Hey, everybody, I'm Guy Fieri and I'm rolling out,
looking for America's greatest diners, drive-ins and dives.
This trip...
Come on, Chef, you're doing great. You stick with it, okay?
...it's a big bite of worldwide flavor...
Warm yourself up. You gotta make sure that you released the jaw.
...we're grabbing Mexican in Vegas...
I wanna go through the entire menu.
...mofongo in Palm Beach...
This is one of the best ways I've ever had it.
...and Mediterranean with Chef Michelle Bernstein in Coral Springs...
It's just a beautiful bite of food.
...where things get so over the top...
Look at the size of this!
...it even becomes Greek to me.
I mean, how many Greek restaurants have I been to on Triple D?
I've never seen this in my life.
That's all right here, right now,
on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
So, I'm here in Coral Springs, Florida,
with the one and only superchef Michelle Bernstein.
All right, Chef, I've got a place to go.
It's this dynamite story.
The chef, she's from Philly, she went to Greece,
she trained, she's flipped restaurants, now she's got her own place,
runs it with her five kids and her husband
and people say it's like Greek Florida food.
You're making me so hungry.
Fantastic 'cause this is Hellenic Republic.
The pastitsio's ready to go.
The best Greek food I've had anywhere.
It's just like, "Wow."
[Nikol] Chicken souvlaki bowl on the line.
I've been to a lot of Greek restaurants.
-This is not typical Greek food. -Yeah.
It's like Greek comfort food.
[Guy] Which comes from Nikol Zarbalas
who, after a successful run in real estate
and rescuing restaurants,
decided to open a place
where work, home and her Greek heritage
all blend together.
This is family.
My oldest is 12 and works with me on the line
and our only girl, at three years old,
is a fixture in this restaurant.
Thank you!
-The youngest hostess in the industry. -She is.
All right, let's get into this.
-We've got Greek dishes. -[Nikol] Yeah.
We've got things you like.
-It's an extension of the home kitchen. -Exactly.
[Guy] Okay.
So, I've had the lamb burger.
There's your lamb burger.
The presentation just knocks me out.
It's just a huge bite of deliciousness.
So, we are going to make our braised lamb.
We're gonna make our stock that we cook it all in.
Oil, boneless leg of lamb.
-[Guy] I like that. -Once it's seared off, we're gonna go ahead
and use the drippings to make our chicken stock.
So you got all that flavor in the bottom of the pan.
[Nikol] Deglaze the pan with water.
-Now we'll just throw the whole yard bird in there. -[Nikol] Whole chicken,
mirepoix,
-thyme, got some bay leaves... -[Guy] Bay leaves.
-...whole garlic, -Good amount of garlic.
-And that's some Florida humidity. -Granulated... Yeah.
-Granulated onion, salt and some black pepper. -Black pepper.
-How long will this go? -About an hour and a half.
-[Guy] Pull the chicken, we'll strain it. -[Nikol] Yeah.
Now we're gonna finish our lamb.
We're gonna put in some garlic.
-I love the no-fear garlic. -Bay leaves.
-The what? -The no-fear garlic.
-Just get it. -Yeah.
Some Greek red wine and chicken stock.
Cover it with parchment and aluminum foil.
Put it in the oven for about three and a half hours.
You'll let it cool a little bit, then shred it. Now we're gonna make the...
-Beefteki. -Which is Greek meatball.
-80/20, chopped up onion... -Yep.
-...parsley. Just a little. -Wow.
Garlic,
-dried mint. -Ooo, yum!
Salt, pepper, cumin, eggs
and some panko to hold it all together.
Form it into a patty
and throw it on the chargriller to make a burger with it.
Okay, Chef.
-We're making our Hellenic sauce. -Okay.
It is mayo-based.
We've got mustard, ketchup,
honey, lemon juice.
-It's delicious. Mmm-hmm. -I'll have that on a flip-flop.
The last thing we make for this is the pickled onions.
Water, white wine vinegar,
-red Greek wine... -Okay.
...sugar, salt, fresh garlic, bay leaf.
Warm it up, dissolve the salt and the sugar
and then just pour it right over thinly sliced red onion.
And we use it to top our burger with.
[Guy] What else is incorporating into this burger?
[Nikol] Vlahotyri cheese.
[Guy] Bun's toasted. A little spinach.
-Our Hellenic sauce on the bottom. -Look at the size of this!
Lamb's out. Nice and tender.
-[Guy] That's not how much you're putting on there. -[Nikol] Oh, yeah.
-You are gonna wear this. -I can't do this. That's unreal.
[Guy] No way this is gonna look sexy.
Warm yourself up. You gotta make sure that you release the jaw.
Mmm!
[with full mouth] That's really good.
There's so much flavor in this.
All of the spices that you have going on in the actual burger,
but then you get to the lamb.
[Guy] It's her first day on Triple D
and she's already stealing my job.
You nailed it exactly.
It's delicious.
This sauce right here, we might wanna go ahead
and start bottling this by the gallon.
[Michelle] It's just a beautiful bite of food.
"Hellenic Republic. Messy and phenomenal"
Lamb burger.
The lamb is just juicy and delicious and fall apart.
It's in the onions, the spinach and the taste of the lamb and the burger
and it was just extraordinary.
[Nikol] Shrimp Santorini, table four.
[woman] Nikol just brings it up a notch.
Everything she makes is with a twist and with her heart and soul.
Shrimp down for the shrimp and traxana.
I had the shrimp kataifi. Delicious.
[man] It's the creaminess of the grits
which is not a traditional grit.
One of my favorite dishes here.
Walk me through. What are we getting into?
[Nikol] Traxana, which is straight from Greece.
It's actually made with semolina and yogurt
and they dry it out and make these crumbs. They're kind of sour.
But it's kinda yummy.
I don't recommend eating it dry like that.
-It gets stuck in your teeth. [laughing] -Okay.
[all laughing]
So, what are we making right now?
This is kataifi fried shrimp with grits.
Salt, our grits.
Once it comes back up to a boil, it'll start thickening.
Add our heavy cream.
Parmesan cheese, crumbled feta.
-Don't forget-a the feta. -[penny whistle toots]
[Nikol] That's ready to go.
[Michelle] Mmm!
-All right, just... -[all laughing]
This is one of the best Greek things I've ever had.
The little chewable parts.
That's the kicker of it.
Well, make the shrimp anyways 'cause,
-you know, 'cause we got to. -Why not?
We're gonna make our simple syrup.
Water, sugar, the raw,
honey, jalapeno, oranges.
-And we're just gonna let this simmer. -20, 30 minutes.
We're gonna strain it out and then we use it to top our kataifi.
So, this is just filo dough.
[Nikol] We're basically gonna wrap our shrimp.
[Guy] Wow!
[Nikol] We pan-fry these.
While this gets hot, he's gonna play with the kataifi.
-I'm not. -[Nikol chuckling]
Cook these till they're golden.
[Guy] Look at that.
Start with the traxana.
-[Michelle] Wow. -[Guy] Beautiful.
Finish with my simple syrup
and garnish with fresh parsley.
-That's beautiful. -Thank you.
-And it's delicious. -That's really nice.
The little bit of saltiness and richness from the Greek grits.
Then you've got all this texture from the kataifi.
I mean, how many Greek restaurants have I been to on Triple D?
I've never seen this in my life.
Kataifi fried shrimp.
[woman] The filo dough was crispy,
but the shrimp was juicy inside.
This is like a different level of grits.
It's pretty yummy.
Plating the haloumi pita.
I like the vibe. Love the food.
You're gonna keep coming back for more.
Walking in just felt good.
This is kind of like soul fulfilling.
Are you gonna finish that or you wanna... I'll take it for you.
You don't need to worry about it. I got you.
Up next, a legendary Las Vegas location.
It was the first Mexican restaurant in this whole town.
-No! -It was!
[Guy] Crush of the tacos...
This is done at the highest level.
...tortas...
What you've really get is it all over your face.
...and their Tamarindo take on a classic.
-Look at that. Cheers. -Salud!
Dad, why are we down here?
Now, listen, son, I know, back in the day,
when we were going to school in Las Vegas,
this wasn't the most savory area between the Strip and downtown,
but it's changed. I mean, look at it.
All kinds of businesses, art studios.
And I'm taking you to a restaurant
where they say that the building
was the first Mexican restaurant in Las Vegas
back in, like, 1947.
And a local Mexican chef
who really knows how to put her hands on authentic flavors
has opened the place
and I hear it's rocking the house.
-You hungry? -I'm always hungry.
Dynamite. This is Letty's.
Empanaditas, cochinita pibil.
When we talk about authentic Mexican food, we like to come to Letty's.
[woman] It's just this little hole in the wall
that you'd never even think was over here.
Come on, let's get this food up!
As somebody that grew up in Mexico City,
I can tell you this is the closest that brings me home.
[Guy] That's all because Leticia Mitchell
and her niece Sue Kiple
saw a chance to bring this old off-the-strip spot
back to its roots.
How old is this building?
It was built in 1947.
It was the first Mexican restaurant in this whole town.
-No! -It was!
The couple would feed the railroaders.
-How do you say it? -The railroaders?
Put her own words together. I like it.
Is this the energy level the whole time?
Yes. Every day.
Chilangos.
The chilangos are my favorite.
It's like a taco, but with a sauce that you dip it in.
I mean, it's messy, but it's amazing.
-We're getting ready to make... -Adobo.
[Guy] We have oil in the stock pot
-going into the tomatoes and the onions and the garlic. -Si senor.
Now, in the dry pan, we're gonna toast the chilies.
[Leticia] Chile guajillo, chile California,
chile pasilla.
Chile de arbol. There's your heat.
And then the morita, marjoram.
[Leticia] Oregano, clove.
Black pepper, ground cumin,
-cinnamon. -Doesn't that smell amazing?
-It's awesome. -I want that as a cologne.
[Guy] Once it's toasted, in with the tomatoes, the onions and the garlic.
Muchas gracias.
And we will blend it.
Add it to our beef.
-24 hour on the marinade, go to the pot. -Yes.
Water, vinegar, ground marjoram,
chicken base, bay leaves.
We're gonna let this go for four hours, low heat.
[Leticia] Once it's done, the consomme, you separate it
and you put it aside.
We'll dip into that later.
-We'll take the fat. -Yes.
-That, we'll use to cook the tortillas in. -Yes.
-While that's working, we'll make the... -Chicken stock.
-Chicken... -Mirepoix.
-...water, jalapenos... -Jalapeno.
[Leticia] ...salt, chicken base, cilantro.
All right, so we'll let this go and we'll strain that
-and this is going for the... -Mexican rice.
Oil, rice.
[Guy] Toast it till it's golden brown.
-And then we're gonna puree our tomato base. -Okay. Right.
[Leticia] Garlic, onions,
chicken stock that we made.
[Hunter] The puree will go in.
[Guy] Chicken stock.
-We cover it. -And then it's gonna steam through.
[Leticia] Now we're going to build the chilangos.
First, we make fresh tortillas.
-This is the grease that we separated... -[Guy exclaims]
...from the birria.
Give it a minute.
-Turn it... -And that's a little bit of cheese.
[Leticia] ...and take the birria, onions...
Little bitty taco.
[Leticia] ...and then top it with cilantro.
I'm pacing.
[Leticia] Fold it.
[Guy] Love the plates.
And then we're going to add some consomme...
[Guy] Okay.
[Leticia] ...cilantro and cebolla,
some limes and Mexican rice.
Lime in your broth
and then you dunk.
We should have bibs for these.
Dynamite.
There's more meat in that taco than a six-pack of tacos
you get at a regular restaurant.
This is done at the highest level.
The cilantro and the onion are a must in it,
but it really is the consomme
that carries it over the top.
[Hunter] There's so much flavor.
And you can really... You can tell the difference.
That was not your rice to grab.
Oh, you know, it wasn't. Gosh darn it.
Chilangos.
It's very savory and not too spicy.
The flavors are deep and rich.
[chuckling] It's one of the best tacos.
Order chicharrones.
[Guy] I wanna go through the entire menu, but we don't get to.
So when we come back, we're gonna have this torta.
Now, I don't go to Mexican restaurants
looking for tortas, but I've heard about the mole.
Maybe one more bit of ya. We'll see you in a bit.
Muchas gracias.
-See, Hunter, this is where you jump in and help. -Right, but, see,
if I did that, it'd be across like this
and then we wouldn't see anything.
Welcome back. Triple D.
Guy and Hunter in Vegas hanging out with Letty.
I'm not kidding you, you have got to come have this experience.
You go to all these other places, you know, on the Strip,
they kinda have the same stuff all the time
and Letty's is different.
Tamarindo shrimp enchiladas.
[woman] Letty brings her kitchen from her house
to this place every day.
It's just the flavor, the quality. It's so good.
Torta milanesa con mole.
The mole torta sandwich.
It's got breaded chicken in it.
And chocolate. Absolutely amazing.
-This is mole poblano. -Let's see it.
Oil, chile de arbol,
pasilla, chile guajillo
and, of course, you have the chile negro.
[Guy] Chile negro.
-Cinnamon, bread. -Okay.
[Leticia] We're gonna toast it on here.
In this one,
oil, onion, garlic.
We also toast sesame seeds,
our peanuts, almonds,
pecans, cashews and walnuts.
[Guy] That's nuts.
Ba-dum-bump.
[Guy] Then it all goes together in the pot
with the chicken stock that we made.
On the fire for about 20 minutes.
[Guy] Then we're gonna throw it into the blender.
[Leticia] Pass it through the sieve.
We simmer it 30 minutes
and then add the chocolate.
-While this is working, let's make the black beans. -Okay. Sounds like a deal.
Black beans, water,
onions, garlic.
-You know what this is? -Um,
-epazote. -Yes!
-Awesome! -I'm out!
And salt.
Once it starts to cook down,
we take the cooked beans
and then we put 'em in a pan and do a little refry.
Okay, beans are done.
Into the breading.
[Leticia] Eggs, salt, pepper.
My dad loves eggs.
You liar to me.
-Oh! I got scared. -I know... [chuckling]
Tenderize the chicken. Vamonos.
In the egg wash
and then seasoned bread crumbs.
And this bolillo, are we going all the way through
-or just hinged? -All the way through.
-No, no, no, senor! -[Guy shrieking]
[Leticia speaking foreign language]
Mayonesa.
-Drop these down? -Si.
Frijolitos, the milanesa
-and then our chicken mole. -Is gonna go on top of this?
-Oh, so we want chicken on chicken. -Stay with me, dude.
-[Guy] All right, we didn't know! -[Leticia laughing]
[Leticia] Our marinaded onions,
crema, queso Cotija.
Ba-da-bing, ba-da-bang.
Jalapenos escabeche.
[Hunter] That mole is no joke.
You get the earthiness of the nuts.
You get a little bit of the sweetness of the chocolate.
You get the spiciness for sure.
What you really get is it all over your face.
Yeah. Well, it's a messy sandwich.
[Guy] There's so much going on in those flavors.
It's delicious, Chef.
Torta chicken milanesa.
It's really tender and it's juicy.
[woman] Full of flavor and spices.
Leticia definitely knows how to make mole.
But anything you've tried here, she knocks it out?
This is my go-to place.
You've gotta stop here for the margaritas.
La Fresca margarita for you.
La Plaza Fresca margarita is great.
It's very unique.
[Leticia] Half a lime, triple sec...
-All right. -...and agave.
-Fresh pulped tamarind, nothing added. -Oh!
A little sweet and sour
and the tequila!
Here it goes.
-Look at that. -Wedge of lime.
A Tamarindo chile straw.
-Cheers. -Salud!
Mmm. That's a good margarita.
[Sue] Fresca Plaza margarita.
It has a nice little spice to it which is nice.
You're not gonna find this unique flavor in any other margarita.
[Leticia] Pork belly taquiza.
You want true Mexican, authentic food, this is where you need to be.
-Did I miss the party? -No, no, no.
Have a nice time. Walk it home. Bye-bye!
See you next week on Triple D.
Coming up, a familiar face in Palm Beach, Florida...
Did you think that we would be meeting like this again?
...creating a Puerto Rican oasis...
I'm so happy right now.
...with dishes that are authentic and then some.
This is outstanding.
So, I'm here in West Palm Beach, Florida,
in an area known as Palm Springs,
to check out a joint that serves mofongo.
And you know how much I love mofongo.
It also is rumored that the owner
used to work at a Triple D joint, Flakowitz.
And it's like 15 minutes from my house.
You know I'm gonna stop and check this joint out.
This is La Cosinita Latina.
Everything down!
[man] When I walk through those doors,
I feel like I'm back home in Puerto Rico.
[speaking Spanish]
Hola! Pernil, arroz gandulez, amarillos.
[man] It's authentic Puerto Rican food
like my abuela used to make.
And they make it with love.
Come on, guys, make it good!
[Guy] And it's straight from the kitchen of Chef Max Lucena
and his wife Corina
who are serving up homestyle favorites.
We met back in the day at Flakowitz.
[Max] I used to work in the back.
Did you ever think that we would be meeting like this again?
This is like my dream come true.
[woman speaking Spanish]
Ready to plate mofongo.
The Mofongo a la Cosinita is one of my favorite dishes.
Plantain and chicharrones.
I like the one with the lobsters. It's very good.
Time for mofongo.
-With lobster and shrimp. -Let's see it.
We will be making the salsa criolla.
Onions, peppers,
garlic, oregano, black pepper,
Sazon with achiote,
cilantro, tomato sauce,
water to top it up.
It'll reduce a little bit, but the veggies are still crunchy.
That's what we're looking for.
-Okay. [claps] -Time for mofongo.
So we take the plantains.
We're gonna deep-fry them for six minutes.
Drop the chicharrones which I make fresh.
This is the pork skin that's been dehydrated
and then drop it in the fryer.
And while that's going...
Our lobster. Cut it real nice.
-Oil. -[Guy] We cook it with the shell.
Our shrimp. Creole sauce in it.
Complete seasoning.
That's a regular in Puerto Rican cooking?
Complete... Everybody has it in the house.
Puerto Rican season salt.
Okay, the butter for the mofongo.
Some garlic, complete seasoning again,
oregano.
Plantains.
Right into the pilon.
Chicharrones.
Some of the butter sauce.
-Every dish is made to order. -To order.
I've never seen it with the butter like that.
Come on, Chef, you're doing great.
Stick with it, okay? You got this, buddy.
You're almost there.
-[Max] Hola. -[Guy whistles]
Mofongo's ready.
Lobster.
[Guy] Is that mofongo for, like, nine people?
You get to take some home.
I'm so happy right now.
That's a one-way ticket to Puerto Rico, my friend.
You have a lot of moisture,
great texture.
The mofongo is just mashed enough.
There's a ton of chicharonnes in there,
so you get these nice little bites of crunch.
Veggies are fresh and you have a lot of flavor.
This is one of the best ways I've ever had it.
This is outstanding.
Let's plate, guys! People waiting.
Everything is really, really fresh.
You get a lot of taste of the plantain and the spices.
[man] It's a Caribbean taste.
If you eat it once, you'll wanna eat it again.
Bistec encebollado, arroz con gandules.
There's not a dish in the restaurant
that I have not tried that I have not loved.
We're VIPs here.
I think they treat everybody like a VIP.
[speaking foreign language]
You feel like family.
And it feels like Puerto Rico in here.
It's a great feel.
-How's the empanada? -Best one in town.
Dropping empanadas.
[speaking Spanish]
They're full of chicken, a lot of spices.
It's mouthwatering.
[Guy] What are we making now, Chef?
Chicken empanadas.
Fresh chicken breast,
onions, green pepper, red peppers,
Sazon with achiote,
oregano, black pepper,
garlic, salt
and top it with water.
We're gonna let this go until the chicken shreds.
[Max] We add it back again
with onions, peppers,
black pepper, oregano,
achiote, garlic,
cilantro, tomato sauce
and water to top it up.
20 minutes and it will be ready.
So, we have the chicken,
the vegetables cooked down in all of that great flavor.
[Max] Now we're gonna be making empanadas.
Grab some of the chicken.
Wet the corner. Close it. Then we're gonna mark it.
We gonna fry these or bake these?
[Max] We're gonna fry them four minutes.
Empanadas are ready.
[Guy] Any sauce that goes with them?
No. We have hot sauce on the table.
You don't need it. All the flavor is inside.
He just makes you happy.
Look at that.
Not hot at all.
Good ratio of chicken
to onions and peppers to the dough.
The meat's seasoned all the way through. Everything is seasoned,
so it's not like you need the hot sauce, but I like spicy.
So this with a little bit of that spicy hot sauce, delicious.
Chicken empanadas coming out, table three.
It's very juicy.
You can taste the season, the spices.
-It's not too spicy, but a little sweet. -It's delicious.
Guys, this looks good!
La Cosinita Latina means "The small kitchen",
but it's putting out some big flavors.
My house is 15 minutes down the street.
I'm gonna be at the back door in a costume.
[whispers] Don't tell anybody.
Watch out for this guy. You see him, your waistline's gonna improve.
So, that's it for this road trip.
But don't worry,
we got plenty more joints to find all over this country.
I'll be looking for you next time
on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
We're basically gonna wrap our shrimp in...
Will you get off of that?
-What are you doing? -What?
I'm just trying to help.
Okay, I'm gonna try to restrain him on this side.
You hold him back if you guys wanna eat today.