Diners, Drive-ins and Dives (2006–…): Season 27, Episode 4 - Ocean Coasts and Great Lakes - full transcript

Hey, there.

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

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

This trip...
Whoo-whoo!

...we're going East Coast...

Brilliant!

...West Coast...
Look at this guy.

...and Great Lakes.

Well, me likey.

Like, with a jazzed-up classic
in Norfolk, Virginia...

This is a really nice,
mature grilled cheese.



...a rocking Reuben
in Lansing, Michigan...

That's never
a bad thing.

...and in a Los Angeles
market...

Gorgeous.

...tostadas
with a towering twist.

Look at
that bite right there.

That's all right here,
right now

on "Diners, Drive-ins
& Dives."

♪

[ Rock 'n' roll music plays ]

I'm here in the Old Town area
of Lansing, Michigan,

where an old-school
heavy metal rocker...

Whoo-hoo!

...is smoking anything
he can get his hands on.



Meat, that is.
It's his band.

It's his way.

And from what I hear, everybody
comes back for the encore.

[ Cheers ]

This is Meat BBQ.

Everything's great,
so it's always hard

to choose
when you come here.

A made-to-order
mac and cheese.

Sauce on a heifer.

MAN: I've lived in Texas,
I've lived in New Mexico,

and we've had great barbecue,
but nothing compares.

Chin-Gorilla in the window!
Let's go!

I'm a big fan of music.

There's a bunch
of rock 'n' roll stuff in here.

So showed up once
and kept coming back.

FIERI: Yep, this joint's a
rock 'n' roll fantasy amplified

by Sean Johnson's 'cue.

JOHNSON: I wanted to be
a professional musician.

That didn't work out.

So I was like, "Okay, I got
to figure out something."

-Well, so did I.
-Yeah.

But my lack of
being able to play...

[ Laughter ]

So what kind of
barbecue do you do?

I stick with, like,
the traditional Southern style.

I just pull from all
the different regions.

-The Pork Belly Reuben.
-Pork Belly Reuben.

They got brisket, pork belly,
thousand island dressing

in there,
and it tastes amazing.

Give me
the breakdown here.

Today we're making our
pork belly pastrami

that we use for our
Pork Belly Reuben.

I like using pork belly
'cause it's unctuous and fatty

and it just kind of slides
down your throat.

You know how to
spell "unctuous"?

U-n-x, something,
something, something.

-You know how I spell it?
-What's that?

Wrong every time.

[ Laughs ]

We're gonna start out with some
kosher salt, brown sugar

to make our brine
for our belly.

Curing salt.
-Got it.

Pickling spice.

A little bit of minced
garlic here.

And water on it.
Mix it up.

Got a good rhythm
going there.

Pork belly.

-Into the brine?
-Yep.

That's gonna sit in there
for about 10 to 14 days.

-Pull it out, dry-rub it?
-I just do some black pepper.

And how long we gonna
smoke it for?

About 10 to 12 hours.

We use a mesquite overnight,
about 170, 180 degrees.

Really low and slow.

So we get some
good smoke on it.

Next up?

This is our basic house rub --
granulated garlic,

kosher salt,
black pepper,

some white sugar,
chili powder.

Okay.

Nice, big brisket.
-Yep.

That's the dry rub
all over the brisket?

Yep.

And how long's this
gonna go down?

We use temperature
as a guide

to kind of get us
in the ball park,

but everything
is done by feel.

That's our finished belly
right there.

And then there's our fat,
old brisket.

There's the money shot.

FIERI:
Be a shame not to try that.

That just melted
completely.

Unctuous.

The perfect time
to use the word.

JOHNSON: I'm gonna throw this
pork belly on the grill here

and let that go
for a little while.

Butter up some rye buns.
-Rye not?

Gonna toss on our kraut.

Swiss cheese.

Take some of that brisket,
toss it on the bun there.

Take our pork belly.

This kraut.

This is a house-made
thousand island.

It's an unctuous mess.

It's great.

Really good pastrami.

Just the right amount
of sauerkraut.

Great rye.

I like that you cut it
a little bit

with the beefiness
of the brisket.

Chunks of pickle
inside the thousand island.

Basically, what you've got
is pastrami bacon.

Yeah.

And that's
never a bad thing.

-I'll take that.
-You should take it.

'Cause this is fantastic.
-Thanks, man.

Pork belly's working.

Every time I eat it, I find
something else in the sandwich

that just explodes in my mouth.

Every once in a while,
I get to cruise a town

and find one of your
Food Network Star

buddies, and this is
the one and only Adrian.

Have you ever been
to Meat BBQ?

Quite a few times.

You don't look like you
eat here very often.

Once in a while,
you must do it.

You got to go big.

FIERI: But it's not just
the meat taking center stage.

The pickle fries are at
another level of ridiculous.

JOHNSON: We had a fry slicer
we weren't using.

One night,
we started getting

a little crazy
and a little kooky,

and we started throwing
pickles through them.

Just cornmeal and...

It's like cornmeal with sugar,
salt, and Cajun seasoning.

Top three best pickle
fries I've ever had.

FIERI: And the wings
aren't bad, either.

Smoked Wings -- black magic.

They're crispy.
They're juicy. They're hot.

When you can actually
just feel

the chicken fall
right off the bone.

-What are we doing?
-Our brine for our wings.

We're gonna do
some hot sauce.

Kosher salt, white sugar, plain,
old Michigan tap water.

I'm just gonna place
these right into the brine.

These are our chicken wings
that we've brined overnight.

FIERI:
Hit them with the dry rub
that we hit the brisket with.

-Absolutely.
-In the smoker for how long?

For about an hour
and a half to two hours.

When the come out,
we fry them before service?

Yeah.

You have all these
different wing sauces.

We have your traditional Kansas
City style barbecue sauce,

Carolina mustard,
hot garlic sauce.

This is our
Cherry Bomb Sauce.

We're gonna start
with some cherries here.

Ginger ale --
a native product.

A little ketchup.

Chipotles and adobo.

-Word to that.
-Michigan cherry preserves.

A little bit of apple
cider vinegar.

Simmer for about
a half an hour.

And then we're gonna run it
in just a regular, old blender.

Throw in some wings,
a little bit of Cherry Bomb.

A little bit of the Black Magic,
which is a coffee sauce.

[ Smacks lips ]

Well, me likey.

I mean, that's like when
you're lucky enough

to get one of those wings off
that roasted chicken

that your grandma made,

that's that wing.

Great flavor.

I think that the cherry
and chipotle

is gangster and delicious,

but this...

Yeah, it's the Black Magic.

...and it's outrageous.

Killed it.
Thanks, man.

Outstanding.

I got the smoked wings
and the Black Magic Sauce.

Absolutely my hands-down
favorite thing to eat

in and around town.

So I figured if we're gonna
come down here to Meat BBQ,

we got to bring in some
barbecue aficionados.

Two of my buddies from
Motley Que -- MikeyZ and T-Rex.

Nobody eats wings
in a white shirt, by the way.

You got to be careful.
You need a bib, but...

-What do you think?
-I like the spice on this.

And the sauces
are just incredible.

I mean, it's
competition-level barbecue.

I'd eat this all day long.

Ribs in the window.

No joke.

Definitely
the bomb dot com.

If you had played music 1/10th
as good as you make food,

we'd be going to
all your concerts.

This is my concert.

This is my rock stardom.

Good night, East Lansing!

[ Laughs ]

FIERI: Next up...

I got good news,
and I got bad news.

The good news is outrageous
Mexican in Los Angeles.

That's fantastic.

The bad news is I might
eat myself into a power nap.

I haven't had to bust out
the hunch in a while.

This one might deserve it.

Whoo-whoo!

That's the train
into Flavortown, baby.

There you go.

♪

The next time you come to LA,
you got to check this out.

It's called
Grand Central Market.

Here's the deal --
They got all these great,

little restaurant booths --
anything you can imagine.

But one place in particular --

I just happen to be
cruising through,

and I meet this young chef.

I start to get his story.

I'm telling you it's gonna
blow you away.

You're gonna love the dude,
and this is his joint --

La Tostadería.

Four Patrona Burgers all day!

It's the best seafood in LA.

Fish and shrimp taco
ready to plate, chef.

The food is fresh.
It's flavorful.

-This is Shrimp Ceviche.
-Thank you.

I definitely think that this
restaurant stands out

in Grand Central Market.

FIERI: That's because it's run
by this cat --

Fernando Villagomez.

VILLAGOMEZ: Three more minutes
on the burgers!

He moved from Mexico
to Canada when he was 21

and eventually opened up
his first taqueria.

FIERI: So you're there
for five years,

and then you come
to the United States.

Far end of the market.

He does carnitas.

Only carnitas.

After six years of killing it
with the carnitas,

Fernando hit a wall.

I'm always thinking, like,

I have to have more skills
in the kitchen,

so I say, "You know what,
I have to go back to school

to learn more about food,
about cuisine, flavor profile."

And after all that schooling,
he opened up this joint

and threw his lessons
right into the menu.

Octopus Tostada up!

The Octopus Tostada --
It's very bright.

It's a fried tortilla with a
mound of deliciousness on top.

MAN: It's got peppers in it.
It's got your cherry tomatoes.

It's got your texture
that you need from the octopus.

I love octopus.
Let me see it.

Water, sake -- give you
that Asian flavor,

but still you have the flavor
profile of the Mexican cuisine.

And you learned about Asian food
when you were at school?

-Yeah.
-Look at this guy.

Fish sauce.

I've cooked with
a lot of Latinos,

and this is the first time

I've ever seen anybody
with fish sauce.

Again, first time I've ever
seen star anise in a taqueria.

Thyme.
Bay leaves.

Shallots.
Basil.

What do you call basil in...

Basil is basil.

I never use it before
in Mexico.

No, I've never seen it.

I've never seen it
in Mexico.

Okay, chili diablo
We at least know --

We know this one.
-Yeah.

So we're just making
a really nice, light broth

to poach the octopus.

Mexican octopus --
wild octopus.

-Wild octopus from Mexico.
-Wild octopus.

Let it cook
for like 45 minutes.

Got it.

We already have
the octopus done.

We have to cool it down.

Ice water.

Once it cools down all the way,
take off all the skin.

Yes.

Slice it thin,
put on the tostada.

-Put it in the tostada.
-Got it.

Make it up.

Cucumbers,
red bell peppers, radishes,

heirloom cherry tomatoes.

This is all the chef stuff
coming out.

It isn't just chopped tomatoes
like you have in pico de gallo.

Red onion.
Cilantro.

Okay.

Cilantro --
If you're a Mexican --

It's the state flower,
buddy.

That's what it is.
Sea salt. Pepper.

Lime juice for acid.

And this is made fresh
every time like this.

Every -- By order.

This market is slamming
and jamming and busy

and there's a line
out of the place

and he's taking it and making it
to order each time.

Then you get ready
to plate it.

Okay.

Really impressive, chef.

Gorgeous.

Yeah.

I'm getting the tomato
and I'm getting the bell pepper

and I'm getting the onion
and I'm getting the cilantro

and I'm getting all
of these flavors together.

This right here is taking what
you've learned becoming a chef,

along with your
Mexican traditions,

and it's delicious, man.

Look at
that bite right there.

Here's the Octopus Tostada.

The octopus is very tender
and tasty,

seasoned properly.

MAN: It's spicy.
It's lemon-y.

It's tangy.
It's fresh.

It has good presentation.

FIERI:
That's because Chef Fernando
doesn't skimp on the details.

Where are the plates from?

They're from Capula,
Michoacan, in Mexico.

You had these specially
made in Michoacan?

Yeah.

I think you know in
restaurant business

you have to have
not just the food.

It's experience.
See this tile?

Made in Mexico.
The boards?

Made in Mexico.

I love this guy.

SERVER:
Here's the Octopus Tostada.

WOMAN: All these different
food options,

but this one
definitely stood out.

Here's what's happening.

We're hanging out at Grand
Central Market in Los Angeles.

This chef --
a guy you got to meet.

Come back.
The Patrona Burger's on its way.

Patrona Burgers out!

It's fresh, it's flavorful,
and it's everything you could

possibly want
in a seafood burger.

The tostada, though --
It's gonna be as good?

-Better than that.
-We'll see.

♪

Welcome back.

I am hanging out at La
Tostadería with Chef Fernando.

This guy's got a story
that you will love.

Comes from Mexico, goes to
Canada, opens a taqueria,

comes down to
the United States,

opens a carnitas joint here
in Grand Central Market,

then goes to culinary school,

elevates himself
in the world of food,

and opens up
La Tostadería.

WOMAN: Really fresh seafood,
great ingredients,

and they definitely take
their time with every plate.

It's a cross between
a great ceviche joint

and a taco stand,
a tostada stand.

So, he tells me
that he makes a burger.

VILLAGOMEZ:
Patrona Burger at the window.

The Patrona Burger's delicious.

A combination of cheese
and shrimp and aioli.

It's not your typical
seafood burger --

what you get in a lot
of other restaurants.

It can't be beat.
It's delicious.

He says if I don't
love the burger,

he's gonna buy free lunch
for all my crew.

I hate the burger.

All right, what's first?

Okay, mango,
red bell pepper, chives.

And then...

Let me guess --
cilantro.

Cilantro.
Exactly.

I can't believe your middle
name's not "Cilantro."

Okay.

Avocados from the capital
of the avocado --

Michoacan.

You just drop Michoacan in
as often as you can, don't you?

-I love my state.
-I know you do.

So you just toss it
all together.

All right,
time for the burger?

Wild Mexican shrimp.

-Not frozen.
-No frozen.

-Okay.
-Makes big difference.

Makes a huge difference.

Salt, pepper, butter.

The bun, also.

This is Oaxaca cheese.

Oaxaca cheese is like
jack mozzarella.

-Yeah.
-That's gonna be kind of

what actually holds
this burger together.

Yeah.

It's like the duct tape
of Mexican food.

Now we got the buns.

Okay.

And before culinary school, he
called that chipotle mayonnaise.

Lettuce.
Tomato.

Now we have our shrimp cooked
with the Oaxaca cheese melting.

Onion.

We gonna use
the avocado mango radish.

As much as I think
I'm gonna love this,

I'm still gonna tell you

I hate it so you
got to feed my crew.

MAN: Yes!

This is for the crunchiness.

Done.

I haven't had to bust out
the hunch in a while.

This one might deserve it.

I got good news,
and I got bad news.

Tell me.

Good news is...

that's fantastic.

The bad news is the crew's
hitting the vending machine.

When you bite into it, you get
the saltiness of the cheese,

the texture of the cheese.

The shrimp's cooked perfectly.

And then all
the accoutrements --

the shredded lettuce,
the chipotle mayo,

the tomato,
the raw onion,

the phenomenal salsa
with the mango and the avocado.

I pride myself on my burgers.

I'm known for my burgers.

That right there, in my
expectation level of burgers --

That is about
as high as they go.

-Thank you.
-Outstanding.

Thank you.

SERVER: Patrona Burger.

The bread is really moist.

It's got some nice
aioli sauce on it.

It's really tasty.

You can tell the seafood --
It's not frozen.

All these extra little toppings
on it makes it the bomb.

Two orders of fish tacos out.

You come to a market like this,
you stereotype

that it's not
that "wow" factor.

Yeah.

This is, like, high-end,
fancy restaurant,

elevated Mexican food.

Completely unexpected.

MAN: La Tostadería --
fresh as can be.

It's everything that you need,
basically.

I got some plates for you.

Take it home.

And any time you see my plates,
you're gonna remember about me.

I won't forget you,
my brother.

You know I love this.

That's awesome. Thank you.
-You're welcome.

Huh?

FIERI:
Coming up, we're crossing the
country to Norfolk, Virginia...

We just entered ridiculous.

...to enjoy going gourmet
with a familiar favorite.

I think if you're gonna have
a grilled-cheese-ery,

you better deliver.
You delivered.

♪

So I'm here in Norfolk,
Virginia, and you know,

in today's world,
we are so carb-

and calorie-conscious,
as we should be.

So if we're gonna eat
fried chicken,

got to be the-bomb
fried chicken.

Gonna eat pizza,
got to be the real deal.

And when it comes to grilled
cheese, what am I looking for?

It's got to have a nice,
crunchy crust,

it's got to have
ooey-gooey cheese,

and it's got to be unique.

And I hear this is
the joint to check out.

This is
the Grilled Cheese Bistro.

Nice toast on caprese.

WOMAN: When you come to the
Grilled Cheese Bistro,

don't expect plain, old cheddar.

You name it, they have it all.

Your Gooey with
a dipper of soup.

How can I compare grilled cheese
that I had as a kid to this?

FIERI:
You can't because Dina Taylor's
taking her childhood classic

and elevating it
to a whole other level.

What makes a great
grilled cheese?

Just being
a little creative.

I guess a little more
gourmet grilled cheese.

You have your
vegetarian options.

You have your meaty options.

You have a seafood option.

The Lobster Mac and Cheese.

It's lobster mac and cheese
in between two pieces of bread.

The combination of the two --
It's perfect.

-So, what are we gonna make?
-We're making The Hangover.

We put mac and cheese
inside of the grilled cheese,

and special occasions
we add lobster to it.

Okay, we're making a bechamel
we're gonna add this cheese to.

So go ahead and give me
the breakdown here.

Black truffle oil,
shallots, garlic,

fresh thyme, a little
chicken-based flour, slowly.

-So you're building your roux.
-Yeah.

We're gonna add the wine --
3/4 of the bottle.

And then I drink the rest.

Heavy cream.

Lots of cheese.

Fontina, cheddar, and mozz.

-Yeah.
-Got it.

It'll start melting
and doing its thing.

-What's its thing?
-It starts getting gooey.

Isn't that
the melting part?

That's the melting part.

Mix it with the pasta.

Next step, we're gonna
make the lobster.

Butter.
-Okay.

Lobster -- tails, claws,
whatever you want.

Fresh thyme in there.
And a little bit of lemon juice.

Salt and pepper.

Now we start to build
the sandwich?

Yep.

Okay, well, let's get
into this, sister.

Clarified butter.
This is cheddar cheese.

The bread comes from
New Jersey.

People are really surprised
to see the thickness of it.

Beautiful.

The mac and cheese,
and we're adding the lobster in.

Seal this up.

We just entered ridiculous.
Look at the size of it.

Look at that.

Here we go.

♪

When you come in, you want fat,
you want crunch,

you want salt, you want...

Cheesiness.

That's the sandwich you get.

I love your cheese sauce
because it's sticky enough,

and the way that you
built the bread --

the amount of time
that you let that sit on there,

it's really worth it because
it builds a fantastic crust.

You did a good job.
-Thank you.

You did a really good job.

It is the best mac and cheese
I have ever had.

FIERI: So, in case you don't
know who this is.

It's the Internet sensation --
the Queen of Norfolk.

This is Abby.

And what do you think
of this grilled cheese?

It's super-gooey.

The bread adds a perfect crunch

and actually a good amount
of flavor, too.

The gooier the better.

Can you say
"unemployment"?

As soon as she can drive,
I'm done.

WOMAN:
This is absolutely the best.

Worth every calorie.

FIERI: And the crazy thing is
these calories are put out

by a real-deal
body builder.

I was dieting.

I was getting ready
for a competition.

I was craving some cheese
and some bread.

That's how this
concept started.

But it's not all carbolicious.

There's some veggies
thrown in the mix, too.

I have Don Quixote.

This sandwich is
the vegetarian option.

It's got mushrooms, olive.

Next up is going to be...

Don Quixote Sandwich
Grilled Cheese.

And why do you
name it that?

It has the little
Mediterranean flavors.

It's a Spanish novel.

I just thought it was
a brilliant name. [Laughs ]

It wasn't just a good name --
a brilliant name.

A brilliant name.

We're gonna make
the olive tapenade.

Olive oil, lemon juice,
some kalamata olives.

Got it.

-Capers.
-A ton of them.

Parsley.
A little garlic.

Blend this up together,
and it's done.

That's the olive tapenade.
All right, next step?

Get our sandwich going.

Sourdough bread.

Spread a little bit of our
homemade olive tapenade,

two slices of fontina cheese
on each side.

We're gonna get it
covered a little bit.

One little dome.

Do you have more domes?
-We have...

One little, two little,
three little --

...20 domes.

We're going to put on
our oyster mushrooms.

Caramelized onions.

Roasted red peppers.

Parmesan cheese.

It's got
a nice toast to it.

And it's ready.

There you go.

Great colors, caramelized
onions, oyster mushrooms,

roasted red bell peppers.

This is a really nice,
mature grilled cheese.

Caramelized onions,
boom, right off the bat,

you're gonna get sweet.

Roasted red bell pepper --
you're gonna get sweet.

But bringing in the acidity of
those capers and the kalamatas

is where you really killed it.

Really good job.
And what was the name?

Don Quixote.

Yeah, but what type
of name is it?

-It's a...
-It's a brilliant name.

Brilliant name for
a brilliant sandwich.

-Don Quixote. Excellent.
-Nicely done.

The oyster mushrooms
with the roasted red pepper

and the olive tapenade --
Whoo!

So good.

There's flavor down
to the last bite.

Johnny Appleseed right here.

Everybody needs to come to have
the grilled cheese here.

FIERI:
I think if you're gonna have
a grilled-cheese-ery,

you better deliver.
You delivered.

-All right, cool.
-Nice job.

So, was this a great
road trip or what?

But don't you worry.

I got plenty more joints to find
all over this country.

I'll be looking
for you next time

on "Diners, Drive-ins
& Dives"!

What else you got up
your sleeve?

-The Don Quixote.
-Don Quixote?

Yeah.
Not "donkey."

I have two donkeys.

Taco and Burrito.

I thought you might have
a donkey named "Hotay."

[ Imitates donkey braying ]