, gotcha.

And then a whole orange and
lemon.

Carne asada you'll cook down...
15 minutes.

Salsa time.
Start off with a bold serrano.

Black pepper.
Okay.

Touch of salt in here.

Fire-roasted plum tomatoes.
Got it.

More salt.
Okay.

Garlic powder, fresh cumin.

And cilantro.
Cilantro.

Last thing --
toasted chile de arbol.

Got a chile de arbol tattoo
right there.

I dig it.

All right.
Fresh onions, diced tomatoes.

I like a little texture
inside of here.

Oh, I like the smoky in that.
Dig it.

That's gonna be good.

[ French accent ]
We'll make the crepe.

[ French accent ]
Make the crepe.
Crepe.

[ Normal voice ] This is
the batter we made earlier.

Sets overnight.

Look at that.
That is ridiculous.

You've only done that
a billion times.

Oh, so, now you're making
a quesadilla.

That's exactly right.
Just a little bit of guac, huh?

You can't have
too much of that.

Carne asada we just made.

Nice portions.

And some of that
fire-roasted salsa.

Salsa's the bomb.

One more on that side.

Into thirds.
Onto the plate.

Here we go.

Oh.
Right?

That carne asada and that salsa
with the guac --

Is there a Mexican restaurant
in this village

that you're running
out of town?

'Cause that's
what that tastes like.

Dig it.

The crepe -- fantastic.
Nice and tender.

Little bit of cheese,
lots of meat.

Dig it.

That citrus in the carne asada
is fantastic.

Awesome fire-roasted salsa.

Mmm.

Well done, man.
Thanks, brother.

Table 22, Sonora.

It's the best carne asada
I've ever had.

It's real-deal.
It's real-deal.

You watch them put it together
from start to finish.

FIERI: Which includes --
you got it -- the crepe cam.

Having the camera and the lively
atmosphere is really cool.

It is always fun, you know?
There is constant communication.

Empty crepe plates
make no money. Let's roll.

They're entertaining us
the entire time.

Meanwhile, they're pumping out
all this food.

Table 16, William Tell.

It is like caramel apple pie
in a crepe.

Just the right amount of sweet.
Fresh, homemade whipped cream.

It is delicious.

So, we go from the savory
to the sweet?

Savory to the sweet. Gonna start
with fresh-made caramel.

Okay.
Granulated sugar.

We got to get this down
to a liquefied sugar.

Add a vanilla bean.

Got it.

And cubed butter.

Stir this in until the butter
is completely melted.

I like how that is
so screaming hot.

Then a little bit
of vanilla extract.

Okay.

And we're gonna drizzle in
our heavy cream.

As this cools off,
it will thicken up.

At the very end,
a touch of kosher salt.

We cool it overnight,
put it in a squeeze bottle,

and away we go.
Nice.

Down with the apples now.

Fresh salted butter.

Whole, peeled, sliced
Granny Smith apples.

Little bit of sugar,
vanilla bean, ground cinnamon,

little bit of vanilla extract,

and some fresh lemon juice just
to brighten up those flavors.

So just let them get tender?
About halfway cooked.

Then you're gonna pull it
and cool it?

Pull it and cool it.
Got it.

Here we go -- crepe batter,
along with the apples

that we just cooked down
so lovely.

The homemade caramel sauce.

You're sitting at a ball game
or a car show,

and you see this cat and you go,
"So, dude, what do you do?"

"Well, I got a crepe shop."

[ Chuckling ] Yeah.

Okay.
Whoo!

Little bit
of homemade whipped cream.

Look at that.
Voilà.

[ Laughs ]

That's like
liquid apple pie.

Mm-hmm.

Wow.

You cooked the apples
so perfectly.

I mean, they are --
Still got
a little bite to them.

Oh, brother.
With a nice little bit of tang.

There we go.

My little guy, Ryder -- Ryder,
this is your joint, buddy.

You will love this place.

This is for you, buddy.

Okay, I have
a William Tell.

WOMAN:
It's better than apple pie.

The flavors of the apples
are just so perfect.

It's crisp. It's spot-on.

Frisco, up.

This place is not
easily forgettable.

On the fly. Get it out.

You take on each crepe
like it's a five-course meal.

Dig it.
Dude, it's awesome.

Crepe guy.
You're kidding me.

[ Laughs ]

FIERI:
Up next, in North Carolina...

What are we
into now, boss?

...real-deal
country cooking...

You embrace
each little step

like it's
the most critical piece.

...right in the heart
of downtown Charlotte.

You're gonna have to
pry this out of my hand.

Now, I do not like
to be too predictable

here on "Diners,
Drive-Ins, & Dives,"

but when you go
to San Francisco,

you got to try some cioppino.

When you go to Texas, well,
you got to try some brisket.

Go to New York City,
got to try some pizza.

So when you come
to Charlotte, North Carolina,

you got to try some Low Country,
and I hear this is the joint.

This is Mert's Heart and Soul.

It's definitely comfort food.

Two Creoles all day.

MAN:
It's like eating at home,

or better than what
I can get at home.

Just like my mama cooks.
She just put her foot in it.

[ Laughter ]

FIERI: But Dad's the one
doing the cooking here --

chef and owner James Bazzelle,

who's been bringing down-home
to downtown since 1998.

It's like a treasure chest

in the middle
of the asphalt jungle.

That's what's so special
about it.

You wouldn't
expect this downtown.

What kind of food
do you guys serve here?

Low Country and Southern.
And Southern.

I think it tastes like something
that my grandma would cook.

Soul Rolls up.

The Soul Rolls are
everything you'd ever want

out of the South.

Goodness wrapped and deep-fried.

Soul Rolls.

Got to have a Soul Roll.
All right, well, get into it.

Collard greens --
cut them up.

Garlic, olive oil,
onions, adobo.

Adobo?
Adobo.

Vinegar and water.

And how long we gonna
let this go for?

Hour.

All right, what are we
into now, boss?

Well, we gonna
fry the chicken.

I sprinkle our chicken
with adobo.

And then just regular
all-purpose flour?

All-purpose flour --
simple.

Okay.

Let me put it
in the fryer now.

Here we go.
Let's get after this.

And what we do, we're gonna mix
it all together.

So, we got the greens.
We got the fried chicken.

This seasoned rice
that's delicious.

Black-eyed peas.

Okay, what we're gonna do
is put a wrapper down,

take a little bit here,
and we roll up,

and we top it with
a little egg wash to seal it.

We take these to the fryer,
cook them off, 350.

Then we just take them,
and we cut them.

Drizzle a little spicy
honey-mustard.

Then we do a little bit
more garnish on them.

So, most folks
can't make it to Mert's

without having a Soul Roll?

We try not to let them leave
without having a Soul Roll.

Mmm.
That's astronaut soul food.

[ Laughs ]

You know how they send
the astronauts their food

all prepared and ready to go?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

This is a soul-food
missile pop.

This comes with
everything combined

in one easy-to-eat bite.

I got to tell Vanessa
about that.

[ Laughs ]

That's delicious.

You guys ready to eat?
Yeah.

The Soul Roll's got
everything I like.

It's phenomenal.
It just pops when you eat it.

Where'd you learn to cook?
Home Ec.

A friend of mine told me
I could take Home Ec,

meet girls, and eat.
I did it.

I did the same thing.

No, I'm serious.
I believe you.

FIERI:
And from the looks of it,

Chef James must have ended up
with an "A"-plus.

Barbecue ribs up.

Oh, so good. Everything
you order is just wonderful.

You get down-home cooking
fit for a king.

Shrimp and grits up, please.

James does a perfect
Southern shrimp and grits.

Brown gravy on top of it --
unreal.

What are we gonna
make next?

One of my other favorites,
shrimp and grits.

You understand something --

my mom was raised
in North Carolina.

I didn't know that.

Oh, yeah.
I'm a grit-eating fool.

I start with cold water,
margarine,

and my favorite grits are these
yellow, organic, stone grits.

Whisk them in.
Yes, sir.

And the thing about grits --

you got to keep stirring them
so they do not stick together.

I got you there.

Some salt, cream --
just makes it taste so good.

All right, so this takes care
of the grits side.

So, what are we into now?

Well, we're gonna make
our gravy or sauce.

Sauce.

Oil, flour -- get that going.

Add water, garlic, beef base.

You look like you condensed
a whole cow into that.

Oh, not quite.

Add onions, garlic,
and adobo.

That's my middle name.

That's your middle name?

Yes, sir. And then
we're gonna make some shrimp.

Come on, now.

Add a little oil.

I do about four, five,
six shrimp.

Now we add a little brown gravy,
green onions.

My favorite -- you know that.
I know.
That's your middle name.

And tomatoes.

Let that cook down?
Yeah.

Okay, let's hit it, boss.

Man, these grits
are looking good.

Here you go.

I top it off with just
a little bit more green.

Now, this focaccia bread,

we got a local baker
that makes it for us.

It's delicious.

Mmm.
That's tasty.

Thank you, thank you.

This gravy's got
a nice, little tang to it.

The grits got to be
a little toothsome.

Can't be too soggy.
No.

Got to have
a little bite to them.

Mmm. You're gonna have to
pry this out of my hand.

Mmm.

Shrimp and grits on.

This is one of my favorite
things on the menu.

WOMAN: I do try to duplicate it
when I get home,

Ye My grandmother's
from South Carolina.

Did she put her foot in it?

She put her foot and love in it.
And this obviously has both.

Everybody from out of town
I bring here.

This is a straight
down-home country place.

The piece that people love about
"Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives"

is meeting characters
like yourself

that invest so much in this.

I mean, you embrace
each little step

like it's
the most critical piece.

It's fantastic.

Nicely done, my friend.
Thank you, sir.

So, that's it for
this Flavortown road trip,

but don't you worry.

There's plenty more joints
all over this country!

I'll be looking for you
next time

on "Diners, Drive-ins,
and Dives."

[ As Christopher Walken ]
I come here for the ice cream.

I like to put it
in my pocket!

[ Laughter ]
That's cold.

Rancher Rick.