Diners, Drive-ins and Dives (2006–…): Season 30, Episode 1 - A World of Barbeque - 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...
Ooh, that's hot.

...we're taking a dive into
the wide world of barbecue.

It doesn't get any
more tender than that.

From Hawaiian pork
in a pit...

This is a whole different
experience of pig in a blanket

than I have seen.

...to chicken and
chili in Delaware.

Dude, hearty's an
understatement.



Plus, a twist on tacos
outside of San Diego...

That gives me
goosebumps.

...and righteous ribs
gone gangbusters.

I've done a lot of
barbecue joints,

I've never seen
anything like this.

That's all right here,
right now,

on "Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives."

So I'm here in the
town of Hanalei,

which is in the North Shore
of the island of Kauai,

and you know that
old thing that I say

if it's funky, I'll find it?

Wait till you hear this one.

All right, back in the '60s,
lady lived in the back,

and she had a
produce market here.



And the lady that
lived next to her,

she bought the produce market,
and she turned it into a bar.

And then added a restaurant,
and now they do luaus,

and it was run by her son,

now it's run by
her granddaughter.

I mean, is that a
mouthful or what?

This is Tahiti Nui.

Ahi carpaccio.

Whenever you think of Hanalei,

you automatically
think of Tahiki Nui.

It's an absolute
legend around here.

That aloha vibe
Louise Marston started

over 55 years ago
has been kept alive

by her son Christian,
granddaughter Nanea,

and Chef Melissa Hosono.

You own it, she's the boss,
you're the chef.

Yes.

What is the style of food?
What do we call it?

Polynesian, Pacific Rim.

What are we gonna do first?

We're gonna roast one
of the kalua pigs.

Do we always cook pig in
Kauai in the parking lot?

Anywhere.

Can I be, like,
the assistant?

Yes.

Kalua pork is a really
nice, traditional dish.

The Hawaiians make it in an
underground oven with hot rocks.

Chicken wire?

And what we're gonna put
is banana leaves on it.

Lot of banana leaves.

Local hog,
I'll spot you guys.

Hawaiian sea salt
from Hanapepe.

Inside the cavity?

Hot rocks from the pit.
Ooh, that's hot, real hot.

This is a whole
different experience

of a pig in a blanket
than I've seen.

The fire's burning,
it's been hot.

We lit it at 2:00.

2:00 as in in the morning.
In the morning.

All right, let's see it,
buddy.

You know the stumps,
the banana stump,

we smash it up and then --

Right on the coals?

Banana leaves,

and then it goes
right on top of that.

Some more banana leaves.

And then the tarps
and the blankets.

We just cover it all up.
Night-night, six hours.

Where to put the pig.

Outrageous, man, all
the time and effort,

all the prep, gorgeous.

These guys.
My friend, look at it.

Where's your favorite spot?
Right here.

Delicious, it doesn't get
any more tender than that.

I don't know, though,
that you and I

are gonna be able
to eat all this.

Well, we can try.
You have beer, right?

Yeah.

That's tasty parking-lot pig,
my buddy.

We shred it up and
Melissa finishes it off.

She does the rest
of the magic?

Yeah.

Give me the rundown,
Chef, what are we making?

All right, we're gonna make
our homemade barbecue sauce

to go with our
kalua pork sandwich.

Okay.

We start off with some oil.

White onion.
Bacon.

Some ground ginger,
paprika,

cloves, and allspice.

Chipotle peppers.
Which is so Hawaiian.

It is not.

Black pepper, molasses,
pineapple juice, tomato paste.

Once it gets done,

you'll hit it with
the immersion blender.

Now we're gonna reheat
our kalua pork for service.

And there ya go.

Locally made bun?

Yes, and the barbecue sauce
is on the side.

That's really good
barbecue sauce.

I like the fact that
you don't put a bunch

of barbecue sauce on the pork,
so you can taste the pork.

Yeah.
It's delicious.

And the great thing
about it,

is you're getting the
smoke of the pork,

with the sweet and the tang
of the barbecue sauce.

Excellent, I'll take a
gallon of the sauce to go.

Okay.
And five pounds of pork.

Kalua pork sandwich.

Before it hits the table, you
can smell it coming to you,

it's that good.

So nice, juicy and ono,
ono means delicious.

And I love
the barbecue sauce,

I wish that they would
bottle it and sell it.

I said the same thing.
Right?

She crushes the sauce.
Good cocktails?

Have you tasted
our Mai Tai?

No,
I'm trying to cut down.

It's a secret recipe,
so I can't really say.

Really, I can't tell you,
I'd have to kill you, if I did.

Most unique bar, it has
a lot of aloha spirit.

You become one
with the community,

like, almost instantly.

People think of
it more of a bar,

but they have all
their fish options.

Coconut-crusted catch.

The coconut crusted catch
is usually

either ono or mahi-mahi,
and the sauce on top,

with the zesty lime and
coconut is delicious.

Next we are going
to make our ono.

Oh, no.
It's true, oh, no.

Sorry, I had to do it, I've
been waiting for it all day.

That's what
we have here today.

This is my son and I.
That's a pretty big ono.

That thing gets after it.
They are very interested

in not being in
the boat with you.

This is going to
make what for us?

Our coconut-crusted catch.

Just makes it look
like it's no big deal.

And we're going to
season our filets.

It's gonna go
right on the grill.

Par-cook it for two
minutes on each side.

And now we're gonna
make the...?

Zesty cilantro sauce.

Oil, butter,
coriander, fennel seed.

Okay.
Red pepper flakes.

White pepper, ground ginger,
fresh ginger.

White onion.
Lots of garlic.

And then half of
your lime leaves.

You guys grow 'em here?
Yep.

Lemon and lime juice,
lemon and lime zest.

Absolutely.

White wine, fish stock.

We make it from the
bones of that ono.

Got it,
and let this cook?

For about 45 minutes.
Smells delicious.

And we're gonna put
in a lot of cilantro.

And then we tone it down
with the coconut milk.

Huh, you make
the coconut milk?

Uncle Christian is great
at making coconut milk.

Dig it. All right,
what do we got left?

Our zesty coconut crust.

Lemon and lime zest,
macadamia nuts.

A whole bunch of 'em.

Coconut flakes,
red pepper flakes.

We're gonna give
it a quick pulse.

Add our cilantro, and we
let this go for a minute.

All right.
Panko Japanese bread crumbs.

And the final crustiness.

We have our fish, put
a hoisin mayo on here.

So the crust'll stick.

Macadamia nuts,
scoop of our crust.

In the oven.

Zesty cilantro sauce
with a grilled baby bok choy,

and an Okinawan
purple sweet potato.

There's our fish.
Gorgeous.

Micro cilantro.
Gorgeous, gorgeous.

The fish is tender,
the crust is great.

That sauce, a little zest,
and a little bit of heat.

It's incredibly addictive.

Mmm.

Zesty coconut-crusted catch.

It's a great dish, it's
got a little crunch to it.

A little sweetness
from the coconut.

Macadamias on top of that,

just enhances the
flavor of everything.

It's wonderful,

and the purple sweet potatoes
are awesome.

Honey-glazed shrimp.

This is Tahiti Nui, it's
the place to be in Hanalei.

There's nothing
to like about it,

there's everything
to love about it.

With everything you have
going on at this place,

from luaus to the bar --

And live music
every single night.

You definitely take a lot
of pride in what you do.

Thank you.
Nice job.

Thank you very much.
Thank you, Chef.

Up next, a barbecue joint
in El Cajon, California...

...loading lamb in a taco...

Flat out rock star.
Thank you.

...and taking ribs to the max.

This elevates the
barbecue to another level.

All right, so I'm
about 45 minutes

outside of San Diego,
California,

hanging out
with Troy Johnson,

one of my favorite
"Triple G" judges.

Now, Troy, where are
you bringing me?

All right, now,
San Diego's right here,

and the extra, like,
terrestrial solar system,

this is way out in
the middle of nowhere.

San Diego, it was
starving for barbecue.

It had absolutely nothing,
it was the moon of barbecue.

The moon of barbecue?

Troy,
it's a half-hour show.

You're just gonna like it,
man.

This is Grand Ole BBQ.

Two racks pork ribs,
coming up.

What I look for in barbecue,

I want it to be really tender,
and really flavorful.

And they definitely
got that here.

We got four pounds
of brisket.

It has good
Southern barbecue,

which you don't get
in San Diego often.

It's Central Texas
barbecue, to be exact.

And it's in owner and San Diego
boy Andy Harris' blood.

My dad's from Texas,
spent a lot of summers

in Central Texas area,
eating good barbecue.

So I got a smoker, just trying
to duplicate those flavors.

Are you a chef
at this time?

I'm a tour manager for
rock bands, and they --

Hang on a second,
you're the tour manager?

Yeah.

But when you get there,
you fire up the smoker.

Which became a hit, so
he composed his recipes,

quit the music biz, and
started rocking a restaurant.

I wanted to bring
Texas to San Diego.

Eventually teaming up
with Chef Ami Cisneros,

on a new kind of jam.

We really tried to
marry both barbecue

and entrées into one.

El Borracho beef rib.

This thing elevates
barbecue to the next level.

From the buttery polenta,
to the queso,

and pickled onion relish
on top, it's just insane.

What are we gonna make?

So we're making the
El Borracho beef rib.

We just season it with a
butcher grind pepper, and salt.

Now, how hard is it, way
out here, to find good help?

It's not as hard
as I thought.

You got one of the best
dishwashers, I'll tell ya.

Oh, speaking of
which, we need him.

Hey, Troy, let's go,
we're doing the show.

Come on, hurry up.

Oh, we just wanted you
to say hi.

Go back,
All right, all right.

Get back to the restrooms.
All right, all right,

all right, all right.

Troy Johnson, food writer,
here washing dishes.

I mean this must
be a classic joint.

Yeah.

Into the smoker?
Into the smoker.

How long?
Four hours.

And what kind of wood are
we using on the smoker?

White oak.

Next is the chorizo
for the...?

Queso.
Got it.

Ground pork.
Some cheese and meat grease.

And this helpful culinary
tip, brought to you

by cheese
and meat grease.

Some minced onion.
Garlic and jalapeño.

Ground paprika,
ground ancho, guajillo,

espresso chilies,
Argentinian salt.

Toasted coriander.
Toasted coriander.

Smells like
a sinus clearer.

You know, that smells
like some decongestant.

You should go into
food writing, Troy.

So we're making the queso.

We're gonna start with the roux,
butter, flour, beer.

It's a Mexican lager.

Heavy cream.
Mm, it's a low-fat dish.

It's like mouth Pilates.
Mouth Pilates?

One point
of Troy being funny.

Shredded cheddar,
smoked Gouda.

Mm, that's so Gouda.

And American cheese,
and then chorizo.

Like five Super Bowl
parties in a pot.

Next, what do we have?

We got a relish too.

Pickled red onions,
shallots.

Dance, Troy.

Stop, Troy.

Oh, sorry,
you said stop, yup.

Serranos.

You just can't
unsee that, can you?

Cilantro, lime zest,
then the lime juice.

Extra virgin olive oil,
corn chips.

Yes.
We crush 'em to order.

Salt and pepper,
just mix it up.

Okay, put the dish
together, sister.

Put the beef rib on
top of the polenta.

Oh, that's tiny.

Queso.

And we top it
with the relish.

-Mm.
-Don't even grab anything,

Troy, you don't need it.

I'll wash the dish
when you're done.

Great smoke, nice bark.

Boy, that sounds
really delicious.

Each bite gets better.
Really?

What I did is I first just
started with the barbecue.

Now, I'm enjoying some of
the queso and the relish.

Delicious,
it looks just --

Mm, it's fantastic.

The fresh relief
that you're getting

from this corn chip salsa
is dynamite.

All right,
let's get in there.

This elevates the
barbecue to another level.

I've done a lot of
barbecue joints,

I've never seen
anything like this.

And that relish is
totally San Diego, too.

That Mexican flavor,
those serranos in there.

That's legit.

El Borracho beef ribs.

The ribs, you
barely have to chew.

It just falls off the bone.

Kind of just want to go home
and bathe in the queso.

I can keep eating it over
and over and over again.

Three links.

So he doesn't need
any introduction.

Everybody knows Luigi,
Pizzeria Luigi.

So really good friends
of ours, his wife Amy,

and I don't know who
these two over here are,

'cause if you grow
any more,

you're gonna be taller
than your dad next week.

What do you think
of the food?

It's just like different than
other barbecues I've had.

The fact that it
doesn't have any sauce,

and it has this much flavor

is what I find really
amazing about it.

I'm sorry, when did you
two just go to college?

I've eaten a lot of
barbecue in Texas,

and it's slow cooking
that they do here

is really, really first class.

Troy Johnson and I hanging out,
killer barbecue.

We got another dish?
We sure do.

The lamb tacos.

The lamb tacos are amazing.

The meat is tender
and juicy and smokey.

It's one of the best
things I've ever had.

Oh.
Watch this Troy.

Oh, come on.

And we'll be back,
after these messages.

Bring your buddy to work
day is not going so good.

All right, welcome
back to "Triple D."

And we're here with the chef
at Grand Ole BBQ.

What are you doing?
I mean...

I swear, Troy.

Did he start the show?
He tried to.

I was calling home
to tell them

the dish was lights-out good.

The barbecue is to die for.

It's nothing like we've
ever had in San Diego.

They take their time
to cure the meat

and cook it properly.

The lamb tacos.

The lamb tacos are so good,
really, really juicy,

lots of flavor.

We're getting into
the lamb tacos.

Bring it.

This is lamb shoulder,
seasoned with Argentinian salt.

Smoke this for four hours.

And then after this,
where are we going?

We're making
the birria broth.

Chicken stock,
smoked turkey stock, ancho,

guajillos, chili de arbol.

I like the accent.

Onions, garlic, sesame oil.

Says me.
Says whom?

And a little clove,
and some...?

Peppercorns.
Black pepper, got it.

Usually I let it go
for about an hour

before I add the smoked lamb.

That'll go
for another four?

Another four hours.

And what else goes
on top of this taco?

Smoked Roma tomato salsa.

So smoked the
tomatoes for how long?

Two hours.

Cilantro, yellow onion,
jalapeño, garlic,

chipotle, lime juice,
water, salt and pepper.

Got it.

Now what are we up to?

The tortilla -- flour,
baking powder, salt.

And God's gift,
right there.

God's gift of lard.

Troy, it's toothpaste.

Drop in the manteca.

Put in the lard.

You weren't impressed
with the manteca?

I was, actually.
With the manteca.

Start incorporating
some water.

We're gonna bust it
off into small pieces,

hand roll it, and cook
this on the flat top?

Yes, we are.

Start frying them up
with lard,

manteca
as you would call it.

No, but manteca.
Manteca.

After we cook
the lamb shoulder,

we put it in here,
let it get crispy.

Cumin guac put in there.

Lamb and cumin,
classic combo.

Yeah, iceberg lettuce.

Roasted tomato salsa.

Lime crema, we get
the birria broth.

And you eat it, kind of
like a French dip, almost.

Right.
You know.

As tender as it is,
you still get...

...outstanding richness
of the lamb.

You didn't lose the lamb
at all.

You get the crust
of the bark,

the flour tortilla
absorbing it

and becoming kind of the
sponge on the inside,

but giving you that textural
"wow" factor on the out.

The crema, the iceberg,
the freshness of that,

the smoked Roma
tomato salsa, killer.

Man,
it gives me goosebumps.

It's that kind of food.
Thank you.

Lamb tacos in the window.

The lamb was really tender,
the crisp lettuce,

and then the nice drizzle
of the sour cream.

The tortilla, you bite into
it, and you feel that crunch,

but you also get that softness.

They're delicious.

Texas turkey.

Grand Ole BBQ is one
of my go-to places.

Everything about it
is just delightful.

What's going on
back here in the kitchen

is super well thought out,
creative,

and flat-out rock star.

Thank you.
Well done.

Coming up, a neighborhood
spot in Wilmington, Delaware...

Go before I eat
all the bacon.

...where the smoked
chicken salad is money...

So no joke, all smoke.

...and the chili
comes fully loaded.

Every single thing that they
have here in the restaurant

is now going
into the chili.

So I know you've heard
it on "Triple D" before,

and you kind of get tired of it,
but just please indulge me.

It's a story about a kid

being adopted from
Bogotá, Colombia,

and he comes to live
with an Irish family,

here in Wilmington, Delaware.

He starts firing up
some real-deal barbecue

in Little Italy,
you gotta check it out.

This is Locale BBQ Post.

It's quick, it's easy,

and you can get some
really good barbecue.

Got one hero platter up.

It's homey, it's familiar,
and you smile when you walk in.

But this neighborhood joint

wasn't initially on chef and
owner Dan Sheridan's radar.

I had a small pickling
company going.

Pickling company.
Yeah.

Everybody has one of those.

We would have to sell tons
of pickles to pay rent.

I mean, that'll put
you in a pickle.

Yeah, it would.

So Dan tapped into his
culinary background

and went full-blown barbecue,

smoking up everything
from beef...

Brisket rib plate.
...to bird,

like what this little
barbecue spot is known for.

Chicken salad sandwich.
Chicken salad sandwich?

The smoked chicken salad
is out of this world.

It's got the smokiness of
the chicken, the celery,

tons of spices in there.

It's awesome.

So what do we
start off with?

Our dry rub, we use
this for every meat.

The cumin, garlic powder,
some onion powder,

chili powder.
Season salt.

Cayenne, salt, black pepper,
dry mustard,

Cajun seasoning.
Okay.

Paprika,
brown sugar into that,

and that's ready
to go on our meats.

So we start with about a
3 and 1/2 pound chicken.

Spatchcock it.
Take the backbone out.

Seasoned right on the skin.

Now how long are we gonna
let this sit on there?

A few hours.

Going into the smoker?

2 and 1/2, three hours.
What kind of wood?

We use
all cherry wood here.

Everything's at 250 degrees.

Then we shred it.

'Cause there's no bones
in your chicken salad.

No, we take those out.

I didn't know if it
maybe a Wilmington thing,

like hey, free bone,
no okay.

No, no, no, no.
Next up?

We make
all our own bacon here.

We put some bits in our
chicken salad sandwich.

Okay.

Our house dry rub,
which we just made.

Great.
Pink curing salt.

Finish it
with some brown sugar.

So we'll score the fat,
and that just helps it

get inside there.

It'll go on six, seven days.

Now we just rinse it.

And on the 7th day,
they rinsed.

In the smoker,
cherry wood, at 250.

Yes.

So no joke, all smoke,
all right.

Go, before I eat
all the bacon.

Mayo, white and dark meat,
celery,

bacon,
about half gone already.

Well,
someone was eating it.

Lemon, dill, seasoning salt,
salt, pepper.

We're ready to go,
we get brioche buns.

Where do you buy
the pickles from?

We make all our pickles
here, of course.

Make a nice spoonful.
That's all she wrote.

Anytime you're making
smoked chicken,

with smoked bacon, put 'em
together in a sandwich,

can't go wrong.

Not too much smoke
on the chicken,

we get a little celery
in there.

Base foundation,
you want it right.

What are these
pickled with?

Vinegar, salt, sugar,
throw some dill in there.

My dry rub,
and some Old Bay.

The dry rub gets
in the pickles too?

Yes, sir, everything.

Well done, congratulations.
Thanks a lot.

Chicken salad coming up.

This is definitely an
elevated chicken salad.

Perfect mix of smokiness
and a little bit of sweet.

And in this town, that
smoke isn't easy to come by.

When I think about Wilmington,

it's a lot of Italian.

We're in Little Italy,

this is where you come
to get great pizza,

and this place you come
to get great pasta.

They're doing barbecue,
what do people think?

They love it.

And there's a lot to love,

in this monster meaty mash up.

Got a smokehouse chili.

The chili's just
packed with meat.

It's got the brisket,
it's got the bratwurst,

it's got cornbread right
on top there, it's perfect.

All right, what
are we doing next?

We're gonna make
the chili.

You do pork butt, you do ribs,
the full brisket.

And then that all goes in,

and then everybody's --
My kind of chili.

Everybody's eating...
That's my kind of chili.

...everything
that we do here.

All right, so let's see it.

We're gonna get going
on our base sauce.

Ketchup, water, white vinegar,
Worcestershire,

liquid smoke, honey.
Okay, sugar.

Molasses, brown sugar,
more of our dry rub.

You don't like that dry rub
at all, you never use that.

Chili powder, dried
ancho chilies,

It'll bubble,
hour or two.

Hit it with the
immersion blender.

And that is it.

All right, these are our
baked beans that we make.

And this isn't
even the chili yet.

Everything goes
in the chili,

I make everything else
first.

Some butter, the bacon
that we made earlier,

dehydrated navy beans.

Let me guess
what's in next.

House dry rub.

Not yet.
Don't worry, it's coming.

We got our barbecue sauce
we just made.

Stir that up,
here's your dry rub.

Liquid smoke,
Worcestershire, molasses,

house mustard sauce,
that'll hang out on the flame

six, seven hours.

Every single thing
that they have here

in the restaurant is now
going into the chili.

Oil, ground beef, our
bratwurst mix, salt, pepper,

tomato paste,
chicken stock

that we made from our
smoked chicken bones,

we have our brisket,
what's left of the bacon,

pork butt, the ribs,
our beans, stewed tomatoes,

of course dry rub.
No kidding.

Chili powder, dry mustard,
cayenne for heat.

And a grilled cheese sandwich
and the pecan pie

will also be going
into the chili.

Paprika, a good amount
of cumin, bay leaves,

add some
more chicken stock.

We'll bring it to a boil,
cut it down to a simmer,

four or five hours.

It looks like a deconstructed
barbecue sandwich.

Cheddar, the cornbread.

And that's all she wrote.

It's got the flavor
of chili,

but it eats like you
completely pulverized

a barbecue sandwich.

Get a little bit of bean,
nice bit of cheese.

That's the most meat
I've had in chili.

It's hearty.

Dude, hearty's an
understatement.

The cornbread's a great
little touch on top.

Got a nice, light, but really
super flavorful tomato broth.

That's a kitchen sink
right there, buddy.

It is.

You got smokehouse chili.

The chili's got some good
heat to it, not overwhelming.

Good texture to the meat.

Whenever you take a bite,

you just want another one
right quick after that.

Got two pork belly taco.

Locale BBQ Post,
it's just great barbecue.

Congratulations.
Thank you, thank you.

It all started from
a pickle business.

Yep.
Nicely done.

So that's it for this trip,
but don't worry,

there's plenty more "Triple D"
joints all over the country.

I'll be looking
for you next week,

on "Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives."

I don't know what to do
with my hands right now.

There's nobody to talk to.

Book.