I'm Guy Fieri, and we're rolling out,
looking for America's greatest diners, drive-ins and dives.
This trip...
Ha-ha-ha-ha.
...it's a journey down South...
Delicious.
Really delicious.
...and south of the border with a spin.
Every bite is a little bit different.
In Boise, Idaho, we've got a taco spot gone wild...
You have to unhinge the jaw.
...stand-out seafood and sandwiches at Tybee Island, Georgia...
This is so not even close to being a grilled cheese.
...plus a garage turned restaurant in Savannah...
It's whimsical, and it's fun.
...fueling things up with high-octane flavor.
When you asked for creamy, crunchy, silky, fatty, flavorful, that's it.
That's all right here, right now, on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
So, I'm here in Savannah, Georgia, and I'm right over on Victory Drive.
Back in the early 1900s, the US International Grand Prix races were here,
and, I mean, drivers were going up to, like, 100 miles an hour
on this track made of dirt and oil.
But anyhow, I'm here to check out a garage.
Well, it's not the garage, but it's a fitting name
because this chef, well, he's going 100 miles an hour.
This is The Garage at Victory North.
Two cauliflowers. One catfish.
You come in. You're comfortable. You're having amazing food.
[server] The masa-crusted whiting.
-His food tastes like he comes from a very good home. -Right?
Like he was loved and nurtured.
[laughs]
[Guy] And Chef Todd Harris is putting all of that love
with plenty of local ingredients
into a boatload of regional favorites.
Everything sort of has the Southern leaning
because we try to work with local farms
to get our produce and our meats.
That's really sort of what anchors it all together.
Was that a nautical joke 'cause we're on the river, or was that a...?
A little bit.
It's almost like eclectic, upscale comfort food.
Timer going in for two blue crab flatbreads.
Blue crab flatbread is soft yet crispy.
It's got this fermented corn in there. It's just delicious.
-[Guy] What's the dish called? -Crab flatbread.
We're gonna make the dough, just a high-gluten bread flour.
-[Guy] Okay. -[Todd] Some kosher salt.
A little dry active yeast.
Then, while that's going, olive oil goes on top, and water.
It'll form itself into a ball and sits for a few hours.
-Just let that yeast do its work. Okay. -Absolutely.
So, we're gonna make this spread that goes on.
Cream cheese, mascarpone.
Lime juice and salt.
Fresh blue crab meat.
Just one kiss. I mean, just, like, a wuh-wuh. That's it.
What are we making next?
We're gonna work on the vinaigrette.
Old Bay. Red wine vinegar.
Then some extra virgin olive oil.
Now we're gonna work on the fermented corn.
So, you grill the corn,
-then you go to ferment the corn in salt water? -Yeah. Yeah.
This I gotta see.
[Todd] It's a 2% salt to water.
I don't think I've ever seen this, by the way.
You gonna cut this off the cob.
Put it in the salt rind.
[Todd] It's good to go after three days.
Can we make the dish now, or is there one other mystical method
-of something we're gonna do? -I don't believe so.
After our pizza dough has proofed,
we portion it out, 50-gram portions.
We roll it out.
[Guy] Okay. Down dry. Both sides.
[Todd] Then, after it's cooked, our crab spread.
-Then go in the oven? -[Todd] About six minutes.
After it's done, give it a quick cut.
Onto the plate, and dress it all up.
We got scallions, dill, cilantro, a little parsley.
[Guy] The Old Bay vinaigrette.
This is like shrimp toast gone wild.
[Todd] A spoon of fermented corn.
Lime zest.
And there it is.
-This ain't your momma's shrimp toast. -[laughs]
-Not that my momma ever made shrimp toast. -Neither did mine.
It's silky, it's creamy, it's salty, it's funky.
You get the caramelization of those cheeses.
Then you have the herbaceous-ness of the salad.
Then you get these little pops of this funky corn.
That has so much more depth that I anticipated.
Delicious dish.
Your blue crab flatbread.
This is Gloria, a good friend of mine.
We did a restaurant together in Montclair University.
That's where she met my great friend, the Cuban, Carl Ruiz.
-Have you tried this crab bread toast? -[Gloria] I have.
It's delicious. I can taste the fresh crab.
Then you put all the fresh herbs together,
and it's just an unctuous bite.
It's incredibly inventive food, which would be at home
in some white-tableclothed restaurant,
but they're serving it down here in this casual, funky atmosphere.
It has a bit of a car theme.
All the car pictures and the hub caps.
I feel like I am actually talking to my mechanic.
Like, okay, so where' the oil leak at?
I am terrible with cars.
-I couldn't change your oil... -Really?
...if you really needed me to.
But I could cook you a good dinner.
[laughter]
[Guy] And coming up, he's cooking grab-and-go con gourmet.
The wrapcrunch supreme.
It's, like, the yummy, ooey gushiness. I love it.
Don't go anywhere. Hanging out at The Garage in Savannah.
We'll see you in a bit. Do you want half? Great. I'll make you one.
[laughs]
I mean, just, like, a wuh-wuh. That's it.
Wuh-wuh.
-Wuh-wuh-wuh-wuh. -[giggling]
Welcome back. Triple D. Hanging out in Savannah, Georgia, at The Garage.
And it's pretty unassuming but very creative, chefed-up, low country food.
Absolutely. We just kind of like to have fun.
[laughs]
That's my thing. I don't like to work too hard.
We made fermented corn, folks. Just so you know- he works hard.
I will say, the menu here has something for everyone,
whether you're a pescatarian, vegetarian, or a carnivore.
Sweet and hot, with two wrapcrunches.
I've had the wrapcrunch supreme. It is amazing.
It's a flour tortilla that's pressed with cheese.
Inside is Wagyu beef. It's outstanding.
Always... [mimics kiss]
[Guy] What are we into next?
Our wrapcrunch supreme, which is a play on one
my favorite late-night, you've been out maybe...
You're going through the drive-through.
We're gonna make it a little bit fancier.
'Cause you and I both seem fancy.
[Todd] We're gonna brown our beef,
and while that's going, I'll mix my spices together.
We have salt, granulated garlic, ancho, onion,
paprika, and cumin.
[Guy] Do I see any oregano in there?
-[Todd] No oregano. -Mexican food and oregano, bro!
-It's like... -This isn't necessarily Mexican food.
It's a wrapcrunch supreme.
[Guy] What do we do after this?
Bone marrow salsa.
The old common staple down in Mexico, the bone ma...
Oh, but this isn't Mexican 'cause there would be oregano in it.
There would be.
[Guy] So, roasting red bell peppers, tomatoes, and onions.
[Todd] There's bone marrow in the oven.
-For about 20 minutes, 350. -Let's see it.
[Todd] We've got red peppers, tomatoes,
-onions... -[Guy] Non-Mexican guajillo chili.
Water. Get all the marrow.
Once they're scraped, they're gonna go in here
and create a nice, little stock.
That'll cook down. Pull the bones out, puree the salsa.
Drop that bone marrow in, give it a little bit more of a pulse,
and it's ready to go.
What do we have next?
[Todd] The lime crema.
Sour cream, fresh lime juice, cilantro.
Little bit of salt. We're good to go.
Now it's time to build the wrapcrunch.
-[Guy] You get this tortilla warm. -Cheddar.
The Wagyu.
Bone marrow salsa. Crema.
Then your tortilla.
Little more salsa.
Little bit more crema.
Cheese.
All right. I really don't know what to call this technique.
-Pinwheel it. -Exactly.
When you get to this last bit, grab your cheese, and glue it.
Your cheese is golden brown and crunchy, and just sort of slide that in there.
So when you do the hunch...
[Guy] You know the hunch?
I've done it a few times.
[Guy] I can see the crunch right there.
Wow.
When you asked for creamy, crunchy, silky, fatty, flavorful...
That's it. It's got a variety of texture.
I love the toast on both sides.
But then you get these little kisses of the bone marrow salsa
and the cilantro crema.
Delicious. Really delicious.
We've got the wrapcrunch supreme.
What I think really makes the wrapcrunch delicious
is you get a fresh bite of grilled cheese.
[Guy] What do you think?
-I can eat this every day. -Every day.
Foie gras and rice grits.
I never left here and not had a full stomach, and not had, like, a smile on my face.
Doesn't matter who you are, where you come from.
You're gonna have a place here at The Garage.
[Guy] It's whimsical, and it's fun.
It's done right, but don't take it too serious.
-Well done, Chef. -Thank you.
[Guy] Up next, a not-your-everyday taco shop
in Boise, Idaho.
This is where things get really weird.
Blowing up the beef...
That is amazing.
[Guy] ...and getting creative with their carnitas.
That is a composed dish inside of a tortilla.
It's a surprise.
Dad, have we ever been to Boise, Idaho before?
[Guy] I shot Boise a long time ago.
I think you were still in elementary school.
Let's see. I went to Bar Gernika and Westside Drive In.
It's been a while, but don't worry.
I'm bringing you to a dynamite taco joint.
Wait, tacos? We came all the way from California, and you're giving me tacos?
[Guy] Well, this guy is classically trained.
He was nominated for James Beard Award,
and I hear he's doing tacos, like, at the next level.
This is Madre- Boutique Taqueria.
One Idaho spud. One pork belly.
[man] You can get basic tacos anywhere.
When you come here, you gotta be open to trying something new.
Queso fundido. Mushroom pineapple.
It's like, "Son of a gun, this is totally different."
[Guy] And that creativity is coming from California natives,
John and Julie Cuevas, who traded in their high-end food jobs
to put their own twist on tacos.
Where are you guys from in Cali?
San Diego originally.
I'm from Orange County.
[Guy] They know a couple things about tacos.
There's no box that we have to stay in, and we just have fun.
[woman] John takes risks,
and he's not afraid to put really interesting things together.
[John] Plating birria.
The queso birria is definitely one of my favorites.
[man] Starts with that consomee.
It's got this cheesy meatiness,
and you dip that thing in there.
It's an experience, and it's so good.
All right. We're making our consomee for the birria.
Super simple. We got onions, roma tomatoes.
Roasted guajillo chilis. Clove.
Cinnamon stick.
Garlic, thyme,
-Mexican oregano. -Mexican. That's the key.
Coriander, smoked paprika, cumin, and bay leaves.
This is the braising liquid for the chuck roll.
We're just gonna pour the water over it.
Once it simmers and the guajilloes soften, we blend it.
-You got it. -Love that.
[John] So, tomatoes, guajilloes, some of the jus.
-He's very jus-dicious about it. -[laughs]
You used to do that best. Jus your child.
-This is gonna go on the meat. -[Guy] Okay.
Onions, roasted garlic.
Bone marrow- God's butter.
Bay leaves, and then we're gonna cover it.
[Guy] How long is this gonna braise?
[John] Three to four hours.
-[Guy] All right. Till it's just fork tender. -[John] Mmm.
[Guy] Then we'll shred that, strain the jus,
-hold the consomme, and build the taco. -Boom.
All right. You ready for this?
Taking two flour tortillas.
We're gonna dunk the tortilla in the consomme, put it on the plancha.
Cheese. Jack and Oaxaca.
[Guy] The shredded birria.
And we're just gonna slowly roll it.
[Guy] Is that really a normal size?
-[John] Yes, sir. -[Hunter] It is massive.
-There we go. -Look at that.
[John] Squeeze the lime over it, dunk it, eat it.
Change your life.
-Change your clothes. -Change your clothes, too.
Wow. It's so rich, juicy, and meaty.
I can't get enough consomme in my face.
Mmm.
I've never eaten a taco with a spoon.
That's consomme gone wild.
You get this creamy silkiness that coats your lips.
This is really cheffed. Outstanding.
I mean, like, really spot on.
And the queso birria.
The meat is perfectly done. It's so tender and juicy.
The dip and the drip- there's a depth to it, right?
You couldn't have said it better. What's your favorite taco?
[woman] The Korean short rib.
-[Guy] Really? -For sure.
[server] Two Idaho spud and chorizos.
[man] Everything that he makes, he really builds the flavors.
And you can see John's culinary background in it.
Tell me about you and the James Beard Award.
Oh, it was a long time ago. I got nominated in 2008.
[Guy] You took all your fine-dining experience
-and just started pouring it into tacos. -Yes.
-[Guy] Congratulations. -Thank you.
Working four carnitas.
The pork carnitas taco is probably my favorite taco.
You have that fried pork.
[man] It's got the slaw. It has the barbecue sauce.
And just a little bit of blue cheese crumble.
I've never seen blue cheese on a taco,
but I think more people need to do it.
We are going to rub our carnitas.
Get them ready to braise.
Pork butt.
Super generous with salt.
And then I'm just covering it with pork fat.
[Guy] Low and slow frying it.
Two hours, 350.
Then we take it out, and we flash fry it--
We'll just give it the final fry, just with the crust.
-[John] Just a little texture to it. -[Guy] Got it.
[John] Next up is barbecue sauce.
Apple cider vinegar. Worcestershire sauce.
Brown sugar, chipotle.
There's a little SoCal coming out.
Yellow mustard. We're just gonna blend it.
I just add a little bit of agave.
That's delicious. What else we have? Wow.
We're gonna make our spicy coleslaw that goes on our carnitas.
Shredded cabbage, julienne carrots, jalapenos.
Apple cider vinegar.
-Dijon mustard. Cilantro, and a little more agave. -Agave.
A little sweet, little heat, little acid. Good to go.
[John] Now we're gonna melt the cheese on the tortilla.
All right. The cheese crown for the carnitas.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha.
Amazing. Well done.
[John] Carnitas that were braised, smashed--
That's as much as you're gonna break it up?
[John] That's it A little bit of caramelized onions.
Our barbecue sauce.
Never have I heard that there was a carnitas taco
that was gonna have barbecue sauce on it.
[John] Spicy slaw.
This is where things get really weird.
-Blue cheese. -Trying to figure out how I'm gonna eat it.
You have to unhinge the jaw.
And then just garnish with a little bit of cilantro.
That is amazing.
I get the barbecue sauce. Boom! Here comes the vinegar.
Then I get, "Ooh, here's this creamy funk of the blue cheese."
Then I get a little bit of the sweetness of the caramelized onion,
and then I'll get a piece of that cheese skirt.
A little chewiness from the tortilla,
but every bite is a little bit different.
That is a composed dish inside of a tortilla. It's a surprise.
-No joke. -Delicious.
[server] Here's your carnitas.
You've got the crispy slaw, you've got the funkiness of the blue cheese.
It's meaty, it's salty, and then you have that barbecue sauce tang
that cuts right through everything.
-Oh, love it. -It's awesome.
So, when you come to a place like this,
and they say they serve tacos, is this what you're expecting?
[all] No.
Thank you. That's exactly how I felt, too.
We come to Madre over and over again.
[Guy] This does not need to just hide in Boise.
They need this everywhere.
This is a new level of tacos.
-All right. -Awesome, my friend.
[John] Thank you.
[Guy] Coming up, we're cruising over to Tybee Island, Georgia...
-Who, where, what? -[laughs]
...for an old ice cream shop with a whole new scoop...
The book doesn't match the cover.
...putting a cheffed-up spin on Southern comfort.
I'm not kidding you. This is one of the best things I've had in a while.
So, I'm here on Tybee Island, which is on US Highway 80.
Comes right out of Savannah.
And they kind of call this Savannah's beach.
This places gets totally rocking with the tourists,
but this isn't about a tourist joint.
Now, this place started as an ice cream shop.
But this guy is a trained chef, and he says,
"I'm gonna take it in a different direction."
You're gonna love the name, though.
This is Sundae Cafe.
Order up. Buffalo shrimp nachos.
It really is the local hotspot.
All right, guys.
This place is special because it has, like, a lot of variety.
Need some more grated tomatoes on the line, please.
This is ramped up Southern food. There's always a twist to it.
[Guy] And it's cooked up by a Tybee native, A.J. Baker,
who couldn't leave well enough alone with just an ice cream shop,
so he flexed his culinary muscle.
This was ice cream, and we put a bar in and got rid of the ice cream.
Hey, kids. Come on down 'cause there's no more ice cream.
-[laughs] -But if you want some tequila...
But you kept the name Sundae.
[A.J.] 'Cause everybody knew us as Sundae Cafe.
We specialize in low country cuisine.
We try to use as much of the fresh, local vegetables
and local seafood that we can get here.
He'll take everyday something and turn it into a fine-dining experience.
Got a Down South Grilled Cheese.
That pork belly. That American cheese,
chicken breast, collard greens, and Alabama white sauce.
It is a lot of sandwich.
[Guy] Let's get into this.
We're gonna brine our pork belly.
Start with some cold water.
Apple juice. Apple cider vinegar.
Brown sugar. Pickling spice. Dill.
Fresh red pepper. Hot sauce. Kosher salt.
[Guy] And a bunch of garlic.
[A.J.] Cook this brine for about 45 minutes.
Ice it down, and put the pork belly in.
Chill it for about two days.
Then it's ready to smoke.
Now we're gonna make our collard greens.
-Collard greens in a grilled cheese? -Yeah. We're in the South.
A little oil. Diced onion.
Pork belly. Apple cider vinegar.
Just a tiny bit of water.
Black pepper. Brown sugar.
Kosher salt. Granulated garlic.
-Hot sauce. -Tiny bit.
-[A.J.] A little sweet chili sauce. -And a bunch of greens.
Cover them, bring it to boil, and then let it simmer for about two hours.
-[Guy] Next up. -Alabama white sauce for our sandwich.
Now, why do you call it Alabama white sauce?
It's mayonnaise-based.
Thought Georgia had their own thing about not being--
-We'll call it Tybee white sauce, then. -There you go.
[A.J.] Some mayonnaise in a bowl. We're gonna add apple cider vinegar.
A little grain mustard. Brown sugar.
-Horseradish. -A good amount.
[A.J.] Worcestershire.
-Hot sauce. Granulated onion. -[Guy] And garlic.
House-made Cajun seasoning.
Black pepper. A little lime juice.
[Guy] Whisk that up.
We're gonna just season our flour to dress the chicken.
Seasoning salt. A little black pepper.
Kosher salt. Cayenne pepper.
Garlic powder. There we go.
We're gonna take a double-lobed chicken breast.
We're gonna buttermilk it.
-And then right into the flour. -Buttermilk again?
All this is just for one thing.
-This must be on great sandwich. -Yes, it is.
Yes, it is.
[A.J.] We're gonna start by toasting our bread and adding a little cheese,
searing off our smoked pork belly.
Just a tiny bit of pork belly.
Fried chicken.
-Little bit of these collard greens. -You're not serious.
[A.J.] I'm serious. The Alabama white sauce.
We're gonna top it off, and that's it.
This is so not even close to being a grilled cheese.
There's just a whisper of cheese.
I know I'm gonna end up wearing some of this sandwich.
The fried chicken is spot on.
The pork belly is so tender and delicious.
The collard greens are money.
The Tybee white sauce is delicious.
Acid and fat. A little bit of that horseradish coming through.
Outstanding. I mean, like, really, a great sandwich.
All right. We got a Down South out. Let's go.
You can't go wrong with pork belly and chicken.
I mean, it's got a lot of flavors going on here.
[man] I'm from Alabama,
and I don't remember any Alabama white sauce at home being this good.
The greens on this sandwich are tremendous.
-[Guy] The collard greens? -[man] Big flavors.
A good friend of ours from northern California, the Lands family.
-I like the seasoning. -Amazing.
I need some shrimp up.
It's the best restaurant on the island.
And he specializes mostly in seafood.
-One of the things I love is the seafood cheesecake. -The who, where, what?
[laughs]
Pan-seared scallops, with a boiled peanut succotash.
I'm trying the scallops. There's so much going on here.
Home-made hummus with the succotash.
Succotash is a mixture of peppers and corn, boiled peanuts.
They all play well together.
[Guy] So, what's our next dish?
We're gonna boil the peanuts for the succotash.
Kosher salt. Raw peanuts.
Let the peanuts boil and get a little tender.
These are Sea Island peas.
Then we're gonna add these for about 45 minutes.
We're gonna make the hummus.
The Sea Island peas, cooked off.
Charred corn. The charred jalapeno.
Sesame oil. Kosher salt.
Cumin. Chile de arbol.
And some fresh lime juice.
I give that a couple minutes here.
-[Guy] A little bit of garlic. -And there we go.
Wow. The charred jalapeno sings.
I'm not kidding you.
This is one of the best things I've had in a while.
I would have that on crostinis all day long.
We don't have to make the rest of the dish. Ta-da! You win.
[A.J.] Gonna go ahead and cook our succotash.
Onion. Peppers.
Sweet potatoes. Corn.
Boiled peanut mixture.
Little bit of garlic.
Salt and pepper. A little Cajun spice.
Season our tomatoes in our house Cajun seasoning.
-That's kind of like a Southern staple, right? -Absolutely.
Black them on the flat top.
Season our scallops with a little salt and pepper.
Right on the flat top.
Lay down a little bit of our hummus that we made.
Hummus is out of control.
[A.J.] Boiled peanut succotash.
We're gonna lay down our tomatoes.
Our scallops now.
A little bit of red pepper coulis.
And we're ready to eat.
Mmm. Chef, this doesn't make any sense.
Peanut succotash. Never thought of that in my life.
Delicious. Love the green tomato.
Scallop is cooked perfectly. Nice sear on that.
Outstanding.
All right. Rolling on that succotash.
-The scallops are really good. -They're the bomb.
Finished the jambalaya, Chef.
If you wanna treat yourself, come here.
[Guy] This is a little non-descript cafe
in a strip mall right by the beach.
The book doesn't match the cover.
That's it. This guy's the real deal.
So, was this a great road trip, or what?
But don't you worry.
I got plenty more joints to find all over this country.
I'll be looking for you next time, on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
What's that called? A wardrobe killer?
[laughter]
You're a bad person.
Thank you.
[laughs]
People aren't gonna like you.
-Appreciate that. -[laughter]