You know, people were asking me all the time.
Hey Guy, that one joint you checked out in that one city
when you were doing Triple D. How are they doing?
You know, I don't know. We should check it out.
Over the years, I've seen and tasted it all.
This is ridiculous, dude.
But it turns out, it was only the beginning
because Triple D joints have been blowing up
and we're going back to see what's cooking.
Like on this trip.
We've got rocking recipes...
Ting-tang, walla walla, bing-bang.
from Argentina...
I love your shape-a of your arepa.
...to Afghanistan...
Hmm.
...and a little aloha in between.
You're the real deal, I want you to send some of this to me, to my house.
Those arepas and ribs in Norwalk, Connecticut.
That's capital T tasty right there, bro.
Island inspired shrimp in Mesa, Arizona...
That is so good.
And in Dallas, Texas...
Afghan kebabs and chapli...
That's really good.
Excellent dish.
...with a kick.
Even a little zippy.
-A little zippy to it. -Yeah.
Familiar faces, new places and more off the hook flavors.
This is Triple D Nation.
[upbeat instrumental rock music playing]
You know what kind of joints we're looking for on Triple D, right?
Crazy places like this one here in Connecticut.
And who would have thought when I was in Norwalk, in 2009,
I'd find Venezuelan beach food
on the north shore of Long Island Sound?
Check it out. Valencia Luncheria.
[upbeat music playing]
Creole.
Venezuelan food can be spicy.
It doesn't have to be that spicy.
[chef] Sloppy Mikey arepa, ready!
I love the fact that it's called beach food because it feels fun
when it comes
going down with the Venezuelan tequenos.
It's so cool that Guy visited here. That's why I came.
[Guy] I'm glad she listened to me.
Because everyone should experience
Michael Young's real deal Venezuelan dishes.
I mean, the guy traveled to Venezuela to learn how to make it.
I had my first arepa in Manhattan.
[Guy] And you said, "Wait, wait, wait, wait.
-Gotta be more of this." -Connecticut's got to have it.
All right, brother. Bring me up to speed on the whole thing.
When was the last time I saw you? 2009?
-You don't have a ponytail. -No.
-You've got a beard. -Right.
-You don't have the original location anymore. -No.
We moved down the block, six addresses.
It was very important for us to open up
very close to our other restaurant
because of the community.
They've been supportive of us.
You made the ultimate commitment
to be authentic in what you're doing.
-[chef] Arepas are ready. -[woman] The arepas are awesome.
It's like a cornmeal English muffin.
-So what are we making? -The masa for the arepas.
Start with water, kosher salt,
some black pepper butcher grind,
pre-cooked cornmeal.
[Guy] And that with the hand whisk...
he's doing angry monster stir.
-[growls] -We're looking for a 5-inch circle.
-How we looking? -Pretty good, Chef?
Venezuelans only eat them on the griddle.
Here in the States, we do them almost the opposite.
So we're gonna deep fry these.
[Michael] Three-and-a-half minutes later.
I love your shape-a of your arepa.
[Michael] Grazie.
[woman] I love the arepas.
The outside is crispy and crunchy,
and the inside is a little creamier.
And then whatever you order, and it kind of gets sucked up
into the softness of the corn.
Pernil arepa.
-What is pernil? -Pernil is the pork shoulder in Venezuela.
-What we call the pork butt. -We're gonna brine the pernil.
Water, white vinegar, two cups of sugar.
Kosher salt, equal parts. Bay leaves, dried rosemary.
Rosemary big in Venezuela?
No, that's my influence.
Chipotle sauce, the one we make here.
Now we're gonna take the pork shoulder, pop it in.
[Michael] And then I'm gonna brine the pork in there for 72 hours.
Really? That long?
Look how much it's settled down and absorbed.
A little adobo, cumin,
garlic, onion powder, black pepper, white pepper.
Guasacaca.
Oh, that's awesome. What is that?
[Michael] Basically, a pureed cold vegetable sauce.
-[Guy] Put a little water in the pan so it doesn't burn. -Yeah.
Now, how long will we cook it?
-Three hours covered. -Covered, three hours.
[Guy] So you get a nice crust on.
Look at that.
So we shred some of this, and then we'll pop it into an arepa.
Look at that thing.
Hmm, such great flavors, so moist.
That's capital T tasty right there, bro.
Sliced steak for the Lucas' Fire arepa.
-What changed on the menu? -When we filmed before, we had just two arepa doughs.
Right now, we're doing flavored types of masas.
We try something different almost every time.
They have such variety.
[server] We have the Sloppy Mikey.
[chef] Picking up, Lucas' Fire arepa.
The Lucas' Fire is excellent.
It's different from the other ones
because it comes open face.
This is hanger steak.
We're gonna season it with a little chipotle powder and kosher salt.
A little extra virgin olive oil.
We'll cook the hanger steak to medium rare.
Baby spinach.
Slice the steak on a bias.
Pico de gallo.
-What's in this masa? -Chili peppers.
Ancho chili,
chili flakes, a little brown sugar.
You have that much time on your hands
that you're making multiple arepa doughs now?
Oh, yeah.
[Guy] This is delicious. I love the skirt steak.
What are the sauces?
[Michael] Fire Crema. We're gonna start with a little sour cream.
Kosher salt, our house chipotle pepper sauce,
red wine vinegar, black pepper.
[Michael] Lucas' Fire arepa!
[server] Here's your Lucas' Fire.
[woman] The texture is amazing.
The steak is amazing.
The char is perfection.
[man] It's got, like, a spicy sauce to it.
It's really good.
Tequenos to the bar. Pick it up.
When people come here and try this type of food,
what-- what do you want them to get from it?
-What? What is the-- -With a smile. A smile.
-So a lot of people still remember you from the show. -We killed it.
We had a line at 6:00 a.m., and we sold a week's worth of food in that day.
[Guy] It was just mayhem.
[Michael] We have a bar now, beach patio.
We did the whole patio in sand.
Were you just gonna drop that on me now?
I said, "What you been up to?"
-And you're just, like, "Yeah." -Well, you know.
[Guy] And that's not all he's dropping on.
Saucing the ribs.
[Guy] He's sweetening up the deal.
-You definitely got chocolate. -Just a little.
And a little bit of kick to make it all kind of, like, brighten up your mouth.
Tamarindo Ting.
I've never heard it described that way.
You've got to come back. This is gonna be money.
[Guy] I'm hanging with chef Michael Young,
who brought real deal Venezuelan beach food,
along with the beach, to Norwalk, Connecticut.
So people come out there and they just get transported.
Yep, a culinary vacation.
I like the way you think.
[woman] So I used to go to the original, a little tight space,
but here, definitely a lot more space.
They always have a table for you.
And you continue to expand. Two bodegas.
[Michael] Yep, two food trucks.
-And-- Seriously? -Yeah.
[chef] Sloppy Mikey arepa ready.
Hey, guys, we have the tequenos and the Sloppy Mikey arepa.
I'm definitely grateful to have a spot like this.
You know, being a Latino,
having other Latino food really close by is awesome.
-What's this bad boy? -Chicken empanada.
-Whoa. -Fourteen different ones.
-What? -Chicken mechada in Venezuela.
Mechada means shredded.
-Start with olive oil, onions... -A little garlic.
Just a little, yeah. A little chicken stock, and green bell peppers.
Some red bell peppers.
-Yep. -It's not a spicy chicken.
Nice and flavorful. Chicken breast now.
The chicken's already cooked. You just really want to wet it.
Canned plum tomatoes.
Once the tomatoes start to heat up,
you go in with the Worcestershire sauce.
That gives you the little tamarindo ting.
Tamarindo Ting.
I've never heard it described that way.
Salt and pepper, dry oregano, some cilantro.
Did you say cil-antro?
-How do you say it? -Cil-aantro.
And our chipotle sauce.
So this is done.
We let this cool, and now we're gonna make the empanada.
Yes. Cool.
So you roll them all out, you bring the ball down.
You cut out your disc.
-Yes. -[Guy] Brother...
...that is some empanada dough.
This is our chicken mechada.
-[Guy] Chicken Generous. -Three fingers. Pull down. Flip.
That's the braided method.
-[Guy] We pop it in the fryer. -Put the basket right on top.
Three and a half minutes later, comes up.
Everything in this, handmade.
Mmm!
Tender chicken shredding apart.
The empanada dough is so nice and flaky and crusty.
-Getting the ting? -I'm getting the tang!
Ting-tang, walla walla, bing-bang.
I love the empanadas, but my favorite is
the chocolate chili baby back ribs.
[man] We got ribs to the Triple D Nation!
[woman] The ribs are my favorite.
I come in all the time for them.
What are the ribs?
Chocolate chili. Sweet, sweet and spicy.
And what's the sauce made out of?
Six to seven different chilies.
-So really into the mole. -Like a mole, but not less ingredients.
Water, dried chipotle peppers, diced white onion, tomato paste, garlic cloves.
Okay, so we've cooked it for about 45 minutes.
And now we're gonna add the chocolate.
Piloncillo sugar.
[Guy] How do you prepare the rib?
A little paprika, celery salt, piloncillo sugar,
black pepper, chipotle powder, kosher salt and garlic powder.
Give this a mix, rub the ribs,
put it to bed in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
And then we grill them and then a beer marinade.
White wine, orange juice, a little bit of water.
Mexican beer.
Three hours in the oven.
We let them get cold and then throw them into a pan with the sauce.
You definitely get chocolate.
Venezuelan chocolate.
-We're not just throwing in a regular chocolate bar. -No.
You're using some of the seasoned fortified chocolate.
-[Michael] Yes. -[server] Chocolate chili baby back ribs.
They're cooked to perfection.
[woman] The sauce on their ribs is mole style.
It's got that chocolatey-ness to it and a little bit of kick
to make it all kind of, like, brighten up your mouth.
[man] Order in the window,
Triple D Nation!
Dude, I'm gonna tell you.
You're a great dude.
You're a great chef.
This makes me the proud high school coach to see you going pro.
-Thanks, coach. -Go get him.
-Okay? -Yeah, man.
Next, Hall of Fame.
-[Guy] Coming up... -Your taste buds will jump for joy.
...we're going Hawaiian style in the desert...
Island hot wings and a manapua.
...where there's island eats...
It's sweet, it's meaty.
It's luxurious.
...in the Arizona heat.
You're a superstar.
[upbeat instrumental rock music playing]
So I'm here in Mesa, Arizona, and I'm landlocked.
And you want to take a vacation.
You say, "Gosh, I'd really like to go to Hawaii,
but I can't afford it. I don't have the time."
So you hit up the next best thing.
Which is what I did when I stopped here in 2018.
They've been delivering Hawaiian dishes
to the desert for decades,
and now, there's more to the menu
with a new generation ready to take the reins.
Welcome to Aloha Kitchen.
[chef] Katsu Bulkogi, up!
Aloha Kitchen is tastier than what I've tasted in Hawaii.
Island hot wings and a manapua.
In the middle of Mesa, Arizona.
And it's authentic.
Where do you find a place like this?
Aloha Kitchen was the perfect thing to feature on Triple D.
It's a hole in the wall. It's super good.
The only place that tasted like Hawaii.
[Guy] That's because island blood runs thick
through Hawaiian native Lynn Tso and her husband, Ray.
I can tell you guys aren't really from the islands.
You're from Nebraska.
What are you two doing in Arizona?
I came here as a graduate student in public health nutrition.
Okay. What about you?
-I just-- -Well, he just followed.
Katsu bulkogi.
It's nice for those of us that can't go home.
Here we have a piece of the island.
[Lynn] Two manapuas, pickup!
We especially like the manapua steamed buns.
It's got a sweet pork.
Just amazing.
-Let's go. -First, we're going to use sugar.
-A bunch of it. -And then some yeast.
Some warm water.
[Guy] Let that bloom.
-Put it in the flour. -Fifteen minutes.
-[Guy] The dough is done. -Proofs for about 20 minutes.
And how do we say this again?
Manapua. The Chinese brought it over.
They would have Chinese men carrying the pole
across their shoulders, and they would call out,
Mea-ono-pua'a!
Mea is thin. Ono is delicious. Pua'a is meat or pork.
Delicious meat thing.
-Yeah. -Delicious meat thing.
Delicious meat thing.
Okay, so pork shoulder, bone out.
Right. We're gonna marinate it with the char siu marinade overnight.
How long are you going to cook it?
-[Lynn] For about an hour at 350. -Okay.
-[Guy] Cube it up? -Yes.
-Works for me. Gravies next? -Yes.
Soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, water,
black pepper, green onion, sesame oil, cornstarch and water.
All right. Pour the sauce over the meat.
[Guy] Now we're gonna put it together.
[Lynn] We've got the proofed dough.
Take a spoonful and then pinch it together.
And how long do they steam?
[Lynn] For about 15 to 20 minutes.
All right, let's see it.
Those are huge.
Look at that bun!
[moans in pleasure]
The bun is so tender, and then the meat filling's got a nice little salt.
[muffled] That was so good.
It's sweet, it's meaty, it's luxurious.
-The only way you can describe that is tasty meat thing. -Right.
-[chef] Two manapuas. -[woman] We love manapua.
It's just a staple from Hawaii,
and it's comfort food for us.
Our manapuas are now our hot sellers.
-Palahu Shrimp. -[woman] Thank you.
Palahu is like fired up on the the grill, very flavorful.
It's perfect.
First step, we're making a marinade that's made of chopped garlic,
dill, parsley, cooking wine, olive oil, salt, black pepper.
And then we put the shrimp in and the flavor comes from the shells.
Now these shrimp are going to be marinated
in the refrigerator for about six to eight hours.
And then gonna put it on the hot grill.
The shrimp's done. Now we're plating it,
and this is our palau shrimp plate.
-Palau shrimp. -Your taste buds will jump for joy.
It's tender and juicy and moist.
It's very light, healthy, and it's got very good flavor.
-Watch out. -Thank you.
You're gonna show up!
You have no idea.
After Triple D, talk about a busy kitchen.
We had to create more seats in the dining room.
Raymond and I have semi-retired,
and our son Matthew
is resuming management of the kitchen.
Give me 30 seconds on the wings.
Lynn and Ray are the brains behind the delicious food.
Matt took the service to another level.
-Island style wings. -Tangy, with a little touch of teriyaki sauce.
First step to the wings is making the sauce.
Soy sauce, sugar, water,
rice wine, garlic, green onions, sesame oil, and chili flakes.
It cooks down about five to seven minutes,
and then we're gonna thicken it with cornstarch and water.
Now it's time for us to get our wings ready.
We're just gonna go ahead and dredge our wings in flour, salt and pepper.
The wings sit in the cooler overnight.
Now, they're ready to fry, 350 for about 10-12 minutes.
Add with the sauce.
Green onions on top, and these are our island style wings.
Island style wings.
Just the right spicy and tangy.
They are delicious and really messy.
[man] Big portion of wings.
If I had to grade them on a 1-10, these would be a 10.
Island style wings, plate of shrimp.
[woman] If you're looking for a little island flair
and you're in Arizona, this is the place to come.
[man] You feel the spirit of Aloha. You feel the spirit of Hawaii.
That's why we come.
Triple D-licious.
The story is awesome.
You're the real deal.
I want you to send some of this to me to my house.
You're a superstar.
[Guy] And coming up in Dallas...
It was a Triple D first!
A Triple D first after 1000 restaurants? Are you kidding me?
And it was worth the wait.
-One of my favorites. -Yeah.
[chef] Lamb shank. Table 4. Pick it up.
I'm here on Greenville Avenue in Dallas, Texas,
to check out a Triple D first.
A Triple D first after a thousand restaurants?
Are you kidding me? I never saw this coming.
Back in 2018, I went to the first Afghan restaurant
Triple D had ever seen.
And even though they moved to a new location,
their scratch-made food is still bringing in even more first timers.
This is Nora restaurant and bar.
[upbeat music playing]
[chef] Bulanee, table 5.
Diners, Drive-ins and Dives came to its old location.
Very, very flavorful, different kind of spices and even a little zippy.
-A little zippy to it. -Yeah.
Leek dumpling.
I didn't know Afghani food. It's turned out to be one of my favorites.
Me being Afghan myself,
it reminds me of my mum's food all the time.
I love how family-based Nora's is.
I definitely feel like that love comes through the food.
[Guy] Probably because even the name came from a place of love.
Because owner Matt Pikar named the place after his daughter.
My wife said, "Let's call this Nora," and I loved it.
[Guy] How would you describe Afghan food?
Flavorful.
The spices.
Turmeric, cardamom, saffron.
Once you come and try it,
-you're gonna fall in love with it. -And--
We have the lamb kebab.
Everything that we've ever had here has been great.
Lamb shank, Table 4. Pick it up.
Okay, what are we gonna make first?
-Lamb shanks. -In a pressure cooker.
We go with the garlic, onions, chopped tomatoes,
fresh cilantro.
Cilantro is big in Afghanistan?
Oh, yeah. Then we got salt.
Black pepper.
-I like the turmeric. -I love it.
-Coriander. -Coriander.
[Guy] How long are we gonna let this cook?
About 20 minutes.
[Guy] Got it.
Now we're going to continue the process.
Put my tomato first.
-Then we put the... sun-dried tomato. -Sun-dried tomato?
-[Guy] Chili de Arbol. -Black pepper and some paprika.
-So Afghan has a little heat? -Little, but not too much.
Take some tomato paste.
-[Guy] Okay. -Then you take your lamb shank.
Beautiful shanks.
Now, this is gonna go in the oven for how long?
Forty-five to hour, 350.
Here you go, towels.
-Get some towels. -There you go, doctor.
-Dr. Matt. -We take our lamb shank.
-Nicely done. -Put more rice on top of it.
Then we get the topping.
-And that's it. -That's it.
That's really good. Excellent dish.
[server] A lamb shank for you.
So after Triple D, we got all different people.
You know, people had never had lamb.
Had never had a kebab.
Chicken kebabs.
The chicken with the yogurt sauce is a great first dish to try.
It's very delicious, very flavorful.
Now we're making the chicken kebab with yogurt.
To marinate the chicken, we're going to add paprika,
black pepper, ginger, coriander, coriander,
crushed pepper, salt, saffron liquid, garlic.
I like a garlic. Lemon juice.
That makes it very tender.
Olive oil.
Mix that all together.
Now we're ready to skewer our kebab.
We usually use big, nice skewer sticks
so it could burn inside and make the kebab more juicy.
Now we've got our veggies skewers.
And it takes about seven minutes to cook each skewer.
We have a pita. Make sure it's warm.
Then we get our chicken. Beautiful.
Then you get your vegetable here.
Then yogurt sauce.
We're using the Middle Eastern yogurt.
We add a little bit of mayonnaise to it.
Salt, vinegar, garlic, black pepper.
I use fresh dill all the time.
Now we mix it.
Now, it's ready.
We're going to put some corianders.
Put a little bit of olive oil.
And it's ready to eat.
Chicken kebabs.
[woman] It is very tender.
I love the chargrilled vegetables and the chicken.
It's just a fabulous flavor.
[man] Qabili palao lamb.
Qabili palao, that's one of my favorites, actually.
The carrots and the raisins.
The lamb is very tender and juicy.
We are making now the lamb meat.
We're going to add onions, garlic, boneless leg of lamb.
And we mix it.
We're putting cilantro, chopped tomatoes, crushed pepper,
coriander, ginger, salt, dry lime, turmeric.
Mix it. It looks brown.
Now we're going to add water to it and we're going to let it boil for one hour.
Our lamb should be ready, so add tomato paste to it.
It makes it thick and soft.
This is the same basmati saffron rice we made for Guy.
Qabili palao.
-[Guy] Qabili palao. -Qabili means the chef with a lot of talent.
-Cook the food. -Cook, their Qabili.
-Basmati rice, boiled and steamed. -Nice and light and fluffy.
-One of my favorites. -Yeah.
[Pikar] We're gonna take the saffron water.
-[Guy] A little saffron water. -Pour it to the lamb stock.
-Next. -Then we have the seven spices.
Seven spices. What's in there?
[Pikar] Cumin, coriander, black pepper,
green cardamom, black cardamom, cloves and cinnamon.
Then we put more cardamom in.
Then we put the salt. Then, the last part is...
-[Guy] Is more of the saffron. -Saffron.
-[Guy] We mix that together, in the oven. -Twenty-five minutes.
And it's ready to serve.
So we get the rice.
We put it in the middle. Here is our lamp.
Then we put more rice on top like a mountain.
Here we have the carrots, raisins, almonds,
a little bit of greenery and a flower on the top.
Qabili palao lamb.
The lamb is so tender, so many different spices,
with a blend of mild sweetness to it.
Kadu, Table 7.
They have lots of variety, something for everyone, I think.
And whatever you're craving, you can find it.
[Pikar] Kofta chalao, ready!
This helps people to better understand a culture
-they don't know anything about. -[Pikar] That's true.
After Triple D come, we moved to a better location,
new location and people followed us.
The old place was fabulous.
And this new place, everybody would love it.
A great place to have in our neighborhood.
Nice place. Nora should be very proud.
Okay, guys, order!
Hey, what do we have on the grill?
Wings in the window.
But my memory is long.
-Chicken yogurt at the bar. -Island wings for Guy!
Triple D Nation!
And the list of Triple D joints is even longer!
Palahu shrimp.
This is your bulanee and this is your Mantoo.
-Thank you, Nora, for helping your dad. -Enjoy.
So we'll be checking out more next time on Triple D Nation.
Qabili palao.
-What? -Where are you going?
[indistinct]
What are you looking at? You just...
-Wipe... wipe it up. -Now, you're just...
Now we're gonna make the lamb.
All right. You ready?