I'm Guy Fieri.
We're rolling out, looking for America's greatest...
[crowd] "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives."
[cheering]
[Guy] This trip...
Bada-bum.
...we're going hand to mouth...
I don't even know how to get after it.
...picking up some major flavor.
Go big or go home.
There's a bomb barbecue taco combo in Elk Grove, California.
You're like two restaurants in one.
And in Tampa, Florida...
That's delicious.
...we've got a lights-out Latin fusion food truck...
I don't like it, I love it.
...plus an East Coast Italian deli...
This is pretty spot-on.
...with sandwiches that really stack up.
I'm eating my body weight in this.
It's OK if I sleep in the parking lot, right?
That's all right here, right now,
on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives."
[theme music plays]
[theme music ends]
All right, so on Triple D, when I say the name of a joint,
you can pretty much figure out what we're gonna have, right?
I say we're gonna go to Hillbilly Hot Dog.
What are you getting? Exactly, hillbillies.
No, you're getting hot dogs.
If I say you're going to Uncle Lou's fried chicken,
you're gonna get Uncle Lou,
and you're also gonna get fried chicken.
And if I say Falafel King, the king doesn't work there,
but the falafels are the bomb.
So I'm here in Tampa, Florida, not too far from UT,
and I'm gonna check out a joint, you tell me what they make.
This is Cousin Vinny's.
Chinese food? Nope. Tacos? Nope.
The bomb Italian sandwiches? You got it.
Meatball vodka, check seven.
Whenever I'm talking with friends or meet people
and I bring up Cousin Vinny's, they always have already heard of it.
Capo del Schmeet.
Being from the Northeast, this place reminds me of home.
That's a legendary cheese pull.
It's good ingredients, good quality.
They just bring it all together very, very well.
[Guy] And the restaurant came together
when owners Russell Leone and Chef Vinny Andriotti
teamed up to bring the bada bing to Tampa Bay.
I'm a huge "My Cousin Vinny" fan.
Is this where this came from?
When I moved down here, being a New Yorker,
Vinny isn't an apparent name, so anytime I introduce myself,
"Hey, yo, like, my cousin Vinny, ever see that movie?"
How did you start making sandwiches?
We blended my fine dining with his quick service.
We're a New York-style sandwich shop.
Elevated flavors, done right.
[Vinny] I don't make food that's good for you.
-I make good food for you. -Ha-ha!
[Russell] Tomato Prosciutto Di Papo.
Today, I got the Prosciutto Di Papo.
If you're a fan of prosciutto, they don't skimp out on it.
Best part is the homemade mozz.
You can get both on the same sandwich, why not?
First thing up is our schiaccata bread.
-It's like a cousin to focaccia. -OK, let's go.
-[Vinny] Some water. -[Guy] Salt, yeast.
[Vinny] And then a bunch of bread flour.
15 minutes kneading, proof for about an hour.
Give it a little smack action.
So 24 hours, you build some good yeast flavor.
[Vinny] Bakes at 440, 20 minutes.
What are we into next?
Roasted garlic, artichoke cream spread.
So we got whole cloves of garlic in here.
This oil is actually recycled a bunch of times.
You reuse -- really?
Sell me a bottle of that on the side.
[Vinny] We call it Italian bath bombs.
-I bathe in this. -Bada-bum.
[Vinny] 300 degrees, two and a half hours.
So now that the garlic has confit, we're gonna now
blend this together with some artichoke hearts and some salt.
It just becomes silky, butter, creamy, nutty.
-Simple, yep. -[Guy] Into fresh mozz.
We got some whole milk mozz curds here.
We'll add some salt.
What temp are we looking for this water to be?
[Vinny] 155.
Keep it as close to the water as you can,
'cause you don't want it to cool off.
But as you stretch it,
you start seeing that little shine coming from it.
That's when you know you're getting exactly
where you need to be. -Gorgeous.
Gorgeous bowl of mozz. Now we make a sandwich.
-So we got our schiaccata fresh out of the oven. -[Guy] All right, beautiful.
[Vinny] Roasted garlic artichoke cream spread,
prosciutto, arugula,
our extra virgin olive oil directly from the Amalfi Coast.
So the moment we open this up here,
it's like the first whiff of American air that it gets.
Our fresh mozz that we just made here.
Some roasted reds and balsamic glaze.
-The Prosciutto Di Papo -Too beautiful to eat.
I love the Italian flag inside of it.
That bread right there is a perfect foundation.
This has got a really nice crust to it,
that it really holds together.
I'm eating my body weight in this.
Good prosciutto, you really get the mozzarella.
That creaminess, a little bit of the saltiness.
The roasted artichoke, it's right in the back there,
just kind of adding its piece.
Delicious.
Prosciutto in the window.
The mozzarella cheese makes it.
Very fresh, very flavorful.
The Italian Stallion. We named that one after us.
-This is pretty spot-on. -Yeah.
This is where I'm usually coming.
-[Guy] This is where you go. -Yeah.
You know, I walk in here and it's like a nice warm hug.
It's also Tampa. A lot of hugs are warm.
-I got a vodka Parm for Alan. -My favorite is the Parm Don.
[woman] It has vodka sauce, chicken cutlet, melted cheese.
What more could you ask for?
[Guy] Next dish is?
We're making our famous red sauce for our vodka Parm.
[Guy] OK. Imported olive oil.
Blitzed garlic, salt, pepper, granulated garlic, some oregano.
-Let it bloom. -[Vinny] Exactly.
Imported San Marzano's, how long is this gonna cook?
-About two hours. -[Guy] Give it a little puree.
-[Vinny] Yes. -[Guy] All right.
Vodka sauce. Where's the vodka?
-No vodka. -'Cause you don't drink?
I don't drink, we've tested it. Kind of unnoticeable.
Nobody got that big of a deal with it.
Butter, bunch of onions, some salt, Parmesan.
-[Guy] OK. -[Vinny] Let that cook down,
get some extra nutty action out of there.
Add some red sauce, blend it all up,
and then we'll hit it with cream.
And for the chicken cutlet, you're cutting this off
the breast? -[Vinny] Yes.
How many of these are we doing today?
We can go through easily 1,000,
and it's 2 o'clock in the afternoon.
It should be Cousin Vinny's House of Cutlets.
Now we'll go to the dredge.
[Vinny] Flour here, egg,
and then some of the Italian seasoned breadcrumbs.
All right, so we'll let this rest four hours.
[Vinny] We're frying about two minutes
in pure beef tallow.
-Go big or go home? -100%.
Actually, you're gonna go home big.
[laughing]
[Vinny] Either way, you'll leave happy.
Time for our vodka Parm.
Sub roll shipped in from Staten Island.
Some garlic butter, cutlets. I'll grab my vodka sauce here.
[Guy] It's OK if I sleep in the parking lot, right?
We actually have had people do that.
Low-moisture mozz, Parmesan on top.
Right into the oven.
-Right on into that. -That's my size cutlet, too.
When I look at that bread the first time, it scared me.
If that bread's too dense, that sandwich is shot.
But the interior of that bread's almost disappearing.
So you're not competing.
You're not eating a bunch of bread
before you get into the goods.
Good pull on the mozz.
Vodka sauce, give me a bucket of it.
I mean, I want, like, a chicken Parm dip.
The cutlet wasn't pounded out to where you lost the integrity
of the texture of the chicken.
That's the real deal.
Vodka Parm.
The chicken cutlets are crispy and they're thin.
I'm with a side of extra sauce to really...
-See, I said that. -Yeah, man.
Super, super good. Everything here is delicious.
Tony P., going on number three.
Get in line, even if it's long, he'll make it worth it.
This does make you feel like you're in Long Island.
-Well done, cousin. -Thank you.
[Guy] Well done.
If you can get this, consider yourself lucky.
Up next, I got my buddy, Chef Aaron Sanchez,
with me in Elk Grove, California...
Talk about putting it on the table, bro.
[Guy]...grabbing some top-notch tacos.
I don't care what you put in it, give me that tortilla.
...filled with crispy fish.
This is like crispy, crunchy,
drag-the-knife-across, scratchy crunch.
...and blockbuster barbecue.
It's like beef barbacoa plus.
[Guy] So have you ever had a buddy call and say,
"Hey, listen, man, it's my birthday.
It's a special day. Can I drive that car of yours?"
Well, it happened to me. On his 50th birthday,
the one and only Chef Aaron Sanchez says,
"Let me drive the Triple D Camaro."
So we're here in Elk Grove, outside of Sacramento.
-Yes, sir. -I figured for his birthday,
I'd take him and get some tacos. You like tacos?
Señor, a mí me encanta tacos.
Es la base de la comida Mexicana.
That's exactly what I was gonna say,
but I can't just take him to regular tacos.
Now, this joint, they call themselves
a smokehouse taquería.
Sound good? This is Streetzlan.
Order up. Barbecue chicken street fries.
It's not your fly-by taqueria. It's special.
Carne asada tacos over the mesquite.
[man] He really wanted to make his street food,
but have his influence on it, his Mexican background.
You could get barbecue tacos, do a burger.
[Guy] And this menu mashup all started when Erick and Jessica Silva
decided to ditch their corporate careers
and risk it all to follow a passion for food.
Me and my wife, we just kind of invested in ourselves.
We started doing pop-ups in the streets.
-Off of probably some of your savings. -[Erick] Yes.
-Talk about putting it on the table, bro. -Yeah.
[Erick] Started catering, and then from there,
we found a location.
-His dream became my dream. -I love tacos, I love barbecue.
Why is nobody doing more of that?
Chopping brisket.
My favorite thing is the burning brisket tacos with mole.
[man] You don't really see many places that have
homemade tortillas, so we love that he does it here.
Right here, what we got in front of us is a little prime
brisket that's been trimmed, a little bit of mustard,
coarse black pepper, salt.
[Aaron] You see how he's doing it? What's the technique?
I would love to learn some tips.
It's up high. That makes it go better.
-Exactly. -Oh, yeah.
I like to start my fire around 285, 300,
just to get that little bark on it quick. -OK.
Then we drop it to around 275,
about three-quarters of the way finished.
Hit it with the beef tallow, wrap it,
finish it in the smoker.
Where'd you learn barbecue, Chef?
[Erick] Self-trained.
-[Guy] Not easy. -[Aaron] Exactly.
OK, so we're doing the mole pipián right here,
grilled tomato, grilled onion.
I actually grill these over oak and mesquite
on this grill right here.
-You have oak and mesquite in the house? -[Erick] Yes, yes.
That little kiss of the smoke? Big deal.
[Erick] Garlic, rehydrated chile Costeño and chile guajillo.
So they don't have a lot of spice.
-Exactly. -Well, I'm a guajillo fan, man.
Me too, big time.
[Erick] Canela, coriander seed, a little bit of nutmeg,
a little bit of clove, salt, water.
Let's go. Run it through the sieve.
I've preheated some of the manteca in here already hot.
Let that cook down for a little bit.
Add our chocolate, cook it for about 30 minutes,
and then thicken it with our toasted sesame seed puree.
-What's up next? -[Erick] Spice rub and a barbecue sauce.
Spice rub is for spice rub,
but it's incorporated into the barbecue sauce.
Yes, smoked paprika, regular paprika,
granulated garlic, brown sugar, cayenne in there,
coarse black pepper, dehydrated onion,
turbinado sugar right here. -[Guy] OK.
We're gonna start with our barbecue sauce.
Oil down in there. I grill my onions.
Brown sugar, molasses. Roasted tomatoes.
Those tomatoes are gonna let off their own juices...
-[Erick] Yes. -...and get it nice and saucy.
[Erick] Water, chipotles, our house barbecue rub.
And then also to bring it all together, ketchup, right?
Cook this down for about 45 minutes.
-Blend it up. -[Guy] What's left?
-Our hand-pressed tortillas. -[Aaron] Tortilla time.
[Erick] So we start with the masa.
Heirloom organic corn grown in Oaxaca.
Activated charcoal.
Salt, right? Water.
Why the activated charcoal, Chef?
[Erick] I thought of something different.
I'm like, you know what? Let me put color into my tortillas.
But a blue corn tortilla is from blue corn.
[Erick] This is more like a tortilla negra.
-Smell that. -Oh, it's like Aaron's cologne.
I put that on the back of my ears.
[Erick] We knead the masa.
Now we're gonna press out our tortillas.
Turn our brisket chunks into burnt ends.
Get these nice and crispy here.
Hit it with a little bit of barbecue sauce.
You should always glaze your barbecue at the last minute,
'cause the sugar will burn. -[Erick] Tortillas down.
Now we're just gonna plate. Mole pipián right here.
You know the word "mole" means a pureed sauce with a thickener.
So sesame seeds, in this case.
[Erick] Burnt ends, Japanese pickling.
When I saw this on the menu, I'm like,
"Wait a second, we're doing pickled cucumber salad?"
[Erick] Cilantro, and our spice mix.
[Guy] Mmm.
I don't care what you put in it, give me that tortilla.
I'm more impressed with the fact that those two flavors
didn't clash, the mole and the barbecue sauce.
It's coming together right at the top.
The brisket's dynamite, complete symphony.
Well done.
Burnt end brisket tacos.
-It's like beef barbacoa plus. -Yes.
Every bite has a different flavor, a different texture.
It's absolutely delicious.
Spicy chicken sandwich ready.
[Guy] So here's the deal.
Hanging out here in Elk Grove, close to Sacramento.
When we come back, this guy's gonna light it up.
We got something special.
[Guy & Erick singing] Happy birthday to you.
[normally] Welcome back to "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives."
Chef Aaron Sanchez with me. It's his 50th birthday today.
So, Chef, a piñata.
Uh, you're gonna just be able to go nuts today, buddy.
Muchísimas gracias. Feliz cumpleaños.
[Guy] And we're celebrating here at Streetzlan
in Elk Grove, California,
where Chef Erick is offering up an eclectic mix
at his smokehouse-slash-taquería.
I'll eat anything he makes.
Everything is different and thought out.
It's very unique.
Dropping the fish tacos.
My favorite is the C St. Fish Taco.
-The avocado sauce is on point. -It's beautiful.
We're gonna jump into our C St. Fish Taco.
Tempura mixture. Togarashi spice.
-Cerveza. -[Aaron] Nice.
-That's cool. -[Erick] Salt.
-[Guy] OK. -Break down this raw cod.
Are we gonna flour these at all or...?
[Erick] No, so we're dropping it straight into the tempura,
into the fryer, about one and a half minutes. [pops tongue]
-Golden brown. -[Guy] What goes with this?
Our avocado salsa.
Avocados, tomatillos.
OK, yeah, but this is a very special tomatillo.
These are called tomatillos milpero.
-They're not as bitter, and they're not as acidic. -[Guy] Got it.
[Erick] Serrano peppers, cilantro,
fresh lime in there, salt, water.
We also finish it with a togarashi mayo.
-He loves togarashi. -[Erick] I do.
Sriracha, togarashi spice, a little sugar.
Is that rice wine vinegar?
It's rice wine vinegar and a little bit of mirin.
Dude, you sure you're not, like, Japanese and Mexican?
-I like these flavors, right? -Exactly.
-They make sense. -[Erick] Pinch of salt.
All right, so now we're gonna plate our C St. Fish Tacos.
Cabbage and avocado sauce, crispy fried fish,
togarashi mayo now.
Well, here comes the nuggets,
a little tempura bits on top of it.
[Erick] This is just the beauty of it, right?
-Cilantro down, lime. -The birthday snacker.
[Aaron] Mmm.
I was concerned that the tortilla would break
its integrity and kind of like dissipate, and it hasn't.
-It's crispy, it's juicy. -[Guy] Batter is on point.
I mean, this is like crispy, crunchy, drag the knife across,
scratchy crunch. -[Aaron] Exactly.
It's tender and moist in the center.
You gave me a balance between the mayo and thank goodness
for the acidity inside of the avocado tomatillo.
That keeps your palate engaged.
If you're a fish taco fan, you're gonna love that.
[server] C St. Fish Tacos.
I love the crispiness, the spicy mayo.
It's light, and it's got a lot of flavor.
And it's just money.
So everybody asks how the Triple D Camaro is able
to get taken care of and it's the team of the Chevy people.
Let's talk about tacos.
You can tell they're made with love.
[Erick] Brisket, pulled pork.
Erick really puts his heart into everything he does.
Once you know about it, you won't wanna go anywhere else.
You're like two restaurants in one,
but you have pulled it off
coming from humble beginnings and getting yourself out
of the corporate world and working your way through.
That is a testament, and you put it on a plate,
so congratulations.
-I appreciate you guys so much. -Unbelievable.
-And happy birthday to Aaron Sanchez, huh? -Yes, sir.
-[chefs clapping] Whoo. -[Guy] There you have it.
Coming up, a Latin fusion food truck in Tampa, Florida...
Whoo.
...building an unbelievable burger...
That's like putting a unicorn and a motorcycle together.
...and putting out a pork dish you just can't miss.
I don't care what else you order, you have to get this.
It is outstanding.
Are you talking about tomatillos?
-Yes, exactly. -Oh, jalapeños.
I mean, we -- we can go all day on this one.
Do you have the huitlacoche here?
I like food trucks like anybody does.
I've probably been to more of them on Triple D
than most folks have been.
Well, I hear there's a place in Tampa,
this food truck, that floats all around.
Matter of fact, the owner's son posts on their social media
where they're gonna be.
And the chef, he's got this really eclectic mix.
There's not really any way to explain it,
except for he calls it fusion.
Well, if it's got a line like that,
I'm definitely checking it out, this is La Santa Maria Kitchen.
Two orders of lobster fries, coming up.
The Santa Maria is the best in town.
Empanadas up.
It's comfort food for everybody.
Spanish food, American food, a little Asian influence.
[Samuel] Squid ink burger for Sarah.
Everything literally that I've tried from them,
it's delicious.
So if he puts it on the menu, you're in good shape.
Yes, because it's gonna have flavor.
[Guy] And Colombian-born owner Samuel Velazquez earned
his flavor cred in kitchens from Colombia to New York,
eventually turning in his Big Apple brick and mortars
for something smaller in the Sunshine State.
You had a Japanese restaurant before this?
-Yeah. -Before that, you had an Italian restaurant.
Italian. I come here, I open this.
And you did the food truck.
Is there any Colombian food on here?
-I have the fusion right now. -The fusion.
[kitchen crew] Order up, Birria Burger for Paul.
The Birria Burger is like the best of both worlds.
The burger and the taco.
It's shredded beef on top of meat and then cheese.
One tortilla and a lot of flavor.
We're gonna start with the Birria?
-Yeah. -[Guy] Bay leaf and allspice?
[Samuel] Paprika, oregano, onion, garlic, sugar.
-And then salt and pepper? -[Samuel] Lime juice.
Now marinate the beef 24 hours.
Now we're gonna go to the pot.
[Samuel] I have the oil, marinated beef.
-[Guy] The ancho and the guajillo. -[Samuel] Yeah.
-Take the seeds out. -[Samuel] Yeah, because it's too hot.
[Guy] So all the chiles go in. More garlic, the onions.
-[Samuel] Tomato. -[Guy] More black pepper.
-[Samuel] Paprika, allspice. -[Guy] Brown the meat a little bit.
-Add some water. -[Samuel] Wait two hours.
-[Guy] Until it shreds apart. -[Samuel] Yeah.
I make the aioli for you. I have the Japanese.
Kewpie mayonnaise?
[Samuel] The rice vinegar,
lime sugar. -[Guy] Good amount.
[Samuel] Garlic, pineapple juice, white vinegar.
Yeah. [laughs]
[Guy] That's all you need to serve it.
There'd be a line down the street.
Delicious -- so once this is done,
pull it out, strain it, shred the meat.
-Kind of like Ropa Vieja. -[Samuel] Uh-huh.
We'll save the liquid for the consommé.
[Samuel] Yeah. Blend the consommé smooth.
So we make the burger. Mozzarella cheese.
-[Samuel] The tortilla. -Brioche bun, I'm good to go.
[Samuel] Japanese aioli. The patty.
-Some birria meat. -Ooh, a lot of food.
[Samuel] Onions and cilantro. The crunchy tortilla.
-And the top bun. -[Guy] The jus, yeah.
I don't even know how to get after it.
That weighs over a pound, it's gonna hurt.
It's a Birria Burger. That's a big idea.
Like putting a unicorn and a motorcycle together.
Yeah. [laughs]
[Guy] It really works. The meat's nice and tender.
The jus that he cooked it in, all that flavor, that beef fat.
The consommé, when you dip in, lights out.
The little tortilla in there is a perfect move.
Next, when he makes a unicorn motorcycle,
I wanna be the first one to ride it.
Birria Burger is ready.
You get that juicy flavor from the burger.
With that tortilla chip on it. Gives it that little crunch.
That is my absolute favorite.
The melt of the cheese when you pull it out, it's so good.
-What can I get for you? -Can I do an order of empanadas?
[woman] Every time I look at his website,
he is somewhere else.
Social media, he is posting a schedule, and it's all over.
So he is very well-known.
They come to our apartment complex at least once a month.
-That's a stop? -[woman #2] Yeah.
It's impossible not to buy the entire menu on your order.
-You want to, don't you? -I do.
Pork belly ceviche is ready.
The best thing that they have here is the ceviche.
It's pork belly, very crispy.
One Guy tries it, he's gonna love it.
Pork chicharrón ceviche. This better not be raw pork.
-I'm trusting him. -[Samuel] Pork belly.
-We're gonna brine this, got it. -[Samuel] Uh-huh.
-Allspice, sugar. -Salt.
[Samuel] Brown sugar.
[Guy] Granulated garlic. Black pepper.
[Samuel] Bay leaf and onion.
-Cook this, cool this down before we put it over the top. -[Samuel] Brine the pork.
-[Guy] For how long? -For 24 hours.
-[Guy] Take it out of the liquid. -[Samuel] Yeah.
Dry it off and salt on the top and sugar.
-Make it crunchy. -I love "make it crunchy."
My middle name should have been Guy Make It Crunchy Fieri.
[Samuel] Roast it for two hours for 250.
[Guy] Cut it, all right.
-Make the leche tigre. -The tiger milk.
So that's what's gonna make it the ceviche, is the sauce
that we're gonna toss the fried pork in.
Colombian style.
-Onion and cilantro. -[Guy] Cilantro, OK.
[Samuel] Salt, green onion, Sriracha.
-The old Colombian Sriracha. -[Samuel laughs]
-Ketchup, lemon juice, garlic, white vinegar. -[Guy] Rice vinegar.
Ooh, I like that amount of acid in that.
Whoo. [whispers]
The Sriracha with the extra vinegar
gives a little bite to it. -Yeah.
-Uh-huh. -[Guy] That's delicious.
-And tostones go with it? -Tostones.
[Guy] So the plantains, we're gonna peel 'em.
Getting those off there is...
[Samuel] You need to put a little bit of hot water.
Yeah, hot water will help take 'em off.
Chop it, give it a fry, and then when it comes out,
you smash it? -I make the water with garlic.
-[Guy] We put it in the garlic water? -[Samuel] Yeah.
-OK. -[Samuel] Fry one more time.
-[Guy] Then fry 'em again. -Yeah.
So we're gonna fry the pork.
-That's a normal order? -[Samuel] Yeah.
Put a little bit of salt, cilantro and onion,
red onion, leche tigre sauce.
So, warm fried pork ceviche salad.
I don't like it -- I love it.
This sauce, the right amount of vinegar,
good acid, little kiss of the sugar.
The pork is tender. The tostone is perfect.
And you get this nice, clean silkiness
that comes from that Japanese mayo.
I don't care what else you order, you have to get this.
It is outstanding.
[Samuel] The ceviche is coming.
The pork belly, ohh, it's very yummy.
-It will knock your socks off. -Bacon cheeseburger is ready.
[Guy] So how do you explain it
to somebody when you're coming up to this uniqueness?
It's really good food. Legitly good food.
Even for those picky eaters,
La Santa Maria is the one to go to.
[Guy] It's a tiny little kitchen,
but everything you do is very mindful.
I had two simple dishes executed perfectly,
and the flavor was outrageous.
-Well done. -Thank you.
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."
I'm gonna just keep eating this
and just tell you about how good it is.
It's so good,
I don't want you to have any
'cause you're gonna spoil your dinner.