Guy Fieri
FT: Yes we are! While you are on the
road, how do people react when they
see you coming in to film? Can you
talk about some of the more memorable characters you have met over
the years?
GF: It is a very interesting situation.
Often I am getting ready to go into a
restaurant where I am in town for a
few days to do the show and people
will walk up to me and say, “Has anyone ever told you that you look like
that guy on Diners, Drive-Ins, and
Dives?” I will look right at them and
say “My wife tells me that every day!”
Sometimes they get it and sometimes
they do not, but they will return a few
minutes later saying “Well, are you
that guy on Diners, Drive-Ins, and
Dives?” I will do this little joke and we
will both have a laugh. It is so great because there is such a broad fan base of
people who appreciate the show and
I love that kids are enthusiastic and
get inspired by it because that means
they are being exposed to all different types of food, they are seeing different methods, different ethnicities,
all the things that are going on the
food world.
I believe, if you open a kid’s palette, you open their mind because
they have to understand where the
food came from. It is a little bridge of
opportunity. We have definitely had
some unique experiences. The restaurants are not supposed to say that
we are coming, but of course it leaks
out sometimes and there will be a nice
gathering of fans when we pull up. I
am very thankful. It is a wonderful opportunity. I am a guy that my life has
been food, and I get to do a show that
champions and highlights the mom
and pop joints around the country.
All the success we have had from the
show and the books is because of the
fans. My last book, I dedicated to the
fans. I said “Without you there would
be no flavor town,” and it is true, without the fans, this show would not have
continued on as it has. It is awesome
and I am very thankful.
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Diners, Drive
RINO’S PLACE
East Boston, MS
Handmade, real-deal Italian.
Period. How do you begin to explain this place on the east side
of Boston? It’s a small, I mean
small, little joint. Matter of fact,
it’s so small they had to open
up the waiting area in the bar
across the street just to handle
their overflow after they were on
Triple D. The food’s outstanding,
only to be eclipsed by the passion and generosity of Tony and
his family.
ROCCO’S CAFÉ
San Francisco, CA
Come for killer Italian and the
Double D Show. In San Fran
there are a lot of Italian restaurants owned by a lot of characters. One of my favorites is
Rocco’s. The food is legit, but it’s
more than just that. Owner Don
Dial (Double D) and his team
really give you an experience. I
send people in there all the time
and he treats them like family.
Rocco was Double D’s grandfather, who ran his own joint
for thirty years. Don’s going on
twenty years himself, and he’s
keeping some of Grandpa’s
favorite recipes alive. From the
deeply flavored beef Bolognese
over polenta to lemony chicken
piccata, he’s doing it all from
scratch. The clams over linguine
is a Rocco’s fan favorite, and I
just had to “borrow” the recipe
to make some fans of my own
(you can too). This guy is a highenergy machine. Go and check
out the Double D show.
MEAT & BREAD
Vancouver, British Columbia
Where a small menu meets
monster flavor. Let’s just get
this straight right off the bat:
Meat & Bread is not your everyday sandwich joint. You can eat
there 365 days a year and eat
a different sandwich every day.
They make only four different types of sandwiches on a
particular day, but let me just tell
you this, whatever sandwich you
order, they make a porchetta
that you won’t forgetta.
It all started when owners
Frankie Harrington and Cord
Jarvie met in Dublin while working at a restaurant. They’d head
to Sunday “carvery” or roast
dinner together and think about
what it would be like to put
that into a sandwich, and now
chef Joe Sartor does the heavy
lifting in the kitchen. And for
that porchetta they get the best
local pork they can buy, and it’s
culinary gangster. It’s so juicy
and tender and balanced—they
rock it.
WINTER 2013 | FOOD TRAVELER 87