Hey, everybody.
I'm Guy Fieri, and we're rolling out
looking for America's greatest Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.
[Guy] This trip...
-All right, all right, all right. -[chuckles]
[Guy] We're heading on some tasty trips...
Take me to the Flavortown church, my friend.
-[Guy] ...back in time. -What a piece of history.
[Guy] Like an Ohio schoolhouse
with a comfort food curriculum...
That bite right there, that's money.
[Guy] ...pizza and wings on hallowed ground in Oregon...
It's unconventional but you really are delivering with this.
[Guy] ...and in Connecticut...
There you go. Showoff.
[Guy] ...a retro diner throwback...
I'm telling you, the folks of Stamford are lucky.
[Guy] ...cranking out the classics.
Cooked the right way, done the right way, and it's delicious.
That's all right here, right now on Triple-D.
On Triple-D, we have been to a fair amount of drive-ins,
a lot of dives,
but you know what we don't see a lot of?
Diners.
Well, unless you're on the east coast.
So we're about 40 miles north of New York City in Connecticut,
and we're gonna check out a diner.
And not just a small diner.
No, this thing is 1,200 sq. ft.
I hope you're hungry. This is The Stamford Diner.
Can I get another corned beef hash?
There's not another diner like this.
There's just a fun atmosphere, there's a lot of activity,
but yet you feel at home.
Cannoli French toast.
[man] They have daily specials that are unique,
and they do the classics, I think, better than anyone else.
[Guy] All this coming from Ari Thanos,
a guy who mastered turning tables
well before he started serving tables.
I was a DJ.
I got flown down to do a party in Atlanta.
The guy goes, "I have a diner for sale.
Do you know anybody who wants to buy it?"
And I was like, "I'm the guy."
-[Guy] What's the claim to fame now? -[Ari] Matzo ball soup.
-It's my son's favorite thing. -I'm a matzo ball soup junkie.
You think of diners, you're thinking matzo ball soup.
Kind of like a dumpling in soup. It's great taste.
-All right, what are we gonna do first? -Chicken noodle soup.
So we start with our raw chickens, our vegetables.
[Guy] So the mirepoix.
[Ari] Our sachet, sage, thyme, and garlic,
and salt and pepper.
How long is this gonna run?
[Ari] About two, three hours.
All right, let's get into this soup.
I start with Greek olive oil, our mirepoix.
-[Guy] Gonna sweat that? -[Ari] 20 minutes.
[Guy] The pulled chicken.
And add the chicken stock.
We'll let it simmer for 30 minutes and hold it for serving.
Next, we make the matzo balls?
That's correct.
Homemade chicken stock,
Greek olive oil again,
eggs, salt and pepper.
And matzo meal.
The matzo meal is now going to absorb this.
We'll let it sit for one hour.
Are you gonna scoop it in a measured scoop?
We are like the US mint. We print matzo balls equal size all by hand.
That's it.
I'm gonna get a caliper
-and they're gonna be off by how much? -1mm.
They'll drop down, and then within, like, 10 minutes,
they'll start rising up.
So our matzos are ready.
So you can't come down and get the two best ones because I have 'em now.
The stock with the chicken and the mirepoix.
Just thought I would bring a caliper in just to check 'em.
We're at 60 point. Now we go to the other one.
Those are pretty darn close.
That is great chicken stock.
The matzo balls are super tender.
You look at 'em and they fall apart.
Oh, that's it.
This is textbook diner matzo ball soup
cooked the right way, done the right way, and it's delicious.
Well done.
-Matzo ball soup. -[man] The soup is amazing.
It's just got that nice broth.
I need a knife to cut the big chunks of chicken.
Everything melds together very well.
-What's you're favorite thing on the menu? -Matzo ball soup.
This is my nephew, Holt. He's a connoisseur.
-How's the broth there, Mr. Holt? -[slurps]
That's it? You're gonna be quiet now?
This is my agent, Jason Hodes.
If you like shows I do it's because this guy
has been the one that's set it all up.
This is a great diner.
This is a real traditional diner.
It's like what we grew up with.
[woman] I really love the nostalgic '50s feelings.
It just kind of transports you.
Corned beef hash and eggs.
We come at least once a week.
Well, your brother is a dear friend of mine,
but he didn't tell me there was a whole gang of you.
[Tom] Oh, my God, hi. You got the whole team.
-[all laugh] -Hey. Hey, Tom.
-[Guy] What's your favorite thing on the menu? -[woman] Grilled cheese.
[Guy] We know who the culinarian is.
I like the turkey sandwich.
Hot open turkey.
You come in here in August and you can have Thanksgiving on a plate.
The creamy gravy, and the mashed potatoes, and the cranberry sauce
just goes all well together.
-And now what are we into? -Turkey dinner.
And it's available for breakfast, too.
There you go. Showoff.
We're gonna debone our turkey.
For the sandwich we're using the turkey breast,
and the rest we make our turkey gravy with.
[Guy] How much turkey gravy do you go through?
[Ari] About 50 turkeys a week like this.
Where is the walk-in that houses all of this?
-Eight walk-ins here. -Most restaurants have one.
[Ari] We're gonna truss it up and we're gonna stick it in brine.
Water, equal parts salt and sugar, garlic, thyme, bay leaves.
-This will brine for how long? -24 hours.
-Then we season it with? -Salt and pepper.
[Ari] And we cook it to 165 for approximately two hours.
[Ari] Now we're gonna make the stock
-for our homemade turkey gravy. -Dig it.
[Ari] We add our other parts of our turkey.
-We add our mirepoix, fresh thyme. -Okay.
[Ari] It's gonna go in the oven for 30 minutes at 500 degrees,
and then it's ready to make our stock.
-Take our heavy stuff. -Great roasted flavor in this.
[Ari] We let it simmer for two, three hours.
We strain it and it's ready for gravy.
Make a roux, butter and flour, turkey stock.
And now the roux.
So we'll let that tighten up.
-What else comes with this dish? -Cranberry sauce.
And we're gonna make that?
-From scratch. -Of course we are.
[Ari] Add our sugar, orange juice, cinnamon, lemon zest,
-orange zest, orange slices. -[Guy] Got it.
After, I would say, about 30 minutes
when it gets a little more candied we'll add our cranberries.
[Guy] And we're gonna let this cook down.
So turkey's done. Cool it down a little bit.
-Slice it on a deli slicer. -You'll reheat?
-A little butter, chicken stock, turkey gravy. -And just float that in.
Not cooking it, just warming it.
[Ari] We go to plating now.
Top it off with our turkey gravy
and our homemade cranberry sauce.
Turkey's nice and tender.
The depth of flavor in that gravy alone,
you can taste the flavor all the way through.
Your cranberry sauce is the bomb, by the way.
Gosh, that's good.
Night night.
Open turkey sandwich for you.
Turkey, I thought it was sliced just right.
Didn't need a knife.
That sweetness and tartness of that cranberry sauce
really balances it all out.
[Guy] How's the turkey, sir?
-Absolutely delicious. -Is it like she makes?
-Better. [laughs] -[laughs]
Meatloaf stack.
It's reliable, and the reliability
is what you really want to have in a diner.
Classic eggs, sunny side up.
Stamford Diner. This is it for me.
[Guy] I'm telling you, the folks of Stamford are lucky.
Now, I'd love to see what it was like as a DJ.
[whooshes]
[Guy] Up next, in Redmond, Ohio...
-It's quite the adventure, my friend. -[bell dings]
[Guy] ...an old church-turned-pizzeria...
Really, really is beautiful.
[Guy] ...putting out inspired pie...
You're making crazy pizza really legit by the way.
[Guy] ...and angelic wings.
I can't lie. I'm in church.
No, I'm not full. I want a dozen.
-[bleep] -What a pleasure.
-So nice. -What a pleasure.
-So glad that you came down. -And I think you're more handsome in person.
-Keep that up. -Yeah.
-You keep that up, girls. -[bleep]
-[car door shuts] -Do you ever sit back and think
what are the streets of Flavortown paved with?
You know, we know they got great food.
We know they got great Chinese food, Mexican food, Thai food.
Well, anyhow, I'm here in Redmond, Oregon, right outside of Bend,
where they're serving pizza at the pulpit.
-Listen. -[bell dings]
-Can you hear it? -[bell dings]
That might be the bells of Flavortown Church.
-This is Grace and Hammer Pizzeria. -[bell dings]
Probably about a minute left on that Willie.
Church is in session. Where do we start? [laughs]
Got that dough starting to rise up in there.
It's a beautiful building but the food's even better.
You got a hot pie.
[Guy] What does everybody think
about having a pizza joint in a church?
Everyone's like, "In a church? Got to go check it out."
[Guy] It certainly was a heavenly sight for Chad and Cinnamon Nemec
when they spotted this place for sale while visiting from Austin.
We went home from our vacation,
and two weeks later
came and put a contract in, and...
Was it intended to be a house
-or was it intended to be a pizza joint? -I wanted a house.
-He wanted a pizzeria. -It really, really is beautiful.
[Cinnamon] The building was built in 1912.
It's on the National Historic Registry.
-[Guy] Who's the pastor of pizza? -[Cinnamon] Adam.
-Where did you learn to cook? -Just had a passion for craft things.
Prodigal Pig wrapping up right now.
The Prodigal Pig's kind of a twist on a classic Hawaiian pizza.
All right, so what are we gonna jump into now?
[Adam] We have a pork butt.
We're gonna be smoking this
and turning it into pulled pork
for our Prodigal Pig pizza.
-Score the pork butt. -You're tickling it.
-Scoring is, like, really cutting into it. -[laughs]
Gochujang sauce.
-[Guy] Salt and pepper? -Absolutely.
We're gonna bind this up?
This is a boneless pork butt
-so I don't want it opening up on the smoker. -Got you, got you, got you.
[Adam] We're gonna be smoking it at 225.
Roughly 10 hours.
Free it from its twine,
break it down, sauce it with some gochujang.
Ready to go on some pizza.
-I assume we're making some dough. -Absolutely.
[Adam] Some bloomed yeast and water.
-What kind of flour? -A hard red wheat.
- [Guy] What gluten level? - [Adam] 13.5.
And then a little bit of salt.
-[Guy] Let it mix. -[Adam] Two minutes.
How long is this gonna get a chance to proof?
-About 24 hours. -Whole?
Punch it down and then let it rise up again
-for another 24 hours. -[Guy] Got it.
[Adam] Portion, ball, let it rest.
-What's next? -Our kalbi sauce.
Black pepper, brown sugar,
garlic, green onion there, ginger, grated yellow onion,
sesame oil, mirin, soy sauce.
-That's gonna get tight enough to be the sauce on the base? -Yeah.
-Next up. -Pineapple slaw.
-Pineapple on pizza. -[chuckles] I know it's a great debate.
-Actually, I don't care, honestly. -Okay, okay.
It's your pizza. Put on it what you want on it.
We got some ginger here, shallot, chopped cilantro, pinapple, serranos.
-[Adam] Add a little bit of heat. -[Guy] Mix that up.
-Are we gonna make this pie finally? -Yeah, let's do it.
Gonna go ahead and grab a dough ball here.
Stretch this out.
[Guy] Look at the elasticity of that. That's awesome.
Let's build this pizza.
-Kalbi sauce? -Fresh mozz.
Gochujang pork here.
Little fontina.
This is burning at 700, 800 degrees?
-[Adam] Yes, sir. -[Guy] And you should be able to cook this off.
About two minutes or so.
-[Guy] And what are we burning? -[Adam] All white oak.
-All right, all right, all right. -[chuckles]
-Boom. [chuckles] -Beautiful.
You can just hear the crust.
Pineapple slaw, pickled onion on top.
-And there we have a completed Prodigal Pig right there. -And that's all she wrote.
[chuckles]
It's dynamite.
That crust is so light, and airy, and fluffy.
The balance that you create with that pineapple slaw,
because you're getting a lot of heat
from the serranos and the jalapenos,
with the acidity from the onions countering the brown sugar
that you have in the kalbi sauce...
That's what gives it the balance and the harmony.
-I know I'm preaching to the choir on... -[bell dings]
-But I got to confess, it's... excellent pizza. -[bell dings]
Gochujang pulled pork going on.
It's a spin on a Hawaiian but way, way better
because you have that smoky deliciousness of the pork.
And the kalbi sauce that's on that
gives that a little bit of sweet and tangy at the same time.
The pizza crust is incredible.
[man] It's got a little bit of spice,
a little bit of juiciness and tanginess from the pineapple.
[Guy] Is this the kind of pizza you were expecting?
I don't know what I was expecting...
-...honestly. -Right?
Everyone's like tries to come in and order a pepperoni pizza.
You got to get their flavors because they've mastered 'em.
-Go with their experience. -Yeah.
These guys just take license to put whatever they want on it, so...
-We got a Benevolent Bird. -[woman] They always have,
like, a fun spin on their names of pizzas,
and also a fun spin on what they put on the pizzas.
This is my cousin, Paul, on Triple-D for his third time.
I love it. It's got everything on it.
Pine State Biscuits, Tails and Trotters.
Now, so serendipitously, his dad, my Uncle Bill, was a pastor.
It would be just fitting that you and I are having pizza in a church.
This is, like, the real deal.
-Hey, guys. -Hi.
You're not just a pizza show.
What else do you have performing in the congregation?
[Adam] Smoked and fried chicken wings.
I love the wings. It's nice, and fresh, and smoky.
You get the crispiness of the fried.
I am a smoked fried chicken wing.
-Let's do it. -[laughs]
Welcome back. Triple-D hanging out in a church.
-[bell dings] -Flavortown Church.
Actually, we're in Redmond, right outside of Bend, Oregon,
and we're hanging out with Chef Adam.
You're making crazy pizza really legit, by the way.
He says he's not a one trick pony.
He's got a lot of other great stuff going on, and one of them is wings.
Absolutely.
Sauce barbecue wings for table 23.
I walk in and they know I'm gonna order my wings every single time.
Take me to the Flavortown Church, my friend.
We're gonna go ahead and build our brine.
-[Adam] Water. -Equal parts salt and sugar. Let it dissolve.
[Guy] Little ice bath to cool it down
and then over the top of the wings.
How long will you let the brine go for?
[Adam] Overnight. About 24 hours.
-My night's usually are only, like, nine. -[laughs]
So once the wings are fully brined, we let 'em dry off.
-We salt and pepper them. -Just salt and pepper?
[Adam] And then they're off to the smoker.
We're gonna make some rub. We're gonna start with a little celery salt here.
Cajun seasoning, granulated onion. Garlic in there as well.
-We got some cayenne. -And that's a component of the barbecue sauce.
Walk me through the barbecue sauce.
Start with some brisket fat drippings.
They taught you this in kindergarten
-when you were in Texas, right? -[laughs]
I think you have to know that.
You have to know how to rope cattle, saddle a horse,
and make barbecue sauce all by the time you're four.
-And then we have some Worcester sauce. -Some what?
-Worcestershire. -Okay.
Apple cider vinegar, coffee from our neighbors right down the road,
brown sugar, plum tomatoes.
Teamwork makes the dream work.
House brisket rub here,
black pepper, cayenne, kosher salt.
Reduce this down for about two hours, emulsify it,
and hold it for service.
[Adam] We've got some smoked wings here
that just came out of the fryer,
ready to be sauced.
Boom. Optional ranch if you like it.
Comes with an optional ranch.
Dude, that's a great wing. There's so much flavor going on.
There's the sugar and salt smoked, then that fry to it,
and then just kissed with a little bit of that barbecue sauce
which is not overpowering.
-Well done, brother. -[laughs]
I'm almost getting to the point of being full at five.
I can't lie. I'm in church. No, I'm not full. I want a dozen.
[man] The wings are great.
Nice tenderness inside,
but then you get a little light crispy and it's just perfect.
-You got to be a kid that likes wings. -Love 'em.
Kind of like heaven on your tongue.
Is that a church thing?
Got a Saint Stanley ready to run.
I think I have your food groups right here, Paul.
Pizza and wings are two of my favorite foods.
-Oh, yeah, beer is the third one. -Yeah.
You know everything you're gonna get is gonna be amazing.
It is a blessing to the community.
This is the one you want to come to.
It's quite the adventure, my friend.
It's delicious, it's unconventional,
but you really are delivering with this.
Nice job.
-Thank you, sir. -Amen.
-[Adam chuckles] -[bell dings]
[Guy] Coming up in Camp Dennison, Ohio...
-You're a little fancy around here, aren't you? -I know.
[Guy] ...a funky joint converting classrooms into a kitchen...
Oh, look at you with the big surprises.
[Guy] ...cooking up A plus fried chicken...
That's gonna be nice, and light, and flakey.
[Guy] ...and a decadent dessert earning extra credit.
It is the chocolate peanut butter candy.
Made it a higher level.
-[car door shuts] -Triple-D is all about the story,
the character, and great food.
And wait until you get this story.
I'm here in Camp Dennison, Ohio,
about 30 minutes outside of Cincinnati.
1863, they built a schoolhouse.
It runs 'till 1952.
Then it takes a ten year break and the Miller family decides to open a restaurant in it.
This is the second generations of the Millers doing it.
If you're looking for fried chicken, pork chops, and southern greens
it's right here at The Schoolhouse Restaurant.
I have a large corn fritter with fried pickle.
[man] If you've been in the restaurant business for 60 years
you're obviously putting really good food out.
Pork chops.
You're coming to a family place.
[Guy] And it doesn't get any more family than the Millers
who inherited this little piece of history from their parents.
Daddy originally wanted to turn it into a nursing home.
He was a doctor.
Mom, she said,
"This would be an adorable restaurant."
She brought a cook in
and brought family recipes to her.
-And this is the same menu we run today? -Pretty much.
Fried chicken.
I had the fried chicken. It is good comfort food.
The chicken from 40 years ago, it's pretty close to the chicken today.
I love the fact that you are gonna get all these different sides.
What are we starting off with?
We are starting off
with our country-style green beans
which is one of our sides here at The Schoolhouse.
-Okay. -Onions, locally smoked ham,
onion powder, a little bit of garlic,
-chicken base. -And salt and pepper.
-[Guy] This is gonna go an hour-and-a-half, two hours. -[Beth] Yep.
-While that's going, what are we gonna make? -Make some cornbread.
-[Beth] Corn muffin mix... -[Guy] Okay.
-...sugar, a little extra flour. -A little AP flour. Got it.
-[Guy] And some water. -[Beth] And that's it.
[Guy] Mix this up.
What temp we gonna it on for how long?
[Beth] 325 for about 30 minutes.
Then we'll make the wet mix for the fried chicken.
Okay, walk me through it.
We use whole eggs, whole milk, buttermilk.
-Has the hot sauce always been part of the program? -No.
[Beth] I'm trying to evolve the flavor
-to meet the market. -Got it.
[Beth] We'll dredge it.
AP flour, poultry seasoning...
-...onion, pepper, salt, cayenne, paprika. -Paprika.
[Guy] To the egg wash.
Then the dry, and then we'll shake it.
-Give it a little pat so you don't burn the flour. -We'll shake it.
[Beth] And we drop it.
-[Guy] 10 minutes? -[Beth] Actually, 20.
[Guy] Now, when somebody orders the chicken
do they get a variety of sides?
We send out green beans, mashed potatoes, and gravy.
When does the mac and cheese come out?
Mac and cheese is a special order,
as is the stewed tomatoes.
-That's all she wrote. -That's all she wrote.
-That's simple cornbread but that's good cornbread. -Mmm-hmm.
That's a good green bean.
But the kicker right here is just the simple fried chicken
that's not overcooked, not over-battered, not over-seasoned,
and that bite right there, that's money.
Fried chicken.
[man] Fried chicken is amazing.
It's fresh to order, so you're never getting anything
that's been sitting around all day long.
It's crispy, it's light.
-Are you a green bean guy? -I am.
[Guy] What do you think of these?
So this is how I eat green beans.
Just simple, nothing fancy.
Pork chops.
[woman] This is home. This is a classroom.
I could easily bring my history students in here and teach a lesson
and enjoy a meal at the same time.
So it's a schoolhouse 'till when?
1863 through 'till about 1952.
And this was K to eighth?
[Chris] Kitchen was first to the fourth grade,
the dining room was fifth through the eighth.
-Original floor? -[Pam] Yep. Original blackboard.
-No. -Original windows.
[Guy] What a piece of history.
[man] This is definitely a generational type of a restaurant,
and I bring my family and kids here,
and all I have to say is "peanut butter pie" and they're in the car.
Plating peanut butter pie.
I'm a peanut butter fanatic so the peanut butter pie is great.
It's so creamy, and then the ganache on top, perfect with a cup of coffee.
I've never really had the big sweet tooth
but I heard about the peanut butter pie,
and if I don't try it and my kids find out about it
we're gonna have a problem.
-All right. -Let's see it.
[Beth] First, the crust.
AP flour, sugar, salt.
So do the dry ingredients first...
-...and then you have... -So all the dry first.
[Guy] The cold cubed butter.
Just pulse it a little bit and then some ice water.
[Beth] And then we dump.
But that's gonna be nice, and light, and flakey.
Plastic wrap. Make it into a disc. Let it rest 30 minutes.
-[Guy] We'll roll it out... -[Beth] Right.
-...we'll throw it in the pie tin... -Right.
-...we'll blind bake it. -Right.
-Then we'll make the filling. -Yes.
-What's going in this thing? Peanut butter and... -Cream cheese.
-And what's on top? -Ganache.
-You're a little fancy around here, aren't you? -I know.
[Beth] We start with good old fashioned peanut butter,
cream cheese, powdered sugar.
-[Beth] Next is vanilla. -Fold in some whipping cream to lighten this up.
-Start the chocolate. -Okay.
-[Guy] Just regular chocolate chips? -[Beth] Yeah.
-[Guy] Let it slowly melt. -Heavy cream. Add the butter.
So the chocolate ganache is done.
[Beth] Little chocolate on the crust.
Oh, look at you with the big surprises.
-Thank you, sir. -Doctor.
[Guy] Wow, that's good.
See, because there's enough saltiness,
and enough nuttiness, and not super sugary.
Right, so now we pour this over the top, let it chill.
[Beth] Takes about an hour or overnight.
-Let it tighten up a little bit -Yep, yep.
and then off we go.
[Beth] Come on.
I said one piece. I didn't mean the whole pie.
[Guy whistles]
Great blind-baked crust.
Need a little bit of that texture
because it is silky and creamy.
Nice ganache on top.
It is the chocolate peanut butter candy.
Made it a higher level.
-You get it. -I get it.
Peanut butter pie pick up.
[woman] It just slides down.
And you're full, but if they offer you a second one you go,
-[sighing] "Okay." -It's just amazing.
Country-fried steak.
Foods like grandma used to make.
-My grandma didn't cook like this. Shh. -[man and woman laugh]
My husband and I have eaten all over the world.
There is nothing like this anywhere we've ever been.
The history that you have in this building really lends itself to saying,
"Look at the environment that you get to sit in,
and look at the part of history
that you get to appreciate and experience."
-Great job, Chef. Thank you. -Thank you.
So that's it for this road trip, but don't worry.
We've got plenty more joints to find all over this country.
I'll be looking for you next time
on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.
She's gonna fire it up.
-Now, what I want you, what? -No.
She's a really good driver.
I think it's a great idea to let her drive.
Okay, do you wanna ride in the back with me?
-No. -No? You're out?