Hey, everybody. I'm Guy Fieri.
And we're rolling out
looking for America's greatest diners, drive-ins and dives.
[Guy] This trip...
Where were you last night?
It's creative creations.
There is nothing that will prepare you for that.
Stuffed, smoked, hooked, and wrapped.
- Incredible! - Homerun. Knocked it out of the park.
Like in a funky joint singing in Nashville...
You're definitely cheffing this entire experience.
Venezuelan specialties in Daytona...
Perfect for the beach.
Plus a local seafood gem...
- Tell the chef it was fin-tastic. - [man chuckles]
putting out true Florida fare.
That's probably one of the best ways I've ever had gator.
That's all right here right now
on Diners, Drive-ins, And Dives.
I'm here in Daytona Beach, Florida on A1A
This is hotel row.
And this is home of all the big spring breaks.
So, I'm cruising down the road
and I see this joint called Millie's.
I'm like, "Wait a second. I got a buddy named Millie. I gotta check this out."
'Cause I hear they're all about seafood-to-table,
farm-to-table and loco for locals.
This is Millie's.
Francaise going in the oil.
Perfect. Don't stop. Can't stop.
The fish just makes you feel like you're on the ocean.
Shrimp and grits for you.
I know Chris really well and I'd say the secret is the passion for the food.
Whoo, boy! These look good.
[Guy] That passion comes from Chris Chibbaro's work
as a boat captain and fisherman
mixed with his restaurant experience.
And now he and his wife Amy are cooking up coastal for the locals.
- We love tourists. It's what we base our economy on. - [Guy] Right.
But all we ever wanted to be was a neighborhood restaurant cooking for the neighbors.
The concept that Chris and Amy have
about using the local fish and produce,
it just resonates with us.
Fish collars up for table thirty-three!
Fish collars are up by the cheeks and the gills
and there's just a lot of great meat there.
Juicy and delicious.
What are we kicking things off with?
- [Chris] This thing was swimming yesterday. - Okay.
- And now we're gonna do some fish collars for you. - Got it.
- We're gonna break these down here. - [Guy] Break it down.
Collar!
- [Chris] You gotta get right up under that flap. - [Guy] Right up underneath it.
Then you go up and then you can come back down.
There you go. That's what I always do.
- [Guy] What fish is this? - [Chris] This is a black grouper.
Are we gonna serve it with the fin on there too?
[Chris] We serve it with the fin on it, but don't eat the fin.
So, if you don't eat the fin,
and the server says, "Are you fin-ished?"
What are you supposed to say?
- Are you gonna charge us for all this? - Exactly.
[Chris laughing] Yeah.
- Tell the chef it was fin-tastic. - [Chris chuckles]
- The hits keep coming. - What?
Another one?
You know what I've always wondered,
why fish don't have fin-gers.
Well, the northern ones do.
- In Finland. - [laughing] In Finland!
- [Chris] We just hit it with a little bit of oil. - [Guy] That's it.
Flip them once.
So, let's make our chimichurri while we're doing that.
Onions, olive oil, some red pepper flakes, red wine vinegar.
- We like garlic. - [Guy] Yeah, you do.
Thyme, oregano, cilantro and parsley as well.
All right. After about eight minutes on the grill,
cover them with chimichurri.
- [Guy] How long in the oven? - [Chris] 15 minutes.
- All right. Let's see it. - [Chris] We do some tortillas.
Fresh collars out of the oven.
- A little bit of lime. - [Guy] And that's all she wrote.
[Chris] Get some of that good meat out
- and go to town. - Well, I'm in town right now.
[Chris] Flavor town, right?
You know what you're talking about.
It's just super flavor.
Love the tortillas.
It's a nice interactive sharing menu item.
- It's a social food. - It really is.
And it's something to talk about
and not everybody's had it.
Herbaceous, garlic, fresh fish, acid, lime juice.
And that right there is dynamite.
Fish collars are gorgeous!
You could just taste the freshness.
- It was perfection. - It's beautiful.
- [Guy] So, where did the name Millie come from? - So, that's our dog.
There was a woman in our bowling league and I really liked her.
- [Guy] Her name was Millie. - And I liked the name and her name was Millie, yeah.
Nothing could be more endearing
- than having a dog named after you. - [Amy laughing]
This is one of my best friends, one of my longest friends.
This is Daniel Milich.
- Hi, Millie. - So, Millie, I'm down in Daytona Beach, Florida
- at this funky little joint called... - Millie's.
-Millie's -Fantastic.
It's too coincidental.
If I've got a buddy named Millie,
I'm going to shoot triple D at a joint called Millie's.
I said, "Then we gotta call Millie."
Listen, I'm gonna steal that sign,
- and all kinds of stuff. - [Chris and Amy laugh]
Don't worry. I'm gonna load the Camaro up for you.
As soon as people come to town and ask where should I go,
the answer's always Millie's.
Alligator ribs. Two minutes out.
I've had a lot of alligator tail,
but nothing compares to the alligator rib here.
Alligator tail is kind of like chicken
where this actually seems to be more like pork. That's really good.
All right. What are we doing next?
[Chris] Our dry seasoning for the alligator ribs.
- I'm dying to try this. - Absolutely.
I will be trying this. I don't have to die.
[Chris] We got our brown sugar,
chili, garlic powder, onion powder,
- cinnamon, smoked paprika. - [Guy] Salt and pepper.
[Guy] Gator rib rack.
- More meat on it than I anticipated. - Than you thought, right?
[Chris] Cut them straight down.
- So easy. - [Chris chuckling] Right?
- Are we gonna let this dry rub sit for a while? - [Chris] For about an hour.
[Guy] Then they go in the smoker 40 minutes.
Meantime we'll make some barbecue sauce.
[Chris] We start with some onions, spiced rum, garlic, ketchup.
- [Guy] Brown sugar. - [Chris] Apple cider vinegar.
- Molasses. - [Chris] Oh, my favorite.
It's not just for breakfast anymore.
- [Chris] Paprika. - [both] Cayenne.
- [Chris] Salt. - [both] Chili powder.
[Chris] And coriander.
All right. How long does it take for this to cook down?
- [Chris] 25 minutes or so. - [Guy] Got it.
[Chris] Ribs are off the smoker.
That barbecue sauce that we just made that is so darn delicious...
- Just gotta give them a little toss in here. - He's his best hype man.
- I swear. - [chuckling] Always.
[Guy] How long you cook it on the grill?
Just for about five to 10 minutes.
All right, chef. Ribs are coming off the grill...
It's interesting. I never thought of eating through the bone
on a sandwich, but...
[Chris] You gotta have the bread out there
- to soak up all the barbecue sauce, right? - [Guy] There you go.
Freshly sliced jalapenos.
A little green onion.
I've had a lot of gator. Never had the ribs.
That's probably one of the best ways I've ever had gator,
if not the best way.
It's tender. It's meaty.
- It eats like a pork rib. - [Chris] Right.
[Guy] The barbecue sauce, dude...
I compete in barbecue. I'm the barbecue hall of fame.
- Your barbecue sauce is delicious. - Awesome.
Anybody ever says they don't like gator,
send them to Millie's and have them come try that.
Good friend of mine, Chris Hirsh, who we miss,
had a place named Scully's outside Miami.
I'd go out on his airboat and he would cook me gator six ways to Sunday.
This would have been a place that I would have called Chris
and said he's gotta come down
and he's gotta check this out
because this is 100% what he would love.
Smoked alligator ribs.
This is Rashad Jones and his wife Patrice.
He was on a great show we did called Guy's Big Project. He won.
I want you to tell me what you think of this.
Pulls cleanly off the bone. Has a nice clean finish.
It doesn't taste gamey. It doesn't taste wild.
[woman] The barbecue sauce, that's the key to the ribs.
I'm wearing it. I loved it so much so I'm taking it home with me.
- [Guy] What do you think? - It's pretty good.
- [Guy] Pretty good. Okay. - Really good.
- Amazing.
Amazing!
- Incredible. - Incredible!
Home run. Knocked it out of the park.
[Chris] Filet and shrimp fondue is up.
So, John and I are kind of business partners in Downtown Flavortown.
And I said, "Tell me about Millie's."
And you've been here a bunch of times.
- The best. The best. - Amazing.
Huge fan.
Beautiful. Thank you.
[Guy] You really are committed to giving people
a true experience of sea-to-table,
- farm-to-table. - Absolutely.
We don't rest till we're the best.
And they're loco for locals.
Well done, chef.
[Guy] Up next, a joint playing their own tune in Nashville...
They don't follow really any rules.
Just the ones they make up.
Cooking up a crazy crunch...
You have issues.
And going over the top with the tots.
All right. Slow your roll here, pal.
So, I'm here in Nashville in historic McFerrin Park,
which is, like, a quarter mile away from downtown Nashville,
and I'm here to check out a joint
where a local chef is doing a chef-driven Tex-Mex joint.
So, who did he name it after?
Well, of course, the country superstar,
one of my favorites and one of the chef's favorites, Willie Nelson.
This is the Redheaded Stranger.
Dropping two poblano tacos.
It's just a really nice neighborhood spot
to come grab some really unique tacos.
You really feel like you're in the southwestern part of the country.
[Bryan] One Redheaded Stranger burrito.
And they don't follow really any rules. Just the ones they make up.
It hits on all levels for us.
[Guy] And Bryan Lee Weaver has always done things his way,
playing music and working in kitchens all over.
[Bryan] All right. Let's plate one burrito.
[Guy] Then he combined those two passions
when he opened this spot in Nashville.
I love Willie. I love Redheaded Stranger.
It's my favorite album and I didn't know if I could use the name,
so I just emailed the website and his granddaughter messaged me back, like, an hour later
and said, "Go for it. I live in Nashville."
- [Guy] Where are you from? - [Bryan] I'm from Texas originally.
I mean, I knew I wanted it to be, like, Texas-inspired
and a little bit of the outlaw country from Nashville.
[Bryan] Plating one totcho.
Totchos is tots with beans on top, queso in there.
It's a really cool twist on the nachos.
And they are heavenly.
- [Guy] What are we gonna make? - Part of the seasoning
for the black beans that go on top of the totchos.
We start by caramelizing onions.
Next we're gonna add our Dr Pepper.
- Chile de arbol. - [Bryan] And apple cider vinegar.
After it reduces down then we blend.
- This right here I want a jar of. - [Bryan] Yeah.
A little bit of heat, a good amount of sweet. This has gotta be a staple.
So, next we're gonna make our black beans for the totchos.
Water, black beans.
- Soaked overnight, 24 hours. - Yep.
Cook that for about an hour and a half.
- Now we're gonna season them. - [Guy] Okay.
[Bryan] Diced red onion, red wine vinegar, roasted tomatillo,
Dr Pepper hot sauce, garlic confit.
A lot of garlic confit.
- [Bryan] Cumin and cilantro. - [Guy] A boatload.
[Bryan] And we're gonna let it simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.
All right. So, beans are done. Next up?
The jalapeno hot sauce that goes in our queso.
- Diced white onion. - [Guy] And where'd you learn to cook?
I started washing dishes when I was 14
and worked my way up. That's how I've done it.
I think that's how most of us have done it.
- [Bryan] Jalapeno. - Avocado.
[Bryan] Yes, sir. Lime juice,
rice vinegar and a bunch more cilantro.
[Guy] And is this a hot sauce you also use on the table?
[Bryan] One of the three.
Nice. Bright, fresh, not too hot.
Like the little silkiness, the little creaminess you get from the avocado.
- Next we build the queso. - Yes, sir.
Heavy cream. Bring that to a boil.
Add American cheese, cheddar cheese.
- You want a whisk? - Yeah, let's give it a little stir.
Green hatch chilies, red hatch chilies.
[Guy] I'd get a couple gallons of that.
[Bryan] And then the jalapeno hot sauce.
And then a little bit of salt.
It's just going to basically melt everything and then it's good to go.
What you'd think is a simple dish has
- multiple components. - I don't make anything easy.
[Guy] Cheese sauce is done.
[Bryan] So, we're gonna make our house seasoning for our tots.
Iodized salt, New Mexican chile powder and sugar.
- Build the nachos? - Yes, sir.
- Or build the totchos? - Yeah.
- We got our cooked tater tots, season them. - [Guy] Got it.
Black beans, queso.
- Que-so, you're gonna put some on there? - Yes, sir.
Lime sour cream, pickled red onion,
fresh jalapeno.
[Guy] Thinly sliced.
Mmm. Delicious.
The beans are dynamite and the little respite...
you get from the pickled onion and from that sour cream.
I like that you've gone the extra step and made things like the cheese sauce.
They're great. There's a lot of flavor, good crunch.
I would definitely give the thumbs up on this.
You're in Nashville and you were down in Broadway all night,
- this is exactly what you want. - Yeah.
[Bryan] Totchos.
Super crispy tots.
The green chile is so good.
It's got this tang with, like, a little bit of spice on the back end.
You got the awesome queso on top that is just out of this world.
[woman] It's the crunchy. It's the cheesy.
It's, like, ultimate comfort food.
[Bryan] One green chile cheeseburger.
I come here at least once a week
and shout the gospel of Redheaded Stranger to all my friends.
Being from Texas, I just kind of feel transported.
[Bryan] Brisket tacos.
Like, the tacos, you could just rotate them.
You can come here, dartboard anything.
[man] It's really unique.
The homemade tortillas are really one of the big things that kind of makes it.
- What are we gonna do next? - [Bryan] We're gonna make our pork green chile crunchwrap.
- Pork green chile crunchwrap. - Yeah.
When you crunch into it,
it's kind of just, like, a whole full body experience.
Underachiever. We'll be right back.
-I have another spot in town called Butcher & Bee, -Butcher & Bee.
- Yeah. - So, it's a honey and meat place?
[chuckling] Yeah, well, it's kind of an Israeli spot.
- Mediterranean. - Just what I was gonna say.
It sounded Mediterranean...
Welcome back. Triple D hanging out in Nashville
at the Redheaded Stranger.
Probably one of the best names.
Everything is the way you wanna do it,
- how you do it, when you do it. - Yep.
Bryan just has so much creative energy in his recipes.
And that pork green chile crunchwrap.
The pork green chile crunchwrap is my favorite.
It's got this crispy cheese on the top,
all of, like, the soft, cheesy green chile flavors in the inside.
- What's up next? - We're gonna get our pork ready,
put it in the smoker for our pork green chile.
[Guy] Okay. Give it a nice
-crosshatch on there. Salt and black pepper. -Yep.
[Guy] How long is this gonna go on for?
[Bryan] For about twelve hours.
It's gonna get shredded and seasoned with our habanero vinegar.
- [Guy] What's up next? - Dreamweaver hot sauce.
My last name's Weaver and that was my nickname
- when I was a line cook. - Let's see it, Dreamweaver.
[Bryan] Start with some oil, some onions.
We're just gonna sweat these out.
- Where were you last night? - [Bryan chuckles]
- Oh, different. - [Bryan] Shredded carrots.
- Fermented habaneros. - Yeah.
[Bryan] Deglaze with the lime juice.
Rice wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar,
diced tomato, curry powder.
- Kitchen sink. - [Bryan chuckling]
[Bryan] Black pepper, mace.
All right. Slow your roll here, pal.
[Guy] I mean, the curry powder's one thing...
- Mace? - Yeah, we need more heat than the habaneros, you know?
- Ground allspice, sugar. - He's showing off.
[Bryan] Dijon mustard and garlic confit.
That one right there is weird.
[Bryan] We're gonna let it simmer for about an hour
- and then we're gonna blend it up. - You have issues.
[Bryan] Now we're gonna make our pork green chile.
Start with a little oil and onions.
Boy, you love to dice your onions around here.
Are we doing this all by hand
or are we food-processing any of this?
Nope, no processors. Just all by hand.
Minced garlic, some roux that we already made.
And then we're just gonna let that cook for just a sec,
add our chicken stock, hatch green chilies, diced tomato.
- [Guy] Tomatillo sauce? - [Bryan] Yep.
Lime juice and this is the shredded seasoned pork.
And we just finish it with some salt.
Cook that. It takes about an hour.
All right. Now we're gonna build
the pork green chile crunchwrap.
We have our house-made flour tortilla,
got some of our whipped feta,
our queso, refried beans,
crispy rice. That's the crunch.
I like that crunch.
Pico de gallo, pork green chile
and then the Dreamweaver hot sauce. Fold it up.
I knew he was gonna do it in that fashion.
[Bryan] Put our Jack cheese on here,
- and let that crisp up. - [Guy] Give it a skirt.
Now we're just gonna flip it over. About a minute on the second side.
Yeah, I don't see at all why this is such a big hit.
That cheese skirt is the kicker.
[Guy whistles]
I always like to add a little bit more of the Dreamweaver.
That crunch is addicting inside of that.
Great flavors. It's creamy.
You definitely get the green chile.
Love the fried cheese on the outside.
The crunch hands down is
the biggest surprise inside of it.
And I think that and the feta.
- Delicious, buddy. - Thank you.
Two green chile crunchwraps coming up.
The crunchwrap is super dank. Love the crunch of it.
The pork is unctuous and authentic-tasting.
[woman] It's hot. It's sweet.
It's tangy. It's, like, perfect.
[Bryan] One burrito going down.
Amongst the great food, amongst the amazing drinks,
amongst the beautiful decor, it's them.
And that's what makes you wanna come back.
You're definitely cheffing this entire experience.
You're taking things that everybody knows
and experiences and understands,
but you're just kind of pushing it a little bit more.
- Like, putting cheese on the outside of all the tacos. - [Bryan] Yeah.
[Guy] Bringing feta in Tex-Mex food.
[Bryan] Basically take all the foods from when I was a kid
and just elevate it a little bit.
- [Guy] So, you're cheffing your childhood. - Yeah.
- Keep up the good work, my friend. Congrats. - Thank you, Guy.
[Guy] Coming up, a Venezuelan spot in Daytona Beach, Florida...
- [whistles] - Putting out authentic arepas...
- Awesome. - And piling things up with plantains.
It's an enormous dish, but delicious.
So, on Triple D, it's all about the food,
the story and the characters.
And, man, did these characters have a story.
We're here in Daytona Beach, Florida,
where a husband and wife from Venezuela
move to the United States for a better life
and they become...
janitors.
They're janitors until they realize
that the world needs more Venezuelan food.
This is Arepita Beach.
We are ready with the plantains.
This is as authentic as it gets when it comes to Venezuelan food.
Jet Ski Tostones VIP.
- You guys ever had food like this? Have you ever had... - I've never.
[Guy] That's because Daytona Beach
isn't exactly overflowing with Venezuelan joints.
So, Cesar Altamar and his wife Yelis
started schooling folks about their country's cuisine.
- Had you opened a restaurant before? - No.
- First one? - It's the first time.
[Cesar speaking]
Here's your order. Patacon beef.
I really like patacon. That is the sweet plantain.
And then you get the shredded beef, the cabbage,
tomatoes and the garlic sauce
and then another plantain on top.
- Start it off. - Okay, we have the beef.
We put in the hot water.
- Peppers, onions. - [Guy] And a little salt.
- [Guy] Very simple cooking process. - [Cesar] Yeah.
- How long is that gonna take? - Around two hours.
- [Guy] Till we can shred it. - [Cesar] Mmm-hmm.
- Okay, next. - And oil.
- The onions, green peppers, sweet peppers and tomatoes. - [Guy] Okay.
When this is fried we put the shredded beef, salt.
- [Guy in Spanish] - Peppers.
[Cesar speaking]
[Cesar] Soy sauce.
- A lot of soy sauce in Venezuelan food? - Mmm-hmm.
- [Cesar] Garlic. - Last but not least, the stock from when we cooked the beef.
[Guy] And how long does this cook, chef?
Ten minutes. More annatto.
It's important for get the right color.
- [Guy] What do we make next? - The garlic sauce.
Mayonnaise, onions,
- the most important... - [Guy] The garlic.
Cilantro, water,
- salt, oil. - And mustard.
We have the garlic sauce.
- Next the plantains? - The sweet plantains.
- The patacon. - The patacon.
You cut the top and bottom.
Try to make three slits. Peel.
Then we fry it.
Flatten
- To the fryer. - [Guy] And how long?
[Guy] Okay, chef.
We start with the garlic sauce,
- shredded beef. - [Guy] Big.
[Cesar] Cabbage, more garlic sauce, tomatoes.
- And ham. - Yeah, ham.
Didn't see the ham coming.
- [Guy] What kind of cheese? - [Cesar speaking]
And this is a soft Venezuelan cheese.
- The whole thing? - The whole thing, yeah.
[Cesar] It's a big plate. You wanna try?
- No! I wanna invite my friends over. - [Cesar laughing]
I've had a lot of unique foods.
There is nothing...
that will prepare you for that.
The sweetness of the plantains is the first thing you'll get.
You get the richness and the creaminess of the cheese.
The beef is delicious.
It's got a little acid.
It's got a little bit of garlic.
Just the tanginess that you love of it.
The garlic sauce is...
awesome.
It sings all the way through.
It's an enormous dish, but delicious.
Patacon beef. Table number six.
Balancing the flavors because of the sweet and the salt, it's good.
I feel like I could just smack these two on top of each other
and eat it like a sandwich.
- [Guy] Go right ahead! - [woman laughing]
This is my buddy Tom and his family.
- [Guy] What do you think? - It's so good. I love it.
- I kind of took it from her. - We were fighting over this actually.
- I think it's enough for the whole family to enjoy. - [woman laughing]
- This is pretty unique. - [Guy] Just like Cesar's background.
You're an attorney. What kind?
- Criminal law. - Criminal. What did you do
- when you first came to the United States? - We cleaned.
- You left a very educated position... - Yeah.
In Venezuela, came to United States
and got a job doing janitorial
- just for a better life. - Yes, for a better life.
[Guy whistles]
Getting here and getting to eat food from your hometown is really special.
We always feel at home when we come over here.
- You know, arepas are awesome. - And this one...
Reina pepiada. Table number four.
I really love the combination of the chicken, the avocado, the mayo.
So, kind of like a cold chicken salad,
but right in the warm arepa.
Time to make the arepa.
[Cesar speaking]
- Water... - [Guy] Got get the moisture content right on this.
- Or just pour all the water in. - [Cesar] And salt.
Let this set for five minutes.
[Cesar] Make a ball. We use a press.
And then we'll go to the flat top, get a nice crunchy exterior,
but the steam of that will cook the masa all the way through.
Okay, what are we gonna make next?
[Cesar] Chicken breast. Put in the water,
onions and salt.
- Cooked, let it cool, then shred it. - [Cesar] Then shred it.
[Cesar] Avocado...
The shredded chicken that cooked with the salt and the onions. Got it.
[Cesar] Mayo...
- garlic, onion and cilantro. - Okay.
[Cesar] Salt, black pepper...
- [Cesar] Chicken salad all ready. Okay. - [Guy] Okay.
We take the arepa, split, fill with that chicken salad.
If you wanna use fork,
but the real arepa is with the hand.
- It's with the hand. - It's eating with your hand and your face.
- I was gonna eat with my foot, but... - [Cesar chuckles]
You get the avocado working as the mayonnaise
'cause it's nice and creamy and silky.
But it's the arepa...
So, it's tender on the inside and crunchy and chewy on the outside.
Warm arepa, cool chicken salad.
Nice contrast to the two of them. Great job.
Reina pepiada.
The arepa is so delicious. You can taste all the flavors.
- Good? - Delicious.
Teque Beach. Table number two.
I gotta imagine that people, especially people from Venezuela,
when they see arepita, they're like, "Wait a second."
- Perfect for the beach. - Perfect for the beach.
- Thank you, chef. - [Cesar] You're welcome.
So, that's it for this trip.
But don't worry, there's plenty more triple D joints all over the country.
I'll be looking for you next week.
On Diners, Drive-ins, And Dives.
I like seafood. I like a lot of it.
I get a little fin-icky...
What was your favorite movie?
One of mine was...
Fin-ler on the Roof.
And of course you've read...
[both] Huckleberry Fin.