Diners, Drive-ins and Dives (2006–…): Season 29, Episode 15 - Southern to South American - full transcript

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

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

This trip...
Yo, let's go.

...we're cruising
from southern comfort...

My mouth just started
to water.

...to South American cooking.

Probably some of the most
powerful flavors

I've tried in a while.

Like Bigtime Barbecue
in Washington state.

This is gonna go
on the brontosaurus ribs?

And a passport to Brazil
in Austin.



That is ridunkulous.

Plus Zac Brown's riding
shotgun in Atlanta...

Does it get any better
than that?

...to go from chicken fried

to killer fried chicken.

That's the difference
between good and damn.

I'm gonna send you
a bucket of it.
All right.

That's all right here,
right now,

on "Diners, Drive-ins
& Dives."

So you do not
roll into Atlanta, Georgia,

without calling
your buddy Zac Brown.

Now, Zac,
exactly where are we?

We're in historic West View,

Martin Luther's home
is not far from here.



This place is steeped
in culture.

Well, I talked to my buddy
Chef G. Garvin, and he says,

"You want to take Zac
to a really cool place,"

he says, "you're gonna love
this guy's story."

He starts with YouTube,
he's got huge social media,

opens his own joint.

It's called Greens and Gravy.

I need a lemon pepper spare rib.

I would describe it
as a well-rounded

upscale twist to soul food.

Fish and grits.

It's great for a big guy
like me. I love it.

Fried green tomato
in the window.

It has a southern feel to it.

But chef and owner,
Darius Williams

actually grew up in the Midwest.

So I moved here from Chicago,
and I was like,

"I want to open a restaurant."

I had enough followers
on social media, why not?

I know, crazy.

But look, you're here,
so something

must have happened right,
right?

Where did you get the money?
I make money online.

I have a cookbook out,
so I sell cookbooks.

You know, I do stuff.

You're an entrepreneur.

And one of his biggest sellers
here is his own version of that

Southern staple --
fried chicken.

Lemon pepper honey
fried chicken.

I love the fried chicken.

Juicy on the inside,
the outside is crispy.

It comes with that
lemon pepper honey drizzle,

and I like to take my chicken
and swirl it through the sauce.

It is so good.
Are you a fried chicken fan?

I am absolutely a fried
chicken fan, I can't wait.

So, it was a whole chicken
at one point.

It was.

We cut it up and then marinate
it with the seasonings --

salt, garlic powder,
onion powder...

Okay.
...a little Cajun seasoning,

black pepper, and then
this is like a little secret.

Well, it ain't no
little secret anymore.

It's a little secret.

Zac's gonna write a song
about that seasoning.

Sazón.

It's used in like,
a lot of Latin cooking.

What do you know
about Sazón in Atlanta?

I know about Sazón.

We just blew up
your whole recipe.

I'm excited to learn
a new trick.

Sazón, baby.

I'm gonna send you
a bucket of it.

Get this in all
the nooks and crannies,

and let it
sit overnight.

Go into buttermilk.

Then, flour with salt
and pepper.

Fry this at 350?

350, 360,
six or seven minutes.

Now we're gonna make
the watermelon chow-chow.

Let's get into it.

Watermelon, diced red onion,
pepper, salt,

apple cider vinegar,
giving you that sour element.

-You need the juxtaposition.
-A little sugar.

This is good by itself,
but a little oil

really sort of helps
the whole thing work.

Zac, I've seen you
in concert,

and I know that
when you lose a pick,

you're able to just like
pull one

like right out of your ear
or something.

Right, out of your pocket.

Can I just have
a bowl of that?

Yeah, you can have
whatever you want.

You're getting that mouth feel
from a little bit of that oil.

Great crunch and the sour
and the tang

and the vinegar
and the seasoning.

That's it.
Wow, that's good.

So this is the lemon
pepper honey.

It's good honey, lemon juice,
and then lemon pepper.

So we just
bring this to a boil.

And that's just gonna get
a drizzle?

I like to like douse it and drag
the skin through it.

You're very dramatic
in the way you speak.

Well, because it's good.

This is like my favorite.

Let's see it, Chef,
give me the rundown.

Take the chicken,
lemon pepper honey...

Biscuits homemade.
Yeah.

We'll do a little green --
fresh collard greens.

Are you a greens fan?
Oh, big time.

What do I get for this?

I use my hands, man.

Savage.

Put the chow-chow on
if you want.

That chow-chow on it definitely
adds the freshness to it.

They're silky.
Really good, man.

And especially
with the chow-chow.

The counterbalance
of the acidity

and a little bit of that bright,
fresh flavor and texture.

Really good.
I have dibs on the thigh, man.

I'm not scare of you.
All right ZB, Do it.

That's it.

All right, so give me
the rundown, Zac.

I think it's fried perfectly.

Everything's cooked tender,
it's pulling apart.

The buttermilk really gives
that flour

something to really grip on to.

Look at this skin right here.
That's perfect.

But I'll tell you,
like he said, man,

the lemon pepper honey,
that's the tipping point.

That's the difference
between good and damn.

Get me a guitar.

Seriously.
Get me a guitar right now.

Zac, you couldn't have said
it any better.

The fry's right on.

The depth of the flavor in the
chicken itself is dynamite.

Well, I'm glad you enjoyed.
Do you agree?

Mm-hmm.
See, Zac agrees!

Your lemon pepper honey
fried chicken.

The chicken with the seasoning
in it, it just lays it out.

And then that lemon pepper honey
takes it right over the top.

That savory and that sweet...

A dude from Chicago
comes to Hot-lanta,

opens up a joint doing
lemon honey fried chicken,

killer collard greens
in a funky old chicken shack,

and now you got
Zac Brown down here.

No, that's amazing.
How did this all happen, again?

Just putting out my
YouTube videos left and right.

A YouTube video of you
singing and dancing?

I wish
I could sing and dance.

No, I was cooking, and I would
just create creative recipes.

You make a lasagna
with collard greens?

-We do.
-Collard green lasagna.

I'd never really tasted
lasagna quite this unique

with the collard greens in it.

They gonna give me this recipe.

Well, that's exactly what we're
digging into when we come back.

Last piece of chicken,
you want to wrestle?

It's so good, man.

Take it away.

We're in Atlanta, Georgia,

at Greens and Gravy,
tearing it up.

Does it get any better
than that?

I'm gonna have him do
all the re-intros.

But right now,
my new co-host Zac Brown

and I are getting busy
with Chef Darius

diving into his soul food
with a spin.

Everybody should try
this restaurant

because it makes you think
outside the box

without going too far,
especially with the lasagna.

Collard green lasagna.

Collard green lasagna
is my new favorite.

The sauce is just so flavorful.

Just creamy, cheesy,

everything you look for
in a lasagna right here,

then the little twist
with the collard greens.

I like it.
-What are we making now?

These are the collard greens
for the collard green lasagna.

Oh, wait a minute.

I've had spinach in lasagna,
maybe, before.

Thank you. You're going
exactly where I'm going.

But collards seem way
more legit.

It'll kind of remind you
of spinach a little bit,

but with our own twist.
Let's get into it.

Smoked turkey
is where we start.

And we just throw
the greens right in

because they all have
to cook and stew together.

Once these cook down,
then we'll season them.

So you put a little sugar,
Cajun seasoning, chicken...

Chicken base.
There you go.

Garlic powder.
Onion.

Onion powder,
that's it, oil.

And these are gonna go down
for how long, Chef?

Three, three and a half,
four hours.

Drain them, then we add in
the ricotta, the heavy cream...

Salt, pepper, and garlic.
Salt, pepper, and that's it.

That's it.
Then over to the meat sauce.

Yeah. Onion, garlic, salt and
pepper, and Italian seasoning.

We brown off the ground turkey.

Tomato paste
and then crushed tomato,

do a little sugar, garlic...

Chicken base.

Now we build this monster.
That's it.

Add in some turkey red sauce.

Lasagna sheets down.

Collard green, ricotta mixture,
and then you smoosh it around.

Top it with shredded moz.

Now how long is this gonna
go down for?

About 45 minutes.

Bring it out, what size
piece are we talking?

A big serving.
A hunk.

That's what I want.
It's a hunk.

Make a hunk happen.

The same tomato turkey gravy...

That's it.
Then we get a hunk.

Half hour show, Chef.
Oh, you ready?

Yeah.
Here we go.

Oh, yeah.
And a little parmesan.

That looks good, man.

My mouth just started
to water.

Cheers.

There's a ton of collards.

They have really cooked down.

The collards work.
The turkey's nice.

You get a good texture
from the meat.

You're using a really
strong noodle.

I like a thirsty noodle, too,
and this noodle's drinking up

all the goodness
that he's got going on.

Hey.

Where do you come up
with "thirsty noodle"?

So good.
Is there like a cooking --

you got a Zac cookbook
coming out, what's going on?

Thirsty noodle.

Hey, you crushed it, my friend.
Thank you.

Congratulations.
Thank you.

-Amazing.
-Collard green lasagna.

The lasagna is the perfect
ratio between meat,

cheese,
and collard greens.

It's incredible, really good.

Crab stuffed catfish.

Greens and Gravy
is wonderful.

I'm from 30 miles away.

So you had to make a voyage
to get here.

Yes.
Was it worth it?

Yes.

I mean, it's legit, right?

Yes.
Just a wonderful place to go.

I wanted this to be really good,
and it exceeded.

It's great.
Thank you.

ZB, nice having you,
brother.

Yes, sir. Thank you.
Thank you, man.

Appreciate it.
Yes, sir.

Watch out.

Up next...

We're keeping the hits
coming as we head to Austin...

You had me at "Hello."

...where the real star
in the Lonestar state...

-God.
-...is Brazilian.

Little truck, big flavor.

So the last time I was
in Austin, Texas,

I took this buddy of mine
to the Monument Cafe

and we had a blast.

So I rolled back into Austin,
and of course,

he's shooting
a movie overseas,

but he says,
"Listen, bro," he says,

"if you like Brazilian food,
you got to check this joint out.

It is totally legit."

What did I say?

"All right, all right,
all right."

This is Boteco.

This is only the best food truck
in Austin,

but it's also the best place
to get food in Austin.

I got the Yuca fries right here.

It's like my food, you know,
it's my mom's food.

This is how your mom
would make it?

Yeah.

And it's how
Fernando Marri's mom made it

when he was growing up
in Brazil, too.

My family has restaurants
in Brazil,

so I grew up
in the kitchen, literally.

So what is the food?

What we're making today
is feijoada.

Feijoada.
National dish of Brazil.

It's a black bean
and porridge stew.

Feijoada, it can keep me
alive for years.

You could really tell that
he puts the passion into it.

So we start with a pork butt.

Oil, salt,
garlic and onion paste.

Okay.

Got the same marinade
on the ribs...
Okay.

...on the sirloin.
What type of grill is this?

It's a yakitori.
Super hot charcoal in there.

Next step is to caramelize
the smoked meats.

Which is what?
Good chunks of bacon.

The hocks and the tail.

The smoked neck bones.

You can get those
anywhere here.

Prosciutto, pork and bean
sausage, put the onions here.

Garlic and onion paste.

Then we'll take the
grilled pork butt and ribs...

Yes.
Got it.

Add a little beef base.

Fresh bay leaves,
black beans soaked overnight.

Water goes in, salt,
pressure cooker,

how long's this gonna go?

30 minutes.
What are we making next?

We're gonna have a little
pork belly on the side

just to give it
a little bit of texture

because all the meat's
gonna be stewed.

We're just gonna score it.

Through the fat
right down to the meat.

A little bit of salt and
a little bit of Cachaça,

Brazilian rum.

A little rum.
Then we make a bed of onions...

Oranges, lemons, limes.
Beautiful.

A little more Cachaça
on top.

Looks like you've had
some Cachaça.

I did.
In the oven...

About 2 hours,
400 degrees.

And what's the final piece?

Farofa, the most popular
side dish of Brazil.

Okay.
Oil and butter.

Chilies.
Garlic and onion paste.

Cook a little bit.

And then you add
the Yuca flour,

then you're free to add
whatever you want.

A little bit of salt.

We'll add bananas.

Bananas.
Literally, that is...

The pork belly, pour
a little bit of hot oil on top

to get this thing cracking.

I like this move.

Now we're just gonna
serve that.

I'm gonna
serve it like this.

Got to have a little
splash of lime.

You want to talk
about pork belly.

And a little surprise here.
A little guava paste.

Garlic seasoned rice.

You've got a rib, sausage,
prosciutto here,

collard greens on the side,
the farofa we had just made.

Interesting.

Vinegar, pickled salad,
oranges here on top.

Piquillo peppers,
these are sweet.

Well, I'll start of by
telling you that

if the only thing
you served in this truck

was that pork with that guava
paste, you had me at "Hello."

That is ridunkulous.

Oh, yeah.

When I tell you flavor,

every bite that you get
is a different bite.

The farofa is a textural element
to the beans.

It's super key.
Yeah.

The collards you put in there
are great.

The little salsa,
that little acidic bite

helps a lot,
and the stewed meats.

It's probably one of the most
powerful flavors

I've tried in a while.

I can see why
it's a national dish.

It's typically eaten
on Wednesday and Sundays.

It typically should be eaten
every single day in my house.

Yes.

One feijoada here
with pork belly.

I've never had anything
quite like this.

The creamy beans, it has
all the pork, it's really good.

And the farofa has that great
crunch to it.

I did not think
that you could get a flavor

so close to the authentic plate
that you have in Brazil.

Which is what brought in
some "A" list customers.

So how did McConaughey
find Boteco?

He was planning a birthday party
for his wife Camilla,

and his manager was looking
for a Brazilian chef to cook.

We made food
for about seven people.

They tell me,
"We'll call you if we like it."

And they must have loved it.

They called me back
the next day.

Four minutes on the steak,
Diago.

The flavors coming out of here,
it is a 5-star restaurant.

I got the Pao de queijo
sandwich here.

Pao de queijo,
it's a Brazilian cheese bread.

Really rich,
perfectly seasoned steak.

It is phenomenal.

You make bread on the truck?
We make our own bread.

I've been in quite
a few food trucks,

and I've never seen anybody
making bread on them.

So we start with fermented
tapioca flour

and the regular tapioca flour.
Fermented.

Makes it a little
bit more doughy.

Add a little bit of salt.

Hot buttermilk and oil,
right into it.

Whipping the eggs here.

What kind of cheese
we dump in?

-Queijo Canastra.
-The dry, hard cheese.

Exactly.
Okay.

Shape it into a bun,
then we bake it 45 minutes.

Okay, Chef.

We're gonna do the seasoning
out for the picanha.

I've seen food trucks
to a lot of things, not steak.

Sea salt, black pepper,
and a little bit of oodakum.

Oodakum.
The Brazilian spice.

Okay.
Similar to paprika.

A little bit of oil.
Okay.

We'll let that sear
until it's medium rare.

Slice the bread.
Looks like an English muffin.

Oh, dude.
Just a little bit of aioli here.

Steak.
You serve it with the fat.

In Brazil,
that's how we do it.

Parmesan and arugula.

Chimichurri sauce.

Red pickled onions.

All scratch made.

Brother, let me tell you this,
I'm eating some food

in some styles that
I don't think I've ever seen.

The smells, the unique flavors,
I feel transported to Brazil.

This funky cheese bread, God.
Thank you.

A little of the chimichurri
coming through.

Super authentic.

Little truck, big flavor.

I got the Pao de
queijo sandwich.

This really rich and creamy bun

pairs perfectly with this
perfectly cooked steak.

It is really gourmet.

All right, I have one piquija.

There's nothing in Austin
quite like this.

It's like Brazil.

I could come any day here
and feel my hometown.

I knew Matthew wouldn't
send me here

unless it was the real deal.

That's all you need.
You don't need me telling you.

I'm glad I made it, man,
delicious.

Thank you.
Congrats.

Appreciate it.

Coming up
in Richland, Washington...

...a barbecue joint
smoking up monster meat...

Eat it up, Hunter,
skinny little kid.

...along with some
pint-sized poppers.

You hammered those.
Delicious.

Oh, welcome back.

I was out at the picnic table,
I ate, I slept,

it was sunny, it was terrible,
I'm gonna pass out.

So we're here
in Richland, Washington...

I kind of want a cheeseburger.

...where a family
from Northern California...

Some Chinese food,
that sounds pretty good.

...take a type of food

that they found
in South Carolina...

Or pizza, pizza sounds
really good.

Hunter, what are you doing?

I'm trying to figure out
what we want to eat.

We're gonna get some barbecue.

Oh, I love barbecue.
All right.

Great, because this is
Porter's Real Barbecue.

The whole time
we had it figured out.

Beef brisket.

I've had barbecue
all over the country,

I'll put this up
against anything.

Pulled pork.

You know, other places they'll
have like sweet barbecue,

this is more tangy,
has that spice to it.

Smoked turkey.

I love coming to Porter's
because basically the story.

So here's the scoop...

Porter Kinney grew up
in Washington,

but meets his wife Kate
in South Carolina.

They end up moving back
to his home state

and try convincing
his brother Reed

to jump into the barbecue biz.

Porter wanted to open
a food truck.

Okay.

And I dragged my heels
into the ground.

-Doesn't look like it worked.
-And we went to Reed,

and he said, "You want
to help us start this up?"

And he said, "I've had
Porter's food, it's awesome."

There was a few of us

that thought he wasn't
completely crazy.

So they went for it,
and it worked.

With the Kinney crew,

eventually graduating
from 120-square foot truck

to a smoking brick and mortar.

What kind of barbecue
do you guys do?

Texas-style beef brisket,

Carolina-style pulled pork,
Kansas City ribs.

So you're a man of the country
of barbecue.

-Yeah.
-No one's doing like Porter.

Porter's the only one
doing the beef rib.

Beef rib.

It's like a giant burnt end
on a bone.

It's enormous.

We're gonna make the rub that's
gonna go on the beef ribs.

Okay.
Course black pepper.

Of course.

Brown sugar here, paprika
going in, granulated onion...

Granulated garlic.

...salt, chipotle powder.

And this is gonna go
on the brontosaurus ribs.

Yeah, the dino beef ribs.

What's our next step.
A little Worcestershire.

We usually let them tack up
with the rub for about two hours

before we let them
hit the smoker.

Okay, what kind of wood
are we using in the smoker?

Apple and cherry wood.
Okay.

We have orchards in our area.

What temperature
we gonna run?

260 for about eight hours.

260. Not 250.
Nope.

Not...
255?

260.
What do we have up next?

Our mustard barbecue sauce.

Yo-ho, let's go.

Start off with a lot of mustard
here, brown sugar, molasses,

granulated onion, cumin,
granulated garlic,

dark chili powder,
seasoning salt.

Can I try this?
Hunter, your spoon.

That's not okay.
I thought it was funny.

Delicious.

Oh, yeah.
A little wango tango.

Yeah.
Awesome.

So they come three ribs
to a rack of beef ribs here.

And the housemade pickles.
That's it.

Look at that.

This is how I get Hunter
to try new food all the time.

The airplane.

Oh.
See how Dad eats it.

I don't get fed.
Unctuous fat.

I like the caramelization
we're getting on that bark.

Mmm.
That is so tender.

Oh, my gosh.
That is delicious.

That's a dynamite rib.
That is awesome.

Eat it up, Hunter,
skinny little kid.

How you gonna become
like me and Porter?

One beef rib a day
is all the doctor...

That's all we want
is one beef rib a day.

-I'm still young.
-Beef ribs.

It's a little bit
like brisket on a bone.

Love the flavors, the smokiness.

The quality of the meat,
the bark on it, it's perfection.

Half pound of burnt ends.

-You're Delana?
-Yes.

What inspired you to write us
and tell us

that we had the check out
Porter's Real Barbecue.

It's really good food.

I'm also their employee.
-Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

You not only are a fan of the
restaurant, you also work here.

Yes, I do.

Doesn't that sound like,
"I'm not only a member,

but I'm the President."

I tell people all the time, go
and work at a place you admire.

They are an absolute
beautiful family.

I'm a single mother.

They work around my schedule
so I can be there for my kids.

I'm gonna get a tear here.

They genuinely care.

Oh, I taste it in the food.

Whether it's mega mouthfuls
or bite-sized.

Jalapeño poppers.

The poppers are peppers stuffed
with cheese

and wrapped in bacon.

I don't know how you can go
wrong with that.

Let's get down with this rub.
This is our original rub.

They go on our
jalapeño poppers.

Okay.

Paprika, sugar, kosher salt,
dark chili powder...

Okay.

...granulated onion,
real course black pepper.

He said real horse.

They use a horse to grind it.

Yeah, horse power.

In medieval times for sure.

Definitely medieval pepper.

Granulated garlic,
a little cumin.

That's it.
All right, Hunter, let's go.

We're gonna go ahead
and make our filling.

Cream cheese, break it up.

Do you often keep rectangular
cream cheese

in a round cylinder.

We try to make it
as difficult as possible.

Hunter, I am your father.

Some of the rub we just made.

Throw some cheddar cheese in.

Milk, knock this together.

See, Hunter, this is the kind
of stuff you need to learn.

This is perfect college food
right here.

Okay.
Good talk.

Yeah.
Father/son time like this --

just bridging the gap.

All right, let's see it, Chef.
You get the raw jalapeño.

Take some of the popper filling,
a little bit of bacon here,

wrap this up nice and good.

These get done in the smoker,
45 minutes at 250?

That's it.
Let's do it.

That's a good looking one
for Hunter.

I'm just kidding.
Ah, come on.

Delicious.

If you're really interested
in the integrity

of the flavor of the pepper,
you're interested

in the barbecue
getting that smoke,

you like crispy bacon,
that's your boy.

I think my favorite part
about that is the bacon.

A lot of times when you get
a pepper like that

and it's stuffed and the bacon's
wrapped, it's kind of chewy.

You pull it off
and it unravels itself.

Yup.

That was done right.
I bit right into it,

I could bite it in half
and it was clean.

-You hammered those.
-I appreciate it. Thank you.

-Excellent job.
-Awesome.

I'll be taking these
to the next room.

I've got more.
He'll eat them all.

There's plenty more.
He'll really eat them all.

The poppers are really good.

They're not overly spicy.

The bacon is perfect because
of the way that it's smoked.

And the cheese in the middle
is so creamy.

Johnny sandwich.

I would say this is my first
"real" barbecue experience,

and boy, am I
a better man for it.

There you go.
You saw the light.

You saw the smoke.
That's right.

This is next level.

You've got the drive,
you've got the smarts,

you've got the energy, and
you definitely got the flavor.

I appreciate it.
Real deal, man, congratulations.

-That was awesome.
-Thank you.
-Well done.

So that's it for this edition
of "Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives."

If you want to find the recipes
for some of the joints

I'll be looking
for you next time

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

Try not to touch my face
with the cream cheese.

Was that in "Vogue"
that you were just doing?

Yeah.

Strike a pose.