Hey, everybody, I'm Guy Fieri and we're rolling out,
looking for America's greatest Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
This trip...
Just a little tickle-tickle.
...things really get cooking...
I know you're jealous right now.
...with Mom's special touch.
This is definitely like bring your family in.
We've got family tree tacos in San Antonio.
The national anthem of deliciousness is playing in my head right now.
-[woman] Ooh. -[Guy] A mother-son vegan adventure in Indianapolis.
-Look at that. -Oh, my God.
[Guy] And a spot serving meatballs and more...
Go ahead.
...named to honor the inspiration.
Nobody can cook like Mama does.
You wanna go somewhere and eat bold food? You found it.
That's all right here, right now on Triple D.
[opening music playing]
I'm here in San Luis Obispo, California.
A great town, cool college, lots of shopping, lots of eating.
And if you're looking for lots of shopping and a lot of eating,
then you've gotta check out the old Creamery Marketplace.
They've got it all, including a restaurant
where the chef is from Italy, got the recipes from his mom.
Guess the name of the joint.
You got it. Mama's Meatball.
[Nicola] Ricotta pronto.
This place is amazing.
You really feel like you're transported to Italy.
Two ravioli! [speaks Italian]
[woman 1] Not only is it family restaurant,
but you feel like part of the family when you're here.
Like, mom is in the back cooking that comfort Italian food.
[Guy] Hence the name.
And Nicola Allegretta did lean on his mama
when he opened this salute to his roots.
[in English] They say, "Guess what?
I opened a restaurant. You wanna come and help me out?
And I'm gonna call it Mama's Meatball."
And it's an homage to all the mom in the world
because nobody can cook like Mama does.
-What are we gonna make today? -Meatball.
-No. -Yes.
Love the meatballs. They're so good.
We've gotta get them every time.
[Guy] Give me the rundown. We're building the panade.
We're gonna put the milk with the bread,
soak it for about four, five minutes.
We do 50% pork, 50% beef.
Add the panade, we squeeze them.
Boy, do I wanna chug that cereal milk.
[Nicola] Salt, garlic, white pepper, oregano.
Add the eggs, mixing this one all together.
-Some bread crumbs, parsley... -Kiss of Parmesan cheese.
Just a little tickle-tickle.
[Nicola] Now we're ready.
Scoop it up, into a sheet pan, quick roll.
-Ready to go. -What temp are we gonna cook these at?
[Nicola] 375 for about forty minutes.
-What kind of sauce are we making? -Meat sauce.
-Oil... -[Guy] Carrots, onion, celery.
[Nicola] Sweating for about ten minutes.
-The pork and the beef. -Cooked down?
[Nicola] Deglaze it with red wine.
Add tomato sauce, chili flakes, salt, tomato paste,
let it cook for about hour and a half
and then we'll add some sugar.
Does your mom know you put sugar in it?
-She doesn't like that. -[Nicola] Yeah. Uh-huh.
-I know, she does not like that. -She does not like that.
Uh-huh. [chuckles]
We add a spoon of our meat sauce in this one.
We serve with our meatball, parsley, Parmesan cheese.
[Guy] I think if I look at it mean enough and long enough,
it's so soft that it'll just fall apart.
It's silky.
I like that it has a little caramelization.
Not heavy. I like the little added sweetness.
If you look in the definition of meatball, this is what you're gonna find.
Really dynamite.
[Nicola] Meatball ready.
One of the best meatballs I've had.
The sauce is just perfectly balanced. The flavor is insane.
Don't tell my mom, but they're better than Mom's.
I wasn't part of that, ma'am.
They're moist and they're delicious.
There's a nice spice to it. It's just divine, if I had to put one word on it.
[Nicola] Hey, order up!
So what else do you do besides the meatballs?
Everything from, uh, osso buco,
rack of lamb, you know, pizza.
We do also have another restaurant.
It's called the Mistura. It's a Peruvian restaurant.
Okay. We've got an Italian restaurant
-and a Peruvian restaurant. -Correct.
It's right one next to the other.
-I bounce back and forth-- -You just change the jacket?
[Nicola] Ravioli di ricotta.
The flavors are wonderful.
He has a lot of stuff on his menu that we like.
The gnocchi is delicious.
Gnocchi Sorrentina, Daniel.
They got a pizza that's a gnocchi all mixed together,
so you get the the best of both worlds.
[Guy] What are you gonna make me next?
Gnocchi Sorrentina. I will like to serve it into a pizza bowl.
So, you're making a bowl out of bread?
Yes. Pizza dough. All-purpose flour.
-Some, uh, semolina? -[chuckles] Yeah.
Sugar, shortening, canola oil, cream and water.
-No leavening agent. -No.
[Guy] How is this gonna create air bubbles?
The sugar, when we put in our oven to get very hot,
it ended up creating this bubble.
-We mix this up for how long? -[Nicola] Ten minutes.
[Guy] Proof it out, roll it with a rolling pin.
[Nicola] We using, like, a pan,
-and we're gonna put it upside down. -[Guy] Invert it in the oven.
Now we're gonna make our gnocchi.
-We boil the potato first. -Okay.
[Nicola] The whole skin,
-we bake them and then peel. -[Guy] And then peel.
Put it into a mill here and then we mash it.
-We add white pepper and nutmeg. -[Guy] Nutmeg.
A little salt, one egg.
I always think it needs a little egg.
[Nicola] Parmesan cheese.
You're heavy with the Parmesan, I like that.
We mixed everything, adding the flour a little bit at a time.
You're aggressive with this.
Need to let him know who's the boss.
Work it out a little bit more.
[Guy] So, now we're gonna roll these out?
[Nicola] And I'm cutting it.
[Guy] You're gonna hand pinch roll 'em off.
Wow. It makes 'em a little bit thinner.
That edge on there will help it grab the sauce.
There's not a lot of people to go to all that effort.
[Nicola] One more, so we can make it our portion.
That's not a portion?
We wanted people to have something left over,
-'cause the next day it's always best. -[Guy] Right.
Then they remember you. So busy.
-What is the sauce? -Salsa di pomodoro.
Add oil, onion to sweat, all peeled tomato, basil.
We cook it around an hour, blend them,
-and then we're gonna strain them with a chinois. -Okay?
Gnocchi's dropped right now.
We're gonna add some extra virgin olive oil,
garlic, tomato sauce that we just made it.
That's fire.
-Some chili flakes. -Good amount.
Basil, fresh mozzarella cheese. Gonna add in gnocchi.
Parmesan cheese.
-Stir around. -Nice technique.
[Nicola] Shredded mozzarella cheese on it,
-Look at that. -And a little bit more cheese.
-[Guy] Why not? -And we put in a salamander,
so that the cheese, it's all melted.
-Into the bowl. -[Guy] That's beautiful.
We add, uh, some more parsley
-and some parmesan cheese. -Should have some cheese.
[Nicola] Enjoy.
That's an impressive bowl. I will give you that.
Not hot. Go ahead.
Oh, hot.
I like how you fortified the sauce with the garlic and the chili flakes.
It's definitely got some kick.
And the gnocchi.
Tender like pillows. Very rich.
There's no way anybody could eat this whole thing.
I mean, this is definitely, like, bring your family in.
Delicious, silky, good amount of cheese
and the whole bread bowl thing makes it.
It's great.
Gnocchi Sorrentina.
-It's insane. It's so good. -Legit, right?
[woman 2] It's almost, like, homemade.
-Eh, there's a difference, you-- -Makes such a difference.
You can't take my line.
-I was saying difference. -I'm sorry. [laughs]
And then she said diff-- Okay, double stamp.
-You can't talk. -Uno baked penne.
You will not find anything better than here.
-Do you work here? -No. [laughs]
I basically live here.
[Guy] Delicious and innovative and creative and fun.
You don't skip on the flavor at all.
You wanna go somewhere and eat bold food?
-You found it. Mama's Meatballs. -Thank you.
-Well done, my friend. -Thank you. Mama's Meatballs.
[Guy] Coming up, a not your ordinary diner in Indy...
I cook for a living, and I don't see how this is working.
...serving up a chorizo chimichanga...
That's ridiculous.
[Guy] And a real deal Reuben...
I give you some funky corn beefness.
...that have got plenty to hide.
There's no way
you could tell somebody that that wasn't a Reuben.
So, I'm here in Indy
with my buddy Ronnie 2K, the video game guru.
You got chains for this convertible?
Yeah, I know a guy.
Anyhow, well, I bring you to Indy.
What do you think?
What kind of foods at this Triple-D joint?
[Ronnie] Comfort food.
Steak, cornbread, all the fixings.
[Guy] Exactly.
It's just like that, but a little different.
It's all vegan.
This is the 10th Street Diner.
-[Will] Time on lasagna? -Coming right up.
[woman 3] Everything is delicious. You can't go wrong.
Unless your tongue is dead to the world.
I got buns down for Buffalo chicken.
[woman 4] Every time you come in, make you feel at home.
-Are you vegan? -No.
-Not at all. -[Guy] Just come down for good food.
And it's this mother and son team of Karen and Will Holmes
who brought this vegan menu meets classic diner
to the people of Indianapolis.
How many people walk through the door and go, "What?"
[Karen] Lots.
And they try it and then they go, "We're coming back."
[Ronnie] I look at the menu and I'm like,
"There is no way they can make all this stuff vegan."
We're trying to make vegan food accessible.
Got your Reuben.
You could probably swap out this Reuben
for any other Reuben in the world,
and 90% of people wouldn't notice the difference.
[Guy] What are we starting with?
Seitan for the Reuben meat.
-Start with vital wheat gluten. -[Guy] Okay?
Just a really high gluten flour,
whole wheat flour, onion powder, celery salt,
garlic powder.
All the fixings.
He's very kindergartener teacher.
-[Ronnie laughs] -Italian seasoning.
[mimics Will] And now we're gonna color inside the lines.
I just wanna keep it simple for you guys.
-We got white pepper, salt, water. -[Guy] White pepper.
[Will] Soy sauce.
-[Guy] Is that nooch? Ah-ha. -[Will] Nutritional yeast.
Mix this up for 25 minutes.
-[Guy] Really builds up the gluten. -[Will] Yep.
So now, we're gonna make our veggie stock.
Veggie scraps.
Get heated up, and we're gonna start making our dough balls here.
We're gonna roll 'em on the inside out.
Spread it out like that.
-[Ronnie] Okay. -[Will] With your palms.
Tuck in the backside. Make 'em nice and tight.
Oh! I lost a class ring.
These will all go into the stock how long?
An hour 45.
All right, so, this is the marinade for the seitan.
For our corned beef.
There's nothing here that reminds me of corned beef.
Not yet.
We got pickle juice.
-Wow. -[Will] Beet juice, pureed beets,
onion powder, garlic powder,
caraway, fennel, dill, mustard powder, salt and pepper.
-[Ronnie] I don't see how that's gonna happen. -[Guy] I don't eat...
You're telling me. I cook for a living,
and I don't see how this is working.
I just have to taste it as is.
I give you some funky corned beefness.
-That's pretty close. -[Guy] Yeah.
[Will] Slice it up
and it's ready to go on our marinade for about 24 hours.
Now we're gonna make our Worcestershire sauce
that goes in our bistro sauce.
Apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, onion powder,
cinnamon, ginger, mustard powder.
Black pepper and some garlic.
Simmer on the stove here for about 15, 20 minutes.
Run it through a sieve to remove all the chunks.
And that's gonna be one of the ingredients
-that's gonna go into the bistro sauce. -[Will] Yep.
We do a bistro sauce with ours,
not a Thousand Island.
It's a little bit different.
Vegan Mayo, horseradish.
There's your funk.
-[Will] Ketchup, spicy brown mustard. -[Guy whistles]
Chipotle Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, minced garlic.
This is way beyond typical Thousand Island.
-Thousand-thousand. -[Guy] Million island.
-A million island. -[all laugh]
[Will] Paprika, Cajun seasoning, parsley.
[Ronnie] I'm wanting to try this.
-That was unbelievable. -Spoon drop.
-[spoon thuds] -[Ronnie laughs]
That's ridiculous.
[Will] We gotta butter our bread here.
[Guy] What is vegan butter?
Solidified oil.
Sauerkraut, throw the seitan on the grill.
Look at the color on that,
-[Will] Our bistro sauce. -[Guy] Million island.
We're gonna build it here.
That looks legit.
[Guy] There's no way you could tell somebody
-that that wasn't a Reuben. -Yeah.
That's what a Reuben looks like right there.
Wow. I can't believe that.
-That is so good. -[Guy] Right?
I've had a lot of seitan meats.
This is probably one of the best representations I've ever seen.
That marinade is so dialed in and so spot on.
And the thin slice.
-[Will] I think that's how seitan is meant to be. -Brother.
[Will] Reuben up.
The first thing you notice is the meatiness and the flavor.
Tangy, pickle-y.
[Brandon] The texture, everything about it
is just like a regular Reuben.
-[laughs] It blows my mind. -[Guy] Right?
Good friends of mine, the Bernsteins.
Brandon, of course, the famous drag racer.
-Have you ever been to a vegan restaurant? -No.
Raised on beef and pork my whole life.
-[Guy] What do you think? -Like, wow.
-Is this good lasagna? Makes you happy? -Mmm-hmm.
-Ticket up. -I became a vegan for health reasons.
So, it's great being able to have those comforting foods
that you used to have.
I've got a burger for 11.
[Guy] We're out of the gate,
but I think we own him now.
I think he's in the-- I think he's in--
I, I'm ready for more.
-Give me some more. -I think he's in the pocket.
It only gets better.
Don't go anywhere. Doing vegan and Indy.
We'll be back.
-Uh, you met my twin, Ronnie. -Yes, yes.
Yeah, we, you know-- [laughs]
If we walk in and we don't wear different pants,
everybody's like, "There come the twins again."
-[Karen laughs] -Yeah, it's so awkward. That's really what happens.
Welcome back, Triple-D, hanging out at Indy
with my buddy Ronnie,
and we're at the 10th Street vegan house of deliciousness.
-You have turned me. -The submarine.
This is not just for skinny vegans.
This is also for professional athletes.
This is for moms, this is for dads,
this is for teenagers as well.
Chimi swinging.
Today I had the chimi with vegan chorizo, black beans,
their house-made queso.
It's just great.
[Guy] So, what are we into now?
Our chorizo.
This is one of the coolest things in the world.
-[Ronnie] What is it? -Textured vegetable protein.
This turns into ground meat.
[Will] It's de-fattened tofu.
How do you de-fatten tofu?
I finally stumped him.
-Yeah. -Good-- Cool. I'm outta here.
[Will] We have hot water
and we gotta let it sit for, like, 20, 25 minutes.
Add bell peppers, cajun seasoning, soyrizo.
It's fattier than our chorizo,
-so we like to add it in. -[Guy] A little extra fat.
-Look at the color on that chorizo. -[Guy] Right?
-Next up? -We're making the beans that go in the cheese
that goes on top of the chimchanga.
That lives in the house that Ronnie built.
[Will] Just a little oil in the pan.
Onions and garlic.
So, we're obviously cooking from dry beans.
Which is all the difference in the world on texture.
[Will] Pour our water in here.
-These are pinto beans, cumin. -[Guy] Camino?
Cajun seasoning, vegan chicken bouillon cubes,
-oregano, liquid smoke, a little salt, that's it. -All right.
-Let this simmer for? -About five hours.
Blend 'em up, and then they're gonna go in our cheese sauce.
This is a product that we actually buy
that's the base for our cheese sauce
Made from tapioca starch and coconut oil.
Beans that we just made from earlier,
bread salsa, blended up jalapenos with jalapeno juice.
-[Guy] Okay? -[Will] Just a little bit of sugar.
[Ronnie] That's a lot of cheese. [chuckles]
[Guy] It does look like some cheesy queso.
[Will] Exactly.
Well done.
Plating our chorizo chimichanga.
We got our pico and our tortilla, some avocado,
the chorizo that we made.
Fold this guy up.
-Throw this guy in the fryer. -Two minutes like that.
Cheese and bean sauce.
-Look at that. -Oh, my God.
Little bit of red salsa and ranch.
[Guy] And you make the ranch in house as well?
Sure do.
-Look at the beautiful designing on the plate. -Right, right?
[Guy] Look at me just completely massacre it.
[Ronnie chuckles] You destroyed it.
That's ridiculous.
I have a new appreciation of the vegan food.
[Guy] I don't care what it is.
-It's got great flavor. -The texture, for sure.
The bean cheese sauce sells it the best.
That's your favorite Mexican-American joint,
Margarita-having experience right there.
-[Will] Cheese coming in. -The sauce, it's delicious.
It blows my mind. It's 100% ten out of 10.
Oh, yeah, we're coming back for sure.
It's a great restaurant, period.
Chimichanga for 34.
You've opened up my perspective.
-My tongue is dancing and so, that's awesome. -[Guy laughs]
The real deal.
-10th Street Diner, there you go. -Crushing it.
[Guy] Coming up,
a gas station turned restaurant in San Antonio...
That's awesome.
...going big...
That weighs easily a pound.
...with over the top tacos.
What you're doing is a different level
than I have seen in tacos.
So, I'm here in San Antonio, Texas,
about a mile from downtown
and I have been on this corner before.
Yeah, we shot Triple-D right across the street
at Dignowity Meats.
Now, here's a funny story.
In that kitchen when we were shooting Triple-D
and handling the volume of business that came is a cook.
A cook that came across the street,
took an old gas station and put it in a taco shop.
It's a tribute to his aunts and his mom
that taught him how to cook.
I mean, he is making tacos from the family.
This is called Huevos Tacos.
Table two, huarache picadillo.
Con Huevos Tacos sets a really high bar.
Licha taco for table three.
They're doing really creative things.
You just get tacos here
that you can't get anywhere else in San Antonio.
[Guy] All out of a funky little walk up spot
where chef and owner Hugo Garcia
is cooking up an homage to his family.
-How much of the menu is scratch made? -Everything.
The way I prepare things is the way back home.
My mother, all the ladies that raised me,
they used to make things for me.
You know, I pay a lot of respect to them.
That's awesome.
[Hugo] Desebrada de Res.
Desebrada taco is my favorite.
It has melted cheese like a quesadilla.
Freshly made corn tortilla dripping with that brazen liquid.
It's an absolute mess, but it's worth it.
We're gonna make our Desebrada de Res.
-Desebrada? What does that mean? -De Res. Shredded.
It's just a roast beef.
[Guy] Water, onion, garlic, salt.
-How long is this gonna cook? -[Hugo] For about three hours.
Until it's shreddable.
And we're gonna reserve the beef stock.
-So, now we'll get into the guajillo sauce? -Yes.
We have chili guajillo, garlic, cloves and water.
I'm gonna steep these in a pot.
-[Guy] Blend it, strain it? -Yes.
We're gonna cook the guajillo paste.
First, I like to burn my manteca.
-Kind of like the browning of a butter? -Yes.
The onions go in there.
The guajillo sauce paste.
Cook about five, 10 minutes.
Right after that, shredded beef,
beef stock that we just made.
-Black pepper camino. -Chicken base.
-[Guy] How long is this gonna cook? -[Hugo] Twenty five minutes.
-Next? -Zesty slaw.
-Okay. -[Hugo] Cabbage mix, cilantro.
-[Guy] Tomatoes. Red onion, carrots? -[Hugo] Jalapenos.
-[Hugo] Salt, pepper. -Mexican oregano and a little lime juice.
[Hugo] Now we're making the salsa brava.
How many salsas do you make?
Four. Our salsa brava...
-[Guy] Bra-- Brava? -It's the spiciest one.
Tomatillos, garlic, Chile de arbol and some salt.
Raw garlic and Chile de arbol. Whoo!
[whimpers] Go easy. You're gonna love it.
Bring the kids.
[in normal voice] Let's build this, man.
[Hugo] Handmade tortillas right here.
The fried cheese. We like to call this the costra.
-[Guy] The costra. Okay. -[Hugo] Yes.
[Guy] So, we're gonna sear it,
then throw it on the tortillas.
[Hugo] Flip it around, yeah.
-Food coma. -[Hugo] This is Desebrada de Res.
I know you're jealous right now.
Zesty slaw, crema.
-And then the salsa de brava. -Salsa de brava.
[Guy] You don't typically see corn tortillas
that are in the flour tortilla size.
That weighs easily a pound.
The national anthem of deliciousness
is playing in my head right now.
This is ridiculous.
The zesty slaw, delicious.
The salsa ties it all together.
Great tortilla.
And then the creaminess and the richness
of that caramelized cheese.
It's just a really perfectly balanced taco.
Delicious.
[waitress] Quesadilla Desebrada De Res.
It's fantastic, it's really tender.
It's got a little bit of sweetness to it with some spice too.
And they're consistently always good.
So, when he said he was bringing you over to a taco joint,
in an old gas station, what do you think?
I already knew what time it was.
-You already knew what time it was. -[all laughing]
They're doing stuff here that isn't really what the normal taco places do.
In California, the tacos are that big.
In Mexico, the tacos are that big.
-Those are mini tacos. [laughs] -[Guy] Mini tacos?
-Yes. -That's ridiculous.
Coming out, I got a taco lupe.
Lupe taco is a great option for vegetarians.
It's got some frijoles on there, corn.
And the tortilla's made out of spinach and nopal.
Once you pick it up, you cannot put that thing down.
What are we gonna make now?
The taco lupe, named after one of my favorite aunts.
-So, I soak my black beans overnight. -[Guy] Okay?
[Hugo] White onion here, salt, garlic, cover it with some water.
This is gonna cook for about two hours?
-[Hugo] Yes. -[Guy] What's our next step?
Lupe salsa.
Water in here, fresh jalapenos, Mexican squash.
Then in a separate pot,
I have avocado oil, chili serrano.
Let this boil for about five to 10 minutes.
To the blender, onion, garlic, the cilantro and some salt.
This salsa is meant to be creamy.
Oh, it's delicious. Tortilla time.
We'll start with the nopales spinach?
Then add some water.
[Guy] This is going in the masa.
mix this up by hand,
and then we'll start pressing 'em out,
-getting 'em on the flattop. -[Hugo] Yes.
[Guy] All right, man. Let's do this.
-Pico de gallo right here. -We're gonna cook the pico de gallo.
Little bit of oil right there.
Blanched calabacita, some corn.
I got a little pepper, a little onion and garlic.
Black beans, queso fresco.
The lupe salsa that everybody loves.
When somebody says, "We have a vegetarian taco,"
it usually means, like, we've got all this great stuff
and then we also have one of those.
If all you sold was that taco, flying down the street.
The fact that you picked this up
from working with your aunts and your mom,
and you know how to build that flavor and build that texture.
The pop of the corn,
the meatiness of the calabacita,
the creaminess of the lupe salsa,
the heat from the serrano,
the handmade tortilla, the size of it, delicious.
Lupe taco.
The black beans and the tacos, they're just delicious.
[man] It has a crispness and a freshness.
It's spicy. It's really good.
One Carmen and one Irma.
[man 2] You can't go wrong with anything on the menu.
It's the greatest taco place on Earth.
What you're doing is a different level than I have seen in tacos.
-Thank you. -Watch out for this guy.
So, is 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.
Careful with the salsa.
When you get on a plane,
do you ever walk up to the cockpit
and say to the pilot,
"Now be careful when you fly through those clouds."
-[laughs] No. -[Guy] No?
Then you don't tell a trained professional
how to manage his hot salsa.
[clicks tongue]
-Chef. -[both laugh]