Diners, Drive-ins and Dives (2006–…): Season 30, Episode 8 - Beef Bonanza - 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...

I christen ye knights
of Flavortown.

...it's a full-fledged
beef bonanza...

Hi, food coma.
My name's Guy.

...like in San Diego
where we're taking a dip...

That's it, baby.
...and loafing around...

That's some of the most tender,
moist meatloaf I've tried.

...plus, an El Paso joint
cranking out the kebabs...



Delicious.
I mean, like really dynamite.

...and a real-deal Italian spot
in Delaware...

It's like a warm hug
for your stomach.

A little warm hug.

...rolling it and stuffing it
the old-school way.

It's a secret recipe that
we've had for a very long time.

Okay, I will not
tell anybody.
Okay.

That's all right here,
right now,

on "Diners, Drive-ins & Dives."

So, I'm here
in Wilmington, Delaware.

You got to love coming back
to the East Coast.

I mean, there's so much history,

and particularly
restaurant history.

We're here to check out
a joint that --



Well, it's five generations

been making handmade raviolis
since the 1940s.

This is Mrs. Robino's.

Pork out in the window.

If you want to get
a good Italian meal,

you're coming
to Mrs. Robino's.

Spizzato up.

We've been coming here
for about 50 years.

Here you are, T.C.

It's all about eating and family
and friends getting together.

That's 'cause at Mrs. Robino's,

it's family that's keeping
everything together,

just ask Andrea Wakefield
and Robin Mabrey.

Let me get this straight.
Sisters?

Cousins. Cousins.

Mrs. Robino was
your great-grandmother.
Yes.

Mrs. Robino was
your grandmother.
Yes, she was.

So, your grandmother
took over.
Yes.

Who is her grandmother
to you?

Aunt.
Got it.

I'm still lost.
Just play along at home.

The food is phenomenal.

The beef braciole,
in particular,

is better than I've ever had it
anywhere else.

Beef braciole.

It's a tender cut of beef
that's pounded down

to make it
even more tender,

and it's baked until it is
so succulent and juicy.

The sauce itself is probably the
best tomato sauce I've ever had.

Alright,
what are we making?

Our homemade
spaghetti sauce.

We're gonna be putting it
on our beef braciole.

It's a secret recipe that we've
had for a very long time.

Okay, I will not
tell anybody.
Okay.

So, we're gonna start out
by putting some oil, onions...

Whew!

...garlic.

You're gonna put
the skins of the garlic

in the tomato sauce?
Yes.

Are we gonna
puree this later?

We're gonna strain it.

You don't need to sit there
and have one of the kids

peeling this
all the way down.
Exactly.

I've cooked
my entire life...

Never saw that?
...never seen this.

Well, there you go.

So, these are
the neck bones.

Neck bone's connected
to the...rib bone.

Is that how it went?

Pork fatback.
Pork fatback.

This is gonna cook
and let it sit overnight.

This is your great-grandmother's
recipe from the '40s.
Yep.

That's about as old-school
as it gets, right?

So, what we have to do
is transfer this to here.

That's what I was hoping
you were gonna help me with.

You see how she stood there
and just kind of waited for me

to figure out
that I was picking this up?

You want to do
the messy part?

If it's the pouring
the sauce part, I'm back here.

Oh, you made that
easy-peasy.

Now we're gonna go
with our paste.

When are we putting
the basil in?
Right now.

And we're gonna cook this
six to eight hours, stirring it.

What are
we making next?

We're gonna make
the beef braciole.

This is a top sirloin.

We're going to start
by pounding it out.

Beautiful.
Thank you.

Parsley, garlic, salt,
Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Okay.
Cracked pepper.

We're gonna roll this baby up.
This is how my grandmother

always had it
with the toothpicks.

A little more black pepper,
a little oil.

Just roast just
till it gets brown,

and then we're gonna top it
with our red sauce

and braise it in the oven
for about three hours.

I'm salivating.

Then we have
the spaghetti.

This is homemade pasta?
Yes, it is.

Red sauce on top,
and there you are.

This is how you know
it's done the right way --

with the fork.
No knife needed.

Tender, pull apart.
Crazy.

That's old-school beef braciole
right there, folks.

That's Sunday gravy
all day long.

Night-night,
Flavortown.

I mean,
that's goodnight.

I've had five or six bites
here already.

I'm stuffed.

The to-go box program here has
got to be ridiculous.

Oh, it's crazy. Every person
leaves with a to-go box.

We don't find a lot
of places like this.

Hidden gem.
Drive right by it,

but once you stop
and see this,

you won't forget where it's at.
Excellent.

Your beef braciole.

The beef braciole is very good,
very tender, very delicious.

Did your mom make braciole
when you were a kid?

Yes.
How's this compare?

It's perfect.

I always get extra sauce
'cause their sauce

is like nothing else.

How do you describe
Mrs. Robino's?

Just like home.

'Cause at your house,
you have like four dining rooms.

Started out as
a single row home,

then it expanded
into another row home

and then another row home.

So, as time goes on and as
neighbors get bought out,

restaurant
becomes bigger.
Yes. Yes.

All around on the wall
are pictures of the family,

so you really are, like,
in someone's living room.

I'm gonna take a nap
in the back of the Camaro.

When we come back,
what's up with your brother?

You keep him in the back room,
and he makes raviolis?
Yes.

Okay, we got to check out

the top secret,
back-room ravioli operation.

The meat ravioli.

The raviolis are great.
They're homemade.

These are the real deal.

And then
last ingredient.

Looks fantastic.
Oh, these aren't mine.

So, here we are.
"Triple D" is hanging out

at Mrs. Robino's,
Wilmington, Delaware.

Pasta ravioli room.

Brother and sister.
Yes.

And their family has been
serving up classic Italian

ever since
their great-grandmother

started the place
nearly 80 years ago.

Everything here is homemade --

the homemade noodles,
homemade raviolis.

Large
meat ravioli ready.

The meat ravioli,
they're like little pillow puffs

stuffed with
seasoned ground beef

and covered with
that homemade tomato sauce.

Fantastic.

Alright, Joe.
That's some really old machines.

That's a
scary-looking machine.

From the '80s.
1880s.

No, 1982.

This one here is
like 1775.

Yeah, this is 1940.

This is pretty dangerous,
this thing.

I don't even know
what you would call it.

I would think
a hand remover.
Yeah.

So, what
are we making?

Just the basic dough that
we use for the meat raviolis.

Well, let's
get into it, buddy.

Water...eggs...flour.

Alright.
Turn it on.

How long's
that gonna mix?

About 15 minutes.

It sounds like it's
on its last leg, Joe.

Well, it's old.

Dough's out,
and everything is sheeted?
Yeah.

This is an EBSol.
This is the first one they made

after the
horse-drawn carriage.
Right.

When your sister said
I was gonna come back here

and work with the old machine,
I thought she meant you.

No. No. No. No. No. No.
There we are.

Lay this on top
of the board.

Okay. What
have we got here?

Ground beef, salt, egg.

Granulated garlic,
Italian breadcrumbs.
Breadcrumbs, right.

We're gonna make like
a meatloaf here.
Okay.

So, in the over, 350,
cook it off, let it cool.

And then
we just fill each,

and we'll make
150 meat raviolis.

'Cause so far,
we've already done nine.

I'm gonna go check
some e-mails...
Sure.

...wash my dog,
change oil in the car.

I'll be
a few minutes.

I'll see you Thursday.
I'm up to about 60.

Oh, I just got back
from the mall.

They have
a shoe sale going on.
Sure.

Joe, I've almost finished
this docu-series.

Joe, I've screened three
new shows for Food Network.

Okay, that's it.

Now...?
Just hit it
with a little water.

You're gonna softly
press them down?

We'll cut them up.
Okay.

Flip them over.
Joe, look at you.

We're gonna go
into salted water?

Yeah.
Take a few minutes.

Once they start boiling
like this, scoop them out,

shock them
with cold water.
Okay.

Would you like some sauce
on them, also?

Oh, yeah.
And a meatball, too.

If you like a meatball.
I always like a meatball.

Here's our meat ravioli
and a homemade sauce.

Ohh. Pasta is
super al dente.

Ground beef...
just enough.

This is
a really nice balance.

You like it?
Yeah.

You know
what you're doing.

Real-deal Italian ravioli
made by hand.

You don't find this
very often anymore.

You're an animal.

Hey, buddy, nice job.
Thanks.

Well done.
Meat ravioli
in the window.

Phenomenal. Made fresh, and the
sauce just compliments it all.

It's like a warm hug
for your stomach.

A little warm hug.

Veal Parm up.

This is such
a family restaurant.

When you come here,
you're coming home.

I love it. You can feel
the energy and the personality

and all the history
when you walk in.

And they always say, "I was this
big when I first come here."

"We celebrated
my birthday here."

And then people actually want to
have their funerals here.

You get both ends
of the spectrum.

You get the christenings,
and you get the funerals.

Crazy.

Up next,
a finer diner in San Diego...

This is when
the magic happens.

...making
not-your-mama's meatloaf...

Oh, that'll be
just fine.

...and putting a chef's touch
on a sandwich staple.

You can take a man
out of the bistro,

but you can't take a bistro
out of the man.

So, I'm here in beautiful
San Diego, California,

in an area
known as Mission Hills.

Now, I'm here to check out
a diner that was once a bistro,

and it's owned by a guy
named Ric,

but that's not the name
of the diner,

but it's his sister's name,

but his sister's not actually
an owner of the diner.

I know this is really confusing,
but I hear the food's great.

This is Jo's Diner.

Two meatloafs going in.

Jo's is amazing.

It's not a typical greasy spoon.

French onion for Neil.

This is diner food
with a bistro attitude.

Did I get it right?
Yes.

That's because this joint
actually started out

as a French bistro called
Cafe Bleu,

but then chef
and owner Ric Libiran

changed lanes and the name.

Why Jo's Diner?
Why not Ric's Diner?

When it was my French
restaurant, my sister was here.

Her name's Jo.
Exactly.

I kind of gravitated more
to just everyday kind of food.

French dip, table 1.

The short rib French dip is
probably my favorite thing here.

You get a combination
of the onion and the cheese

on top of the grilled,
rich, tender meat.

It gets me excited.

Most people make the French dip
out of top round

or leftover prime rib.

We're gonna braise
some short ribs.

Right now, we're making
some braising liquid.

Okay,
a little bacon fat.

Red onions, celery,
and carrots.

Add the tomato paste,
fresh thyme, rosemary.

Bay leaf.
Red wine, beef stock.

Bring it to a boil, and then
it's ready for the short ribs.

Season these?
Salt and pepper.

Put them
on the grill.

So, sear
all four sides.

Top it off
with the braising liquid,

and we'll cook it
for four hours.

Now, how in the world
are you pulling that out

without just tearing off
a little chunk and trying it?

Oh, that'll be
just fine.

Fish out the ribs.

Wait. Wait. Wait.
Where did the fish come in?

Take it with the tongs,
take them out.

Oh, take the short rib.
Take the short ribs out.

I don't know.
We're in San Diego.

Maybe there was fish.

Finish the short rib in the jus
with caramelized onions.

Baguette.
Toasted baguette.
Gorgeous.

And we'll top it off with
the shredded Gruyère cheese.

Put this in the salamander.
Toast it up.

No salamander
was harmed

in the filming of this show,
by the way.

So, we got
the reduced jus.

Hi, food coma.
My name's Guy.

I'll see you
in just a minute.

Oh-ho-ho.

Mmm. The only problem
with this

is you didn't serve it
in a kiddie pool,

'cause if I could get in
with the sandwich and the jus...

I mean, that short rib along
with those caramelized onions...

Bananas.
And?

Bananas is good.
Bananas is good.

The bread's fantastic.

The jus is luxurious.

You get all that nice fat
that's coming

from the braising
of the short rib.

Little touch of the red wine and
then melted Gruyère on top --

It's all the components
of what you want

a great French dip
to be.

That's it, baby.

Short rib French dip.

The French dip is incredible.

The short rib is
packed with flavor. Mmm.

Was that a food moan?
Okay.

This is my buddy Lonie,
who's a three-time

Super Bowl champ
with the Patriots.

What do you think
of the dip?

Amazing. Huge fan.
I'm all about --

Well, thank you,
but I'm right here.

I'm all about dips.

If you watch "Triple D,"
you understand

that we've got
multiple cameras.

Lonie hooks us up
with the GoPros.

We don't have the mouth cam,
by the way, yet.

Well, I just
gave you one, so...

Yeah, so, now I'll be
wearing the mouth cam.

I don't know
how to chew with it.

Shrimp and polenta.

This is our favorite
family restaurant.

There's a lot of diversity,
a lot of different flavor.

If you come here
for breakfast or brunch,

the chilaquiles
are definitely a must.

How's
the French onion?

Delicious.
It's my favorite.

I'm a French onion junkie.
Favorite thing on the menu?

Meatloaf.
Really?

Yeah.
Meatloaf ready
to plate.

It's not a traditional meatloaf.

The glaze on here
is just excellent.

That little pop of flavor,
wrapped in bacon.

Just crazy wonderful.

Jo's meatloaf.

California grass-fed
ground beef.
Got it.

Some diced pasilla
chili peppers.

Pasillas
aren't very spicy.

They add
a really nice flavor.

Italian parsley.

And then
Pecorino cheese.

This is a very interesting
meatloaf at this stage.

Panko breadcrumbs...
eggs...

Whole milk.
A little salt and pepper.

How much
Worcestershire, Chef?
About a tablespoon.

I like the way
this is going so far.

Mold the meatloaf,
pop it out.

We've already got our
applewood-smoked bacon laid out.

Pull up the ends.
This is when
the magic happens.

Flip it over into
the perforated pan.

It's like you've done
that before.

For the glaze,
you've got...
Ketchup.

...ketchup, brown sugar,
dry mustard.

Hot sauce.
We're gonna glaze it.

So, we cook it.
It's gonna be portioned.

Pop it back in the oven
for about 12 to 15 minutes.

Now we're into.
Demi-glace.

We've got beef stock, red wine,
and tomato paste.

Thyme, peppercorn,
bay leaves, red onions.

Bring it to a boil, strain it,
let it reduce about half.

And then a little slurry
to tighten it up.

Good to go.
The meatloaf is down.

Do a quick sear on both sides,
and then we got

our garlic Yukon mashed
potatoes, French green beans,

country gravy,
and then our beef demi.

For most diners, it's not
like 80 steps to make meatloaf.

It's fantastic.

That's some of the moist tender,
moist meatloaf I've tried.

This is my first time that I've
ever had pasillas in a meatloaf.

Between the Pecorino
and the pasilla,

this has a ton
of personality.

It's like its own style
of meatloaf.

The demi is a nice little kiss,
but the real star of it

is that sauce
that you glazed on the outside.

I mean, then you go into extra
innings adding in this gravy.

The mashed potatoes are great.
Green beans are on point.

You masked your
French bistro energy

into this American staple
really well.
Thank you.

You can take a man
out of the bistro,

but you can't take a bistro
out of the man.

I got the meatloafs
for you guys right here.

It's extremely flavorful.

The sauce that they put on
top of it is just so delicious.

It's got a smoky taste
from the bacon.

I grew up
with my mom's meatloaf,

but then I came here
and fell in love with it.

So, Mom takes
second fiddle now?

Yeah.
Okay.

Steak frites, pickup.

I love coming here.
It's amazing.

I'll be back many more times.

You nailed it, man.

You've made this
a contemporary diner.

So, you get
the comforts of home,

get the things
that you love

at the culinary level
that you're accustomed to.

Appreciate it.
Jo...Ric...

Brother Bleu Diner.

Pbht. Who knows.
Come meet him.

You'll like him,
whatever his name is.

Coming up,
a Persian place in El Paso

full of surprises...
This, I got to see.

...from
their mechanics...

I don't know what part
not to touch.

I might get something
caught in there.

...to the recipes.

I've never heard of it,
I've never seen it,

and I would definitely
eat it again.

You know how they say,
"It's always bigger in Texas"?

I think they should say, "It's
like, always ethnic in Texas."

I mean, I have found
some of my favorite "Triple D"

ethnic restaurants
in this great state.

So, I'm not surprised to be down
here at El Paso,

just a couple miles
from New Mexico and Mexico,

and I'm here to check out
a Persian restaurant

where they're making these
kebabs with this crazy machine.

This is Tasty Kabob.

I'm plating Ghaimeh.

This is very authentic
Persian food.

-Chicken koobideh.
-It's very healthy.

It's very flavorful.

It's good. It's good.
It's good.

We don't have a lot
of Persian food in El Paso,

so we like the originality.

And that new mix
in a sea of Tex-Mex

comes from Eshi
Hendry's homeland.

Where are you from
originally?
Iran.

So, is this Iranian food?
Persian.

To someone that's never
had Persian food,

how do you describe
what it tastes like?

It's not spicy
and very simple, you know,

salt, pepper, lemony.

A lot of rice?
A lot of rice.

I really like the spices,
the herbal notes.

What's your favorite thing
on the menu?

The beef koobideh.

Beef koobideh.

It's just ground beef mixed
with spices

and mixed with onions,
cooked on a skewer.

It's tender, and it's delicious.

What are we gonna
make first?
Beef koobideh.

Okay, let's start.

This is the meat.
80% meat, 20% fat.

Beef, I run them twice,
and the third time,

the onion
is gonna go in.

And now we just season it
with salt, cayenne pepper,

but it's not spicy.
We don't make it spicy.

So, we form it
onto the kebab.

We can do by hands,
but we do have a machine.

I've never seen
a ground-beef kebab machine.

This is
the kebab machine.

I don't know what part
not to touch.

I might get something
caught in there.

Put the meat
in the top.

You want to just feed
the skewer in.

Ta-da!
There you go.

So, it just
compresses it on there.

Yes.

Well, it's a lot sexier
that way than you

and I cramping it
on there with our hands.

I christen ye knights
of Flavortown.

Let us take the castle.

We will finish it
on the charred grill

for five
to seven minutes.

Now what are we making?

We are gonna make
some basmati rice.

It's already cooked.
Yeah, it's half cooked.

You're gonna steam it.

Water, vegetable oil.

So, it's gonna make it
a little crispy down there?

Yes.
We call it tahdig.

Tahdig.
A little saffron.

Plain white yogurt.

The first five minutes, we want
to have it on high heat...

Right.
...so they're crispy
at the bottom,

and then we lower down
for half an hour.

Alright, next?
Mast-o-musir.

Mast is plain yogurt,
and musir is the shallot.

This is
one dry shallot.

Yes, it is.

These are from Iran,
actually.

It's like
shallot chips.

Like playing bones.

We soak them couple hours
and process in a blender,

and that's what we get.

Salt.
That's the sauce
for the kebab.

Yes.
Our rice is ready.

We're gonna mix
some butter.

A little of the saffron
that's been bloomed.

Put it on the top
of the rice.

Gonna get our kebab.

Oh, I don't get to keep
the skewer?

We put the tomato.

And there you go.

The kebab,
because of the machine,

you get a great amount
of caramelized texture

on the outside and just
the right balance of tender,

juicy, moist beef
on the inside.

The machine is scary,
but it makes the bomb kebab.

It's good.
Yogurt on the kebab.

Dangerous.

Delicious.
Thanks.

I mean, like,
really dynamite.

Beef koobideh.

This definitely
satisfies that craving for beef,

and it's different
than a hamburger.

The rice is good 'cause it's got
a little crunch to it,

but yet
it's tender inside.

Ready for the next one?

I've known Eshi for a
while, and she used to feed us,

and I remember just wishing
she would open up a restaurant.

What did you do
before you were here?

I managed a restaurant,
actually, for 29 years.

For 29 years?
Yes.

I always want to open
my own place.

And even though
she named it Tasty Kabob,

it's more than just meat
on a skewer here.

Here's your ghormeh sabzi
with rice.

Ghormeh sabzi consists
of a lot of herbs, beans,

and a Persian lime.

This reminds me of my pot roast
growing up.

It's got meat,
but it's in a Persian way.

Alright, what are we
gonna make next?

Ghormeh sabzi.

This is a stew?
Yes.

I put the oil, cilantro, leaf
fenugreek, spinach, and parsley.

Add some
chopped garlic.
Okay.

So, while
this one is cooking,

we're gonna use oil,
chopped onion, the meat.

Chuck?
Yes.

We will season it
with turmeric and combine.

Alright, next?

Salt, pepper, red kidney beans,
and this is a --

Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.
Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.

Not walnuts.

No, those are
Persian lime.

You eat them?
Of course.

Big green stew
with dried limes.

This, I got to see.

It will take at least
four to five hours to be ready.

If I tell anybody
what's in this recipe,

they're gonna think
I'm crazy.

Spoon over your rice,

and then you mix them together,
and eat up.

Strong flavors, big flavor,
memorable flavor.

This is all
of those at once.

Mmm. There's a lot
going on here.

You definitely
get the lime,

and there's a concentration
of all the fresh herbs.

And then all of a sudden,
you get these little

red kidney beans
in there.

I've never heard of it,
I've never seen it,

and I would
definitely eat it again.

Outstanding.

I have
one ghormeh sabzi.

The ghormeh sabzi,
it's very good.

I really like
all the herb flavors.

It's my favorite dish.

That's what he gets
every time.

Almost.
99.9% of the time.

I would just say that we just
go with 100%, then.

Order is up.

If you come to El Paso, and
you don't stop at Tasty Kabob,

you're missing
a good landmark.

We come in with smile and leave
with a bigger smile.

Really great job.

You want big flavors,
come try this one.

That's it for this week,
but don't you worry.

I'll be looking for more joints
all over this country.

I'll see you next week
on "Diners, Drive-ins & Dives."

I want you guys to take a moment
and see our new cameraman

running the new
"Triple D" mouth cam.

That's funny.