You know, people are 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.
[Guy] Over the years, I've seen and tasted it all
This is ridiculous, dude.
But it turns out, it was only the beginning
'cause Triple-D joints have been blowing up
and we're going back to see what's cooking.
Like on this trip.
[both laughing]
Old friends...
Everybody knows what a legend you are.
...are creating all kinds..
There's a few things that I don't think I'd ever seen before.
...of new flavors.
Wow! Mmm.
I mean, it just smells great.
There's a whole lot of fried food in Potterville, Michigan.
Fried food is kind of my jam.
[Guy] Waffles every which way in Cincinnati.
Baked waffles, chocolate and caramel.
I mean, that's crazy.
And in New York City, I'm following my buddy
down to the Financial District.
This is one of the best I've ever seen you make.
Where he's keeping the pie old school.
-We don't have to worry about ripping this recipe off. -[laughs]
But level it up the lasagna
It's delicious.
I had no idea it was gluten free.
[Guy] Familiar faces, new places and more off the hook flavors.
This is Triple-D Nation.
So I'm here in New York City and I got an interesting one for you.
You see, back in 2013, I shot a place called Don Antonio.
And it was this Napoli styl restaurant, okay? Awesome pizza.
Well, in 2020, the chef there left to open up his own joint
down here in the Financial District.
And we've never done this where we followed a chef
from one restaurant to the other.
But this place, he's doing pizza, pastas,
he's doing pizza restaurant, he's doing the pizza experience.
This is Chef Roberto and this is Keste.
-[bell dings] -Margherita, ready.
I saw Roberto on Triple-D at Don Antonio and I wanted to try him at Keste.
It's great, you're gonna enjoy it.
Two Sabrina.
Keste, to me, it's finally bringing authentic Neapolitan pizzeria into the city.
[Roberto] Enjoy.
It took me back to my family's town in Naples.
I need more basil and lime, please.
[man] When you think about a pizza maker,
Roberto is the quintessential maestro at pizza making.
[Guy] I couldn't agree more
And it's because Roberto Caporuscio is straight from the source
Growing up on a dairy farm right outside of Rome.
My brother. Everybody knows what a legend you are.
When we did Don Antonio's... When was that? That was 2013.
-'13. -Almost 10 years ago.
Geoffrey Zakarian, the Iron Chef came
- and cooked with us. - Yes.
Yeah, it was very funny.
-Start from the dough. -Hit it.
[Roberto] Okay, water, salt.
-So exciting. -Keep notes on this, by the way.
[Roberto] Then we start with all the flour.
It's like a bowl of.
So you're just gonna add the flour to the water and the salt
-in your own vision and touch by feel. -Yes.
-We don't have to worry about ripping this recipe off. -[all laughing]
And this is fresh yeast.
Okay, this is fresh yeast.
We need to let rest for one hour.
And we start making the dough balls.
Rise for at least between 24 and 36 hours before you use it.
It's done.
So this is a pesto we make here now.
-[Geoffrey] It's like a pesto. -Yes.
[Geoffrey] Without garlic.
Sausage, we cook here with Chianti wine.
The extra virgin oil.
And mozzarella.
Whoa!
You almost took that one to the teeth, homie.
[Geoffrey] He's already ready to turn it.
[Roberto] Yeah, check the bottom.
It's almost done, I need to just...
[Geoffrey] That is so fast.
Mmm.
The fresh mozzarella...
...and the dough.
Look at how thin that is.
That action going on with this dough is outstanding.
It's light, I mean, it's just... You can eat a whole pizza
and feel great.
-Yeah. -Yeah.
Enjoy, guys.
[Guy] Would you say on a 1 to 10,
how close is this to traditional...
What you would get in Napoli?
-No, 10, for sure. -Without question.
-Ten. -That's the real deal.
Ronald, I need more truffle, please.
The Sabrina pizza, it's the one with truffles,
it's so good, not compared to anything els
Special.
[Roberto] Sabrina pizza.
-We make the Sabrina pizza. -Okay.
-Fresh truffle on top. -Of course.
So, see how simple...
So you see people, you go in a pizzeria and you see people
throwing the pizza skin.
This stuff will tear. You can see how gentle he is with it.
You touch your dough, okay, you touch your wife.
If you touch very tough...
[all laughing]
Hang on a second. Make a note of that one.
[Guy] What was that you just put on, chef?
Uh, that is the cream of truffle.
- Fresh truffle. - Right.
[Roberto] And we put inside the blender with crescenza cheese.
Cheese I make in North Italy.
-[Guy] So you blend that with the actual truffle? -Yes.
Okay, then what are we throwing on now?
Now four cheese.
We have the Caciocavallo Ragusano from Sicily.
-[Guy] What was that? -Caciocavallo Ragusano from Sicily.
Parmigiano-Reggiano, the crescenza
and the water buffalo mozzarella.
-[Guy] Okay. -This special salami from Bologna.
It's called Golfetta.
Not all salamis are the same.
Watch yourself.
You can smell all that truffle in the air.
Well, it's not done yet.
Beautiful.
-Number one seller? -Yes.
The crust is great.
There's a lot of great truffle flavor.
Super creamy.
Melts in your mouth.
How is the salami?
Oh, fantastic.
This is one of the best I've ever seen you make.
Mmm.
[Roberto] Sabrina pizza.
Quattro Formaggi is the four cheese, I love it.
The salami really sings and the truffle,
you don't need as much when it's just a simple, classic, delicate pizza.
I wanna take this and just sop it up into that.
-Dough you know what I'm saying? -Yes.
Dough you know.
I could eat the whole thing.
Isn't it the best? It is.
We'll go to commercial.
When we come back, we'll try the lasagna?
-Yes. -All right.
[server] Meat lasagna.
[both speaking Italian]
[Guy] Delicious.
Mmm.
[Guy] Back in 2013, I met this guy, Roberto Caporuscio,
at an old Triple-D place.
And since then, I followed him and his Neapolitan pizza
to downtown Manhattan,
where he's opened his own joint.
Margherita pizza.
-What does keste mean? -This is it.
[both speaking Italian]
[Guy] That's it.
Okay, I'm gonna start using that more often.
[Guy] You couldn't have explained to me just how cool the place is.
How many square feet is it?
Five thousand square feet.
[Guy] Professional pizza classes,
recreational pizza classes,
banquets, catering, events, delivery.
[Roberto] We ship all over the country.
He's flash freezing it, he's sending out next day,
coming with instructions and you're gonna feel like you're in the city.
-Enjoy. -Thank you very much.
Someone from the Midwest now knows
about a different style of pizza that they didn't know about before.
What do you know about pizza?
-Um, Roberto's pizza is the best one. -Why?
It tastes the best.
The crust is the best.
The ingredients are the best
And he makes it with love.
Montanara and Sabrina for the bar.
-Is this the gluten free? -It is.
It doesn't look like it, but it is.
Isn't it the best?
It is.
You didn't let me finish my sentence.
[women laughing]
Veggie lasagna in five minutes.
[woman] And they also have gluten free lasagna.
It's fantastic.
[man] It's individualized, you don't have to share.
Even if you're in love, don't share it.
[Roberto] This is your lasagna.
Chef, break this down for me.
We start making the pasta dough here in the house.
Gluten free Italian flour.
Put some eggs inside.
Nutmeg. I like fresh grounded.
Some of the water.
When the dough is done, we roll it and cut it.
And we do the Bolognese sauce the way we do in Bologna.
Carrots, celery and onion.
Extra virgin oil.
Pancetta.
Put the meat inside.
Ground beef.
We put some of the stock inside.
Whole milk.
Very good wine.
Tomato.
Cook for seven hours.
We build in five layer.
Layer dough,
layer Bolognese, layer mozzarella,
Parmigiano,
and repeat for five times.
And now it's ready to go inside the oven.
We dress it with tomato and mozzarella.
And we finish inside the pizza oven for another four minutes.
[Guy] It's a gluten free dish.
It does have a different consistency than you would typically get in a lasagna
-where you don't get the chew of the noodle. -Yes.
But don't get me wrong, it's delicious.
I really love the finish in the wood fired oven
because it gives it a nice char.
And it gives a really nice crust to it.
You can really taste the richness of the Bolognese.
I mean, it's not floating in sauce.
It's not oozing with cheese.
Outstanding. Delicious.
[Roberto] Two meat lasagnas.
The layers are really perfect.
It's not the classic lasagna because the shape is different.
But like my grandma lasagna
My grandma is from Bologna.
The richness of the meat, the tomato and obviously the cheese mixed in there,
I think that's what really elevates it.
And I had no idea it was gluten free.
Margherita pizza.
This place is beautiful.
It's amazing what you do.
You're a great friend, you're an amazing chef.
-Chef Roberto, the best. Thank you, brother. -[laughs]
[Guy] Coming up in Potterville, Michigan.
-Those are so golden and crispy. -That's what makes them good.
[Guy] You know what I always say,
if it's funky...
Don't those look precious.
...I'll fry it.
First time I've ever performed here in Gizzard City.
Mmm. Wow.
So good. I'm not kidding ya. It is money.
When you're eating fried chicken,
usually you get asked, "Do you want the breast? Do you want the thigh?
Or do you want the drumstick?"
Well, unless you're in Potterville, Michigan
where they ask, "Hey, how you want your gizzards?"
[Joe Jr.] This is the only place you're gonna wanna try 'em.
Everywhere else is gonna taste like you bit into your tennis shoe.
-So not ready for this. -[laughs]
[Guy] That was back in 2007
when gizzards weren't exactly on my daily diet.
These days, they're so popular,
they've had to take 'em to the streets.
Welcome to Joe's Gizzard City.
Gizzard Dinner in the window.
We were here 14 years ago when Guy was here.
Those are so golden and crispy.
That's what makes them good.
[woman] It put Potterville on the map.
The food is a main staple for the area.
It's just a great place to b
The Joes are very friendly. They are awesome people to be around.
[Guy] The Joes are a father and son team.
Joe Sr. and Joe Jr. Bristol
And they're dishing out a delicacy most people would never dream of eating
That's gnarly.
Guy asked me what is the gizzard?
You're not eating the working part of the stomach.
Good 'cause I don't like anything that has a job.
-No. -So that's the muscle of it.
The muscle of it. Yeah.
[Joe Jr.] Going down for one Gizzard Dinner.
Gizzards is our main food item that we've sold here for 51 years.
You can get gizzards fried, Naked Fried, in a poutine,
on a Smasher.
When you serve 'em deep fried, they're delicious.
-We're actually gonna pressure cook the gizzards. -And why?
[Joe Jr.] You have to tenderize the gizzard
or else it's gonna taste like shoe leather.
-So that's why most people don't eat gizzards at home. -Correct.
[Guy] What seasonings do we put in it?
[Joe Jr.] All right, we're gonna have garlic powder,
celery salt and salt.
-[Guy] Now we lock and load - Lock and load, baby.
[water whistling]
[Guy] Don't those look precious.
Joe's famous batter mix.
Special flour.
[Guy] Now water.
[Joe Jr.] All right, here we go.
I didn't need that many. I don't wanna waste.
[Joe Jr.] Oh, you're gonna want more than this.
Burn, baby, burn.
Is that enough?
I don't wanna be a hog and have 'em all.
Seriously, save some for yourself.
I don't think he was looking forward to eating gizzards.
You'll love this.
You know what?
I actually think...
I think they're quite tasty, actually.
A lot of gizzards orders coming up. Let's roll.
Before Guy came here, we were doing about 5,000 pounds a year.
But now we're doing right around 25,000 to 30,000 pounds.
Gizzard Smasher.
Burger, coming over.
[woman] They have burgers and sandwiches, everything fried.
Fried food is kind of my jam.
We are all about frying things.
-So you said let's cook the burger. -Yeah.
[Guy] And then, let's batter it.
-And then, let's fry it. -Yeah.
And put it in a burger.
-[Joe Jr.] Yep. - I gotta tell ya,
there's a few things that I don't think I'd ever seen before.
Deep fried patty in batter.
Mmm. I like that.
All right, Triple "D" Burger.
Going in the batter.
Let's heat her up.
I saw the Triple "D" Burger on Triple-D.
And I really wanted to try i
First time ever performed here in Gizzard City.
[laughing]
-Oh, yummy. -[Joe Jr.] Yep.
[Guy] Oh.
[Joe Jr.] Hope it don't fall apart.
[Joe Jr. laughs]
Let's cut it out of its tomb.
[Joe Jr. laughs]
Look at that.
Mmm.
-Wow. -Definitely.
I'm not kidding ya. It is money.
Triple "D" Burger in the window.
We've made an incredible amount of Triple "D" Burger
since the show.
It is the biggest burger seller that we have.
If you like the Triple "D" burger,
you're gonna love the Triple "D" Breakfast Sandwich.
Triple "D" Breakfast Sandwich going in the pool.
The first step is to grill up our sausage.
Crack up an egg.
Hashbrowns on the grill and get a nice crisp on each side.
American cheese, grilled hashbrowns, sausage patty,
fried egg, one more slice of American cheese.
I'm gonna submerge the Triple "D" Breakfast Sandwich into our batter mix
It's gonna go in a 350 degre fryer for approximately two to three minutes.
Now it's nice and golden brown.
And there you have it.
Triple "D" Breakfast Sandwich.
It was almost sweet and still had that breakfast flavor to it.
I will definitely be having that again.
[woman] It's a really good breakfast sandwich.
It's just got every flavor. It's all breakfast.
Gravy going on Smasher.
[man] The food that I think is incredible,
all the different, uh, deep fried desserts.
These are...
[couple] Deep Fried Oreos.
[Guy] What about a Frinkie?
Oh, those are awesome too.
[Joe Jr.] A Frinkie is a deep fried Twinkie.
[laughs] That's freaky.
Since the show aired,
we went into the food truck business
We take Joe's Gizzard Wagon to fairs and festivals around the area.
[man] You've got to go to Joe's Gizzard City.
It's off Interstate 69, Exit 66.
Get your gizzard fix at Exit 66.
-Is that where we are? -Yes, you are.
♪ Well, I'm going down to Joe's ♪
♪ Going down to Joe's ♪
♪ Down to Gizzard City ♪
♪ Joe's Down to Gizzard City ♪
- ♪ Joe's! Joe's! ♪ -[laughs]
[Guy] Up next...
Mmm. That's good.
Cincinnati gets Belgianized.
Everything that I don't understand, you call a Belgian way.
...seven times over.
There's another bistro less than five minutes away.
That would not have happened without Triple-D.
So I'm here in Cincinnati on Vine Street.
Now I'm in an area known as OTR, Over-the-Rhine.
There was a huge European immigrant influence here.
So this place makes total sense.
And since I was there in 201
this Belgian bistro has gone to seventh heaven.
This is Taste of Belgium.
Traditional galette up. Table 210.
Taste of Belgium is one of the staples of Cincinnati.
[woman] It's really cool to see it being featured
in Food Network and having it being shared with the world.
Two fruit waffles in the window.
Well, it's very, very, uh, typical to Belgium,
especially the waffle.
[Guy] I should hope so.
Since owner, Jean-Francois Flechet,
started his business with a waffle iron and a dream.
Do people understand what a Belgian waffle is?
Well, I think here everybody
-calls a waffle a Belgian waffle. -Right.
[Jean] It's depending on the style and typically based on the city.
So the waffle that we make is a Liege style waffle.
Okay, well, let's get after them, man.
So we're gonna start with the flour.
Salt, yeast.
Mix it up and we'll add the butter.
Eggs.
[chuckles] It's raining chickens.
[Jean] Milk, vanilla.
And the key is this compressed beet sugar.
And you cannot find it locally.
It's a special texture, it has a special melting point.
That doesn't smell like any waffle dough, batter that I've ever made.
This gets done mixing, we portion it.
Cut it.
- Put it in the holding tray goes to the refrigerator. - Yes.
We'll put two balls of dough on the waffle iron.
And then, we just close it.
And in three minutes, you're gonna get a beautiful waffle.
Just serve in wax paper.
That's the way we--
-That's the way you get it in Belgium. -In Belgium.
That's outstanding.
I love the little crystals that you get.
You know, you get a little bit of that crunch inside of there.
Now that's crazy.
[chef] Belgian waffles coming up.
You can get the Belgium waffles online,
you can get 'em at several grocery stores throughout the city.
We just launched, uh, dipped waffles.
Chocolate and caramel and then, toss it with nuts
I can't believe we never did that before.
-[Guy] That's good. -Thank you.
The waffles, that's what they're known for,
but there's so much more to offer.
[chef] Dressing the Belgian Burger now.
For dinner, I have gotten the burger.
The meatballs are really, really good.
I don't even know the difference
between the Italian and Belgian meatball, but they're great.
What really makes a difference is the sauce.
We gonna melt some butter, add some brown sugar and sweat some onions.
Once the onions are caramelized, we will add some beef stock.
And then, we sweeten the whole thing with apple and pear reduction,
red wine vinegar and salt, white pepper,
and we finish it with a slurry to thicken it.
To make our Belgian meatballs,
we combine ground pork and ground beef.
And then, we add shallot, salt and nutmeg,
parsley, black pepper and mix the whole thing together.
We will add eggs and milk soaked breadcrumbs.
And then, we mix it all together and form it into 6 ounce balls.
We bake them off at 350 for about 25 minutes.
We serve two meatballs per order.
Ladled with some of our sauc
and serve with frites.
[chef] Finishing the meatballs now.
They are very tender and packed full of flavor.
[man] It's a savory, kind of almost a pear sauce It's really good.
Very filling.
There's only two of 'em, but that's all you need.
Chef, what are we making next?
-We gonna make some, uh, Belgian pretzel. -Okay. Get going.
I see this little funky knot you did.
[Jean] Yeah, it's Belgian way.
Everything that I don't understand you call a Belgian way.
Nobody knows the first thing about Belgium.
Yes, so you just say, "Oh, that's how we do it in Belgium."
[Jean] They get boiled, brushed with egg wash, and then put in the oven.
Well, the texture on the pretzel is real authentic.
Great crust on it.
[sniffs] I mean, it just smells great.
Putting a little bit on the grilled cheese.
We offer a whole lot more than just waffle and pretzel.
[chef] Mussels are looking good.
If it's not Belgian, we Belgianize it.
You Belgianize it?
I can't believe that there's not a Taste of Belgium on every corner in Cincinnati.
When the show aired, things went crazy.
Right now, we have seven food service restaurant
and we're in the process of opening the eighth one.
That would not have happened without Triple-D.
[chef] We got a grilled ham and cheese ready. Pick it up.
Now it's expanded to so many different areas
and each of them are a little bit different,
but the menu is very consistent.
This one is jam packed and there's another bistro less than five minutes away.
[server] Anything else, guys?
Triple "D" Breakfast Sandwich.
Stab it and grab it.
And that's just a drop in the bucket, ladies and gentlemen.
Banana Nutella crepe.
Two veggie lasagna going inside the oven now.
Triple "D" Burger.
We got a long list to get through,
next time on Triple-D Nation.
So... [laughs].
[in Italian accent] You no can do that.
Oh, you're amazing...
-You no can do that, can you? -No, I don't know.
You no crazy guy like that.
-[Roberto exclaims] -[in normal voice] All right.