Hey everybody, I'm Guy Fieri,
and we're rolling out looking for
America's greatest diners, drive-ins and dives.
-This trip... -Winner winner, chicken dinner.
-...it's a party in Puerto Rico. -You're showing off.
Where I'm traveling with chef, Antonia Lofaso..
[imitates rimshot]
-[Guy] ...on a first-class culinary journey. -Lights out, delicious.
It's a ticket to regional recipes...
This is traditional?
-Yeah. -[whistles]
[Guy] ...decadent dishes...
The world needs to eat this cheesecake.
[Guy] ...plus, vegan showstoppers
Off the hook right now, I'm telling you.
And don't just take it from me.
You got the governor of Puerto Rico town here.
Do the diet before you come here.
Then you can eat whatever you want.
That's all right here, right now,
on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
[theme music playing]
All right, chef, so you've been to Puerto Rico before.
I've been a couple of times.
-Okay, what'd you think of the food scene? -Amazing.
[Guy] I thought so, too.
So I thought today,
you and I would cruise around and check out
three of the best joints I've heard about.
I am so ready for all of this.
All right, first one we're talking about,
the couple that owns it are the real deal.
This is Mercado La Carreta.
Oh, my God, this is, like, the best.
[man] Table seven.
Cozy, delicious, grandmother food.
But it's fresher, it's brighter.
We provide the good food that is
the best way to feel like you're in Puerto Rico.
[Guy] And what better place for owners, Carlos Rosario
and Yaritza Rodriguez to show off their local cultur
than in a charming building facing an old San Juan plaza
We saw the place and we had to do it.
[Guy] And they're doing it with the mad skills
of chef Gerardo Davila.
Drop-and-stop shake with trifongo.
The sous vide chicken is awesome.
The trifongo stuff in here is hard to beat.
The rice and beans and the plantains
creates this absolutely wonderful dish.
I didn't come to old San Juan anticipating
-sous vide chicken breasts. -Stuffed with trifongo.
[Guy] Cassava, green plantain, and the red plantain.
[Gerardo] We're gonna boil the cassava.
The green plantains, you gotta fight that skin off.
-[Gerardo] Fry it altogether. -[Guy] This is the cassava.
Oh, my God, it's so good, by the way.
So, we're gonna add the butter, the garlic.
-[Guy] Good amount. -[Gerardo] Salt.
Can I do the pilon?
I've actually never done it before.
You gotta get your tricep ready.
You... feel.
Okay, okay, I think you're ready.
Thank you very much. [chuckles]
-Ooh, you can smell the garlic in there. -Yes.
I just wanna eat that.
We gonna season the chicken breast.
Olive oil, salt.
-[Guy] Paprika. -Paprika, yeah.
[Guy] Oregano, garlic powder.
Trifongo right here. We're gonna roll it.
Inside the bag.
[Guy] Get a vacuum seal on it.
Go to the immersion circulator, what temp, how long for?
149, one hour and 45 minutes.
-What do we serve it with? -With Mamposteao rice.
Mamposteao rice.
[Gerardo] We're gonna start with the olive oil,
onions and peppers. Then potatoes.
-It's a natural thickening agent. -Exactly.
The house-made sofrito.
-Tomato sauce. -[Guy] Next up.
-Sazon achiote. -Yes.
Ah, there you go. Winner winner, chicken dinner.
-[Gerardo] Pink beans. -[Guy] This pink bean
that is recognized here in Puerto Rico.
Lights out, delicious.
Water right here. Salt. Culantro.
-Or... -Racao.
Boil it in high, one hour, then 30 minutes, medium-low.
[Antonia] We can have it with rice?
First we're gonna start with the olive oil,
peppers and onions.
[Guy] And a little more sofrito.
-We're gonna add the beans. -And the liquid.
Oh, liquid's very, very important for this.
Garlic right here.
-Rice. -[Guy] It's not fully cooked?
Bring in the sazon. Little bit of cilantro at the end.
-Bada-bing, bada-boom. -Bada-boom, bada-boom.
The Mamposteao rice.
[Guy] Whoa, that's a portion.
-[Gerardo] So, we have here the seared... -[Guy] Beautiful.
[Gerardo] ...stuffed chicken.
Finish it up with the garlic sauce.
Some cilantro.
[Antonia] Look how gorgeous that looks.
What's in the sauce, chef?
-Heavy cream, salt and garlic. -I love the chicken.
[Guy] It's tender. It's not dry at all.
And that garlic cream sauce definitely complements it.
My favorite, though,
is the trifongo.
You get a little bit of garlic,
a little kiss of sweet, then you get the crunch, then you get the cream.
[Antonia] You haven't lost the texture
of the rice with all of that liquid.
-I mean, delicious. Really good. -Thank you, thank you, Guy.
And the sous vide chicken with trifongo.
The rice here is so tasty. The trifongo, delicious.
It doesn't get any better than that.
You guys aren't even listening to me anymore,
you got the governor of Puerto Rico town here.
Puerto Rico is the best place. [laughs]
[Guy] You know, it's not just the beaches
and the great hotels,
and the culture and the peop in old San Juan.
Come for the food.
Do the diet before you come here.
Then you can eat whatever you want.
Cheesecake-stuffed French toast
with strawberries, table number three.
[man] French toasted stuffe with cheesecake.
There can't be a much better combination.
They have the fresh strawberries.
A beautiful dish.
Gimme the rundown, what are we making?
[Gerardo] Cheesecake-stuffe French toast.
You could not have said two words
that made me happier. French toast, cheesecake.
So, the crust part of the cheesecake,
we start with the vanilla crackers, butter,
brown sugar and white sugar.
[Guy] Pack this in the bottom of the pan,
bake off the crust, now we're getting into the filling.
[Gerardo] Making the cream cheese creamier.
-Sugar. -[Guy] Salt. Vanilla. Sour cream.
We're gonna add the eggs one by one.
[Guy] Into the springform pan.
[Gerardo] We're gonna bake it in a water bath.
220 degrees, two hours and a half.
So, now we're gonna make our strawberry sauce.
Sugar. We're gonna let it boil.
Strain the liquid.
Add xanthan gum to thicken it up.
[Guy] This, I think is legendary.
Hollowed out, little trap door.
Milk. Add the sugar. Salt, vanilla.
Cinnamon, and eggs.
-Now we're gonna mix it. -[Antonia gasps]
-[Guy] Is that the right cut? -[Gerardo] Yes, sir.
-Chef, you have the gloves. -Gently stuff it.
-The world needs to eat this cheesecake. -That cheesecake's legit.
[Gerardo] Dip it in the batter.
Dump it in the griddle for one minute, each side.
-French toast. -[Antonia] Mmm.
Cut it half. Some powdered sugar.
Strawberry sauce that we did earlier.
Fresh strawberries and a frost.
[Antonia] Ooh.
[Gerardo] You want that crunchy bite.
[Antonia] Look at this. Oh, my goodness.
You know what I like about it
is I like the tang of the cheesecake.
-What did you do? -I got the middle.
That's not how you do the bite.
[Antonia] What are you, the French toast police?
Everybody at home right now, phone in.
It's a Flavortown hotline.
Press one if Antonia
completely dug it out of the middle.
-Press two if I'm right. -[laughs]
-Thankyou chef Gerardo. -Yeah. Oh, oh.
-Fantastic. -Plate of French toast.
It's just enough sweet and light and the same time.
[man] The strawberry glaze is excellent.
-I think it's like a knock out of the park. -Definitely.
[Gerardo] Cubano ready for table eight.
[man] You come in and have good food, have a good experience.
and it has everything you can offer for Puerto Rico.
You have so much ability and so much creativity,
I can only imagine where the menu goes.
-So thank you very much, awesome job. -Thank you, Guy.
We're gonna get you to finish that,
-and then we have to jump back in the car. -Okay.
-Because we wanna do two more restaurants, okay? -Oh, my goodness.
-What'd you think? -Absolutely amazing.
I told you this tour was gonna be the real deal.
-Wait till you see the next place. -Awesome.
It's just outside of San Jua
I wouldn't steer you wrong.
And thinking totally outsid of the box.
It's so creative. No two things taste the same.
With their no meat, but don't even miss it, menu
This would be a destination to come to Puerto Rico
just to come have this experience.
All right, Antonia, we're now in Caguas,
which is about 30 minutes from old San Juan.
So where would I be taking you next? Just think about it.
Okay, well, I know how much you love mofongo.
[Guy] And this is plant-base
-Plant-based? No, no, no. -Yes. Yes, yes, yes.
You're taking me to a vegan restaurant in Puerto Rico?
Exactly! This is El Grifo.
[woman] Boneless wings.
[man] It's a unique restaura
here in Caguas, and I think in Puerto Rico.
Four-cheese pizza.
All those food that you consider normal to eat,
but everything is plant-base
[Guy] But food wasn't even part of the equation
when Loumiry Sanchez
and Jose Soto started this joint.
We were building a craft beer bar.
We were not going to serve food but the permits were...
-The license. -Yeah, the license, yeah.
Says you have to.
[Antonia] So you always serv the vegan food
-with the craft beer? -Yeah, yeah.
It exploded. And I serve you what I would eat.
Chili and cheeseburger.
So, how do you think they're doing?
I like it a lot, especially the chicken and waffles.
[man] The waffle is a pumpkin waffle.
The chicken, which is not chicken,
is absolutely delicious.
-So, what are we gonna make? -The crust for the chicken
that's made with cauliflower
We'll start with some cashews.
Arrow root. Smoked paprika.
-Garlic. Pink Himalayan salt. -[Antonia] Mmm.
-Cayenne pepper. -[Guy] Okay.
And curry powder.
[Antonia] That really powdered out.
No. No, no, no. Not happening.
-[laughs] -Delish-a-dust.
We're gonna bake this off.
[Loumiry] Now we are going to crust the cauliflower.
We have to skin the cauliflower first.
[Guy] So it cooks all the way through.
The almond milk, lime juice.
[Antonia] You're gonna reall taste all the flavors in the
just from that little bit of lime juice.
[Loumiry] Cook it at 350.
-20 to 25 minutes. -[Guy] Okay.
For service, we put it at the air fryer,
-for the crispier texture. -Oh!
-[Guy] Now we're into the pumpkin waffle batter. -[Loumiry] Yeah.
-[Guy] Local pumpkin. -[Loumiry] Coconut oil.
Brown sugar. Pumpkin spice.
Cinnamon. Himalayan salt.
And I assume we're roasting that in the oven?
[Loumiry] 35 minutes at 350
Now next up.
Wholewheat flour. Pumpkin spice.
-You love your pumpkin spice. -[laughs]
-[Loumiry] Baking powder. -[Guy] Okay. Whoa.
Cinnamon. Baking soda. Himalayan salt.
[Antonia] Love that you use Himalayan salt.
-Coconut milk. -Yeah.
[Loumiry] Maple syrup.
See, the teamwork makes the dream work.
Rapeseed oil. Some vanilla.
-Apple cider vinegar. -Yes!
I do shots of apple cider vinegar.
[Guy] Now the roasted pumpkin.
-This is my part. -Oh, really?
-[Antonia] Like this? -[Loumiry] Yes.
[Loumiry] We set it on the fridge.
-[Guy] Okay. -Then we use it the next day
Is there a sauce that goes with this?
[Loumiry] We are going to make white gravy.
Water, rice vinegar.
Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar.
Maple syrup.
Vegan mayonnaise, red onions.
Celery seeds, black pepper, cashews.
[Guy] It'd be easier if you just told us
the things you didn't make from scratch.
-Yeah, there's like five. -Anything. We make everything from scratch.
Vegan honey mustard, cabbage.
-The "chicken." -Some chives.
White gravy.
-Cajun. Lemon. -Ooh.
[Antonia] That is, like, some lemon squeezing right there.
[Guy] The breading on the cauliflower
is dynamite. It's super-tender.
But the waffle is the star of the show.
-100%, 100%. -[laughs]
[Guy] It's got a great exterior crust.
[Antonia] And that super-soft interior.
Those are the two things
-for any kind of Belgian waffle. -The pumpkin spice...
is what brings it home.
That sauce is everything that you want
with sort of the aggressiveness
-of the spice. -Dynamite.
Pumpkin waffles are done.
You won't really miss the normal chicken waffles.
[speaking Spanish]
So, rumor has it you also do a cooking school.
[Loumiry] Yeah. On the secon floor of the restaurant,
we are teaching cooking classes.
And now we are making a whole certification.
How many hours are in your day?
Are you working on the carrot lots?
Aunt Ida is the aunt of Chico,
who is our director of photography.
Have you ever been to a vegan restaurant before?
Not at all, but I'm glad I was. It's fantastic.
Don't go anywhere, Triple D, hanging out
in Puerto Rico, chef Antonia Lofaso.
We back with more vegan food
[Loumiry] Animal Lover's pizza.
The pizza has no meat on it.
But it tastes just like a Meat Lover pizza.
-I can't believe this. -Oh, good.
The faster you do it the more it'll be over.
[laughing] "The more it'll be over."
-Next profound statement by Antonia. -[laughs]
Welcome back, Triple D in Puerto Rico.
with the one and only chef Antonia Lofaso.
And we're at El Grifo.
And I'll tell you what, we've both been learning
things about the world of vegan cooking
that'll blow you away.
[man] Cochinita pibil slide.
The flavors are composed with creativeness.
Animal Lover pizza. Enjoy.
[man] It's an Animal Lover's pizza.
But there's no type of meat on it.
It actually tastes amazing.
Our most famous pizza is the Animal Lover's pizza.
It's like a joke.
-Lover, you know? [laughs] -We picked up on it, yeah.
So, we are making our choriz
Sundried tomatoes, cayenne, paprika,
smoked paprika.
Cumin, Himalayan salt.
Oregano, black pepper, garlic.
Liquid smoke.
You know what's amazing? That's what sausage looks like
when you put it in a food processor.
We are adding sunflower seeds, flax seeds and pumpkin seeds.
-Now we gotta cook this? -No, it's raw chorizo.
-That is 100% chorizo. -100%.
[Loumiry] Add the brown rice.
And we also make bacon
-with coconut flakes. -You're showing off.
-Olive oil. Tamari. -Oh, yes.
[Loumiry] Some maple.
-Liquid smoke! -Liquid smoke, yes.
-Two points. -Now it's a good game.
Smoked paprika. Give it a little whisk.
-And this is unsweetened, dried, flaked coconut. -Yes.
Mix it up and put it on the oven so it gets crispy.
-[Guy] What's the final item? -Vegan steak.
We made out of chickpeas.
Nutritional yeast.
Black pepper, garlic.
-Himalayan pink. -Yeah.
Onion powder, oregano, cumin.
Smoked paprika.
-Dijon. -Dijon mustard.
-Those are all, like, great seasoning agents. -Yep.
-Tamari. -If you used it yesterday,
could it still be tamari?
[imitates rimshot]
Tomato paste.
You just shout it out when you know.
And water. Blend this first.
-Gluten flour. -This is gonna give the texture
-and the chew and the bite to it. -Yes.
And then I just steam it for one to two hours
-until it's tender. -[Guy] And that's the steak?
[Loumiry] We finish it with tamari,
maple syrup, liquid smoke, and smoked paprika.
What about the cheese?
[Loumiry] We are making mozzarella cheese.
Water, lime juice, garlic, cornstarch,
onion powder, pink salt and cashews.
-And then finally make the pizza? -Yeah.
So chef, all of the crusts
-are pre-baked? -They are pre-baked.
We also made the pesto sauce.
The pesto is off the hook.
Onions, mushrooms. It looks like steak.
[Loumiry] This is the mozzarella cheese.
Good little tang to it.
-The chorizo. -How long is this gonna go in?
[Loumiry] 20 to 25 minutes.
-Cilantro. -[Antonia] Mmm!
I can't wait till the bacon comes on.
-Extra parm. -[Antonia] It looks beautiful.
-The crust is outstanding. -[Antonia] Nom.
The pesto is spot-on.
Bright and alive and vibrant
It's so creative.
No two things taste the same.
The steak has got a ton of flavor
and a ton of texture.
The chorizo, that's kinda like the backbone of this to me.
When I pick up a little piece of the bacon,
it's got that crunchy, tanginess, saltiness.
You know what my favorite part is? The mozzarella cheese.
[Guy] I don't know anybody
that could bite into that, would not enjoy that.
Adding mushrooms and onions to the Animal Lover's pizza.
It's a crispy crust but it's not a hard crust.
And then you have the chorizo flavor in it.
[speaking Spanish]
[woman speaking Spanish]
[Guy] This would be a destination
to come to Puerto Rico just come have this experience.
-Really good. -Thank you.
I wouldn't steer you wrong.
Coming up, a local gem...
That is just flavor city right there.
...serving traditional island eats...
This is literally soup made from a pig's foot.
...you just gotta discover.
I don't know where this has been all my life.
All right, chef Antonia. Last stop, what do you think?
Vegan Puerto Rican food blew my mind.
I do not know if I have any more room for this.
Well, you've gotta have room,
because this place in particular is pretty amazing.
This is where the locals go
Matter of fact, we're in an industrial area
This place is only open Monday through Friday.
Everybody that loves that true Puerto Rican food comes here.
I do not know how you do this every day.
This is El Fogon de la 31.
This is chicken breast with trifongo and cheese sauce.
Anything you eat from here, it's great.
[woman] A meal for Maria.
[Guy] And Elizabeth Vazquez
is the one dishing out the comfort.
It's like your grandma make it.
So, if you can't get the traditional Puerto Rican food
-at your grandmother's house. -[Elizabeth] Yes.
This is the place you come.
-Or grandma doesn't wanna cook that night. -Uh-huh.
[Elizabeth speaking]
Pastelon is our Caribbean lasagna.
[speaking Spanish]
[Guy] What is the menu today
[Guy] So, we start with the sofrito.
[Elizabeth] Onions, peppers.
It's like a pepper, but sweet.
Garlic cloves.
And the sofrito's such a basis for so much, like, Puerto Rican cooking.
[Elizabeth] And this is pimiento morron.
It's a pepper.
And the cilantro.
-Epazote. -Ah, yes.
-Recao. -Recao.
-[bangs table] -[laughs]
-It's much flavor. -Mmm.
[Guy] Sofrito is made. Now time for the picadillo.
I love picadillo, because, like, all you wanna do is
pick at it while you eat.
-That's why they call it. -Is it?
-Picadillo. -No it isn't.
-No, it sounded good. -It sounded good.
Ground beef, vinegar, salt, pepper.
Garlic powder, onion powder.
-Sazon. -[Guy] Beautiful.
Vegetable oil.
[Guy] Okay, so, cook it a little bit.
[Elizabeth] Sofrito.
That is just flavor city right there.
-[Elizabeth] Tomato sauce. -[Guy] Cook this down.
And then we're gonna work on the frijoles.
Water and pig feet for overnight.
In the morning, cook the beans.
-[Guy] And the pig's feet. -With the pressure cooker.
-Water? -Water, yeah.
-For how long, chef? -After the sound.
[both imitate sizzling sound]
It's a universal language, folks.
For a pressure cooker.
Doesn't matter where you're from, everybody knows [sizzling].
And this is gonna be the flavoring for the rest of the beans.
-Yes, and the pig's feet. -And the pig's feet.
First the oil, sofrito.
Tomato sauce, onions, peppers.
-Pumpkin. -[Guy] Interesting.
Potatoes, sazon, salt, cilantro.
-Beans and some water. -Yep.
And how long is this gonna cook, chef?
-20 minutes. -This is traditional?
-Yeah. -[whistles]
-Let's build the lasagna. -Yellow plantain.
-[Guy] Fried. -Egg for glue.
[Antonia] The delicious picadillo.
-[Elizabeth] Cheese. -Plantain, glue,
meat, cheese.
I'm serious, Mommy, I watched the show
and chef Antonia's on there and she said she put
-glue in the food. -[laughs]
[Guy] We just put it in the oven.
-[Elizabeth] 10 minutes at 300. -Oh...
-This is the pastelon. -Gorgeous.
It's like the lasagna I make at home with the crispy,
-crunchy cheese. -[Guy] Yes.
[Guy] I gotta try the beans and the pig's feet.
I'm going lasagna.
The bean are so unbelievable.
I don't know that I've ever been this excited about beans.
Silky. They just melt in your mouth.
The sweet plantain, you fried it really well
to where it's got great texture.
Never in a million years
did I think, I mean, honestly, as an Italian,
that I'm gonna eat lasagna with rice and beans.
And the sauce on the beans,
as you mix that with the picadillo,
it's almost like the sauce
that was, like, needed for the lasagna.
-Really good. -10 out of 10.
[woman] The combination of the flavor of the meat
and the sweet is very good.
I really like it. It's lighter than pasta.
[Guy] This is where you come to get
the true Puerto Rican experience?
That's right.
You can see it in the name, the Fogon.
-What does it mean? -The Fogon means, like, cooking outside
with wood, and having this, like, smoky flavor.
[speaking Spanish]
Tostones, arroz blanco, sancocho.
[man] I love the sancocho. On rainy days,
you eat that and you going
in your house and you going sleep.
[woman speaking Spanish]
[Guy] There's a famous stew in Puerto Rico
that I've heard about, and it starts with pig's feet.
This is sancocho.
-What have we got? -Oil, tomato sauce.
Then the sofrito.
Garlic, sazon, oregano, cilantro.
[Antonia] The pig's feet, were they, like, boiled first?
Yes, with the pressure cooker.
Potatoes.
-Yautia. -[Guy] Yautia.
You use violet yautia
-or white yautia. -Uh-huh.
-I like the violet, of course, normally. -Oh, me too.
-Carrot. -I love how the corn is cut right now.
Pumpkins, green plantains.
Agua, and cook for one hou.
-[Guy] Next? -We make green banana balls.
-[Antonia] Is it just the grated banana? -Mmm-hmm.
-[Guy] All right, we ready? -This is the sancocho.
I don't know where this has been all my life.
But this is outstanding.
It is again, one of those dishes
that is a complete meal.
And the banana ball becomes almost like
the meatball that you're looking for.
Yeah. And the interesting thing behind it is,
it actually tastes like banana
without being sweet. So good.
Sancocho.
This is Stephanie.
Stephanie was a researcher, director,
and everything else that you could imagine
when we started Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
She is still with our team.
What do you think of, and this is literally
soup made from a pig's foot?
It's wonderful. It's sweet, it's creamy, it's to die for.
[server speaking Spanish]
[woman speaking Spanish]
-You might have to open on Saturday and Sunday now. -Si.
-Did I do you right? -You promised me Puerto Rico
and you gave me everything that I want about Puerto Ric
There you go, ladies and gentlemen. Triple D.
Puerto Rico. But don't you worry, there's funky joints
all over this country.
And I'll be looking for you next time
on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Adios.
All right, I'm gonna wrestle you up for the rest of it.
-It's mine. -Bring it.
-I'm like "Wah!" -See you later, folks.
And also can I get an apology?
For what?
Being accused of not knowing how to work this.
-[mixer clicks] -[laughs]
We're pros here, folks.
These aren't the droids you're looking for.