I'm Guy Fieri, and we're rolling out,
looking for America's greatest Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
-This trip... -Oh!
-...we've got Thai... -I like that.
-Pie... -Oh, my gosh. That's flaky.
[Guy Fieri] ...and some phenomenal fries.
-So, you like it? -Oh, no. I love it.
That means Asian surf and turf in San Diego...
That's no joke, right there.
...and a New Zealand specialty in New Mexico.
Let's see it, sister.
Along with some heavyweight comfort...
-[bell dings] -I think you nailed it.
...punching up the plates.
-There you go. -Flavortown.
-Magic. [chuckles] -Flavortown, baby.
That's all right here, right now,
on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
[opening theme music playing]
So, I'm here in Arroyo Seco, New Mexico,
which is right between Taos and Taos Ski Valley.
This little town's got this cool restaurant.
It's been here for about 10 years,
and it's had three owners.
The most recent owner actually started in the restaurant as a line cook.
Oh, he's got a big imagination,
a great palate,
and an exciting menu,
and I hear he's a member of Flavortown.
This is Aceq.
Lamb lollies. Bison gumbo.
This is a local gem.
[Elijah Safford] Firing chicken.
You could have a comfort food, but with a adventurous flair.
And the amount of specials that they rotate in...
The sky's the limit.
[Guy] And it's Chef Elijah Safford...
Bison bone marrow, sold.
-[Guy] ...knocking out the menu. -[bell dings]
Love the boxing bell. What does the name mean?
So, Aceq is short for acequia.
That's the local term for waterways used to irrigate fields.
I'm the third owner of Aceq.
[Guy] Which he took over when he was just 21.
-How old are you now, 22? -I'm 23.
Well done, my friend.
Walk me through what we're making tonight.
Bison red chili fries, kind of poutine-esque.
Bison red chili fries, super, super good.
The bison is really tender.
They're gooey, [laughs] in a good way.
[Elijah] First, I like to grill the fat of the bison short ribs
before we braise it.
It's a little salt and pepper mix.
[Guy] Grill both sides, cool them off.
We're making the braising liquid now, or what's the story?
[Elijah] Yep, take my onions, I do a little saute on them,
letting these sweet onions express themselves.
How do you feel about yourself in that swimsuit?
-The onions, I was talking to. -Calabrian peppers, vinegar,
a little bit of sugar here, Chimayo red chile,
-chipotle and adobo salts. -[Guy] Right.
[Elijah] Dried ancho.
-[Guy] Beef base... -Blend this down. Crank it.
-Then we just pour this over our bison. -Gorgeous.
[Elijah] We do our little garnish,
really just adds some good acidity and...
-[Guy] Same thing with the white onion? -Yep, do a little bay leaf.
-[both] Parsley. -[Guy] Cover this.
All right, let's get that in the oven. How long?
-[Elijah] 4 hours at 300. -[Guy] Great.
There we have our braised short ribs.
Pop that little bone out.
Make sure that this little fat cap doesn't make it in there.
Does this get used for anything else?
[Elijah] Uh, yeah, all the employees eat it.
[guffaws] That's what I love to hear.
Break that down.
[Guy] Love that chile.
Little smokiness to it, tender.
It's cooking it with the bone and the fat.
[Elijah] I want them to be the best fries ever.
Short ribs are done. Let's get into this.
-Red chile gravy. -Red chile gravy.
-[Elijah] Yes, sir. -[Guy] I like it.
[Elijah] I'm gonna start off with the roux.
Oil, gluten-free flour.
We get it pretty nice and dark.
White onion, dried Chimayo,
dried ancho chiles, chipotle and adobo.
-[Guy] Apple cider vinegar? -[Elijah] Yeah.
And sugar, Maldon salt,
Calabrian peppers,
local red chiles,
bay leaves.
-Beef stock and water. -Beef stock. Yes, sir.
This simmers for a good 20 minutes,
and then we hit it with the immersion blender.
[Guy] So, what's the next step after this?
It just comes down to fries.
We have our shoestrings here.
I'll get that one.
Salt, of course. Put it right here in my pan.
So, I have my cheese curds here.
-Then, this goes in the oven. -[Guy] Gotcha.
[Elijah] Now that our cheese curds are nice and cheesy,
red chile gravy that we just made.
Local bison, all grass-fed.
Parsley, and let that hit the table.
[Guy] How dangerous.
I'm a big shoestring guy. I want the crunch.
The braise on the short rib is delicious,
and the shred's great.
The cheese curd is stretchy and squeaky.
Rich, roasted, smoky.
-So, you like it? -Oh, no. I love it.
[Elijah] Cheese curding on bison chili fry.
[diner 1] The cheese curds are great.
The red chile's spot-on.
The bison was very moist. It was shredding.
[diner 2] I've eaten a lot of fries in my life,
and these are the absolute best fries I've ever had.
It's delicious every time.
[Elijah] Chicken sando, sold.
[diner 1] The food is art.
A lot of artists, they come here.
It just blends in really well
when you come up to Taos
and then you come up to this little town,
there's art in the scenery.
It's all very beautiful.
Round one. I'm gonna go ring the bell.
When we get back, we're getting into what?
[Elijah] Stuffed portabello mushroom, risotto, all the good stuff.
You should try the mushrooms here. It's fantastic.
Going big. See you in a bit.
[Guy] Welcome back, Triple D, hanging out in Arroyo Seco,
-which is right between Taos and... -[Elijah] Taos Ski Valley.
[Guy] You got some restaurants.
You got some art galleries. But it's a tiny place.
-Blink, and you'll drive through it. -Yep.
23 years old. You're the third owner.
-[Elijah] Yes, sir. -And now, you're doing things your way.
Salmon pasta in the window. Let's get it out.
How much he's done for this community and this restaurant
at such a young age is just mind-blowing.
[diner 1] What he decides to do with his food
is really amazing and unique for this area.
I have our stuffed portabello.
I had the stuffed portabello. It was wonderful.
[diner 2] The mushroom with the risotto and the beets,
the red chile on it, oh, my goodness.
What are we into now, chef?
[Elijah] Our risotto for our stuffed portabello mushroom.
I start off by adding blend oil to my pan.
-Two big guys in a little kitchen. -I know.
-Lot of snuggling. -I'm not hating it.
Some rice, short grain.
Did you toast this ahead of time?
[Elijah] Yeah, without the oil.
We do a little white wine,
and I personally like a chardonnay.
-[Guy] Making a small portion. -Just for you.
Chicken stock, let that cook down
till we get to the correct texture of the rice.
-Got it. -Then we add the rest of our flavor.
Vinegar, salt, sugar, cayenne pepper.
We give it a good stir.
-Manchego cheese. -I knew a man from Manchego.
Just sounded cool.
[Elijah] Then, we got our cream.
So we have definitely departed from traditional risotto at this point, folks.
[Elijah] Let that cheese melt down.
-[Guy] Mount it with butter? -[Elijah] Yes, sir.
Next up, we'll work with the portabello.
[Elijah] So, this here is gonna be our marinade for the mushrooms.
Remove the little stems.
-[both] Blended oil. -[Elijah] Pour that over, nice and easy.
-Balsamic vinegar... -[Guy] Okay.
We don't let them marinade more than four hours, and then we grill.
[Guy] Now, what are we into?
Came up with this seasoning mix that I throw on everything.
Ironically, we started calling it Flavortown.
-I know, crazy. -He's a resident.
-Oh, tourist. [laughs] -[Guy] Give it to me, buddy.
-As the mayor, I acknowledge this. Hear ye. -[chuckles]
[Elijah] So we start off here with our Chimayo red chile,
onion powder, cracked pepper,
garlic powder, "gar pow."
-"Gar pow." -Dried oregano.
-That's his Flavortown gang name. -[Elijah] Smokey pap.
-I'm Gar Pow. -I'm Smokey Pap!
Smokey Pap, Gar Pow!
-And this is Flavortown magic. -Yeah!
[all laughing]
That Chimayo pepper, delicious.
-Yeah. -Not salted, that should be bottled.
-There you go. -[chuckles] Flavortown.
-Magic. [chuckles] -Flavortown, baby.
We're gonna put this on our beef for our mushrooms.
You're using as much local as you can.
Oh, yeah, especially when it comes to meat.
And I like to use a 90-10, uh, a little bit leaner,
and I do a coarse ground.
Get some blend oil nice and hot.
Drop my beef in there.
Oregano, salt, pepper.
[Guy] Surprised you're not a fresh ground black pepper guy.
-We're gonna have a little talk. -I know.
-That could be a ticket, Flavortown police. -[laughs]
A little Flavortown, just like that.
Let this cook down just for a little bit.
[Guy] Building some texture and flavor.
This, here, is gonna be the root veg for the base of our portabello.
Truffle salt adds a good little mix.
I do a little Flavortown, of course.
-[Guy] There you go. -Throw that on our plate.
Portabello, our risotto, ground beef.
What an interesting concoction.
[Elijah] Our red chile gravy,
garnished with our sprig of rosemary.
-We torch it. -[Guy] The perfuming of this, that's sexy.
That's kinda like a, uh earthy Christmas candle.
[Elijah] Yes, sir.
Were you trying to make a really good dish?
And unique, pushing people out of their comfort zone.
-I think you nailed it. -[chuckles] Yeah?
[chuckles] I think you nailed it, buddy.
You got a lot of layers of a lot of flavors.
This has got a nice highlight of New Mexico
and local ingredients.
Craziest thing is throwing in this rosemary.
It was nice just to get the olfactory of the rosemary
but not have to enjoy it in the dish.
Once people try it, they're hooked.
[Guy] That's what I was just gonna say.
That's how you do a portabello, folks.
[Elijah] We're garnishing portabello.
It's creamy, kinda earthy with the root vegetables.
The beef on top is really great.
It's a really nice dish.
[Elijah] Cold vermicelli noodle bowl in the window.
[diner] You feel like family when you walk in.
You never feel like a stranger.
Even if you're strange, you won't feel like a stranger?
-Correct, yeah. -Huh.
-[laughs] -My kind of place.
This is the place I bring all my friends.
[Guy] You have the heart and the enthusiasm
and the energy and the passion,
and I gotta tell you, I'm just so proud of you.
23 years old, you're probably the youngest chef-owner
we've ever had on Triple D.
Watch out for this guy, huh?
-Well done. Thank you, chef. -[Elijah] Thank you.
[Guy] Up next, a New Mexico food truck
serving New Zealand flavors.
I have no idea what's going on right now.
Taking savory meats...
I can see why my dad loves this job so much.
[Guy chuckles] ...and backing them into pies.
-That's beautiful. -Isn't it?
You might wanna cut it with the knife as you get in there.
So, I was just gonna do it like this.
[crew laughing]
-That was a fun drive, huh? -Exactly.
Out of Taos on Highway 150.
-Going to Taos Ski Valley, can't beat it. -[Hunter Fieri] Right?
I have no idea where we're at now, though.
[Guy] It's called Arroyo Seco, little village.
But we're here to check out a food truck
where a chef from New Zealand is making pies.
-You don't even like pie. -I know, but it's not that kind of pie.
It's a savory pie.
-Like a pot pie. -Like a pot pie.
It's a little hot, don't you think?
Yeah, I hear it doesn't matter what time of year.
You've gotta check it out. This is Aly's.
-Hi! [chuckles] -[diner 1] I love Aly's.
It's a great place to eat.
-Can I have the lamb, please? -They can't keep me away.
Sausage roll here.
[diner 2] Taos has a lot of New Mexican food.
But we sometimes feel that we lack the international food.
-[Guy] But now, they've got Aly Hyder... -Beef bourguignon.
[Guy] ...who's bringing her native New Zealand pies
to New Mexico.
How do you differentiate
between a blueberry pie and a meat pie?
We wouldn't really normally do a blueberry pie.
All pies are savory in New Zealand?
Pretty much.
Here's your mince and cheese.
[diner 3] I guess in New Zealand, you know,
people have pies like what we would have
as a cheeseburger here.
Instead of having a bun, you got a nice, flaky crust.
-Does everybody get the same crust? -Yes.
So, we're gonna put the butter...
[Guy] That is some yellow butter.
This is New Zealand butter.
...and the flour together,
and this is gonna make a butter mix
to put into the dough
so that we can roll and roll.
What is he doing?
I brought my kid with me.
He's out there watching the car,
'cause we're not parked in the best spot.
[Aly Hyder] And we're gonna make the pastry.
-[Guy] Flour. -[Aly] Salt.
-[Guy] More butter. -[Aly] And some water.
We're there.
We're gonna cut it, roll it.
This is where my mix is gonna go.
Put the butter in the middle.
I have no idea what's going on right now.
[Aly] Luckily, I do.
[laughs boisterously]
Okay, so now, we roll this out.
Now we're gonna fold it again.
So, this is essentially the lacquering that you do
when you're making a croissant,
folding that butter between the layers.
And when this cooks,
that will create the puff.
-Now, we start to make the filling. -[Aly] Right.
So, what are we gonna make first?
[Aly] Mince and cheese.
Love the mince pies.
She uses bison.
It reminds you of a hearty beef stew.
We're gonna make the stock.
So, I've roasted beef bones and some chuck.
[Guy] Celery, onions...
[Aly] Carrots, garlic, and water.
[Guy] How long is this gonna come together?
Three to four hours.
-We're making slaw? -Yes.
Mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar,
a little sugar, dry mustard.
Really precise measurements you're doing.
[Aly] Absolutely. Cabbages, carrots.
-[Guy] And apple. -[Aly] Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds.
[Guy] Hit the dressing on it.
-And does every meat pie get a side of slaw? -[Aly] Yes.
The key, the pumpkin seed.
-Good, huh? -Delicious.
So, this is the mince.
New Zealand butter, fresh garlic, onion.
[Guy] Now, the bison.
Tomato paste and a little pepper.
-Soy sauce, a little mustard. -[Guy] And some...
-Worcestershire sauce... -What is it called?
Worcestershire, Worcestershire... [chuckles]
My kid better be keeping an eye on my car.
Now, some flour to make the roux.
[Aly] Beef stock that we made, then our peas.
That's mince.
Let's see it, sister.
-[Aly] So, this is our pastry. -She has two different lids,
one for the top, one for the bottom.
Punch it to the ends, filling.
The New Zealand cheddar, the top...
Now, do you do different edges for different pies?
-No. -How do you mark them?
[Aly] A little symbol.
The mince and cheese, I just do a straight line across.
The chicken, I do a love heart.
What's the difference with just putting
[in New Zealand accent] a heart and a love heart?
It's a love heart.
-Is there a hate heart? -[chuckles] No!
Brush the top with egg.
Bake it at 375 for 25 minutes.
-There you go. Isn't it? -That's beautiful.
You get the subtleties of the beef
and the little pop of the pea
and a touch of the garlic.
It's great.
The fact that you can make the amount of layers
inside of this is unbelievable.
You've taken a lot of time to develop that crust,
and it's delicious.
All right, got some food for you guys.
The bison was very tender,
perfectly seasoned.
It reminded me, like, kind of how my grandmother used to cook a mincemeat pie.
Everything about it was awesome.
Hey, Dad, I'm sorry to interrupt.
Uh, we have a problem outside,
someone trying to tow the car.
Just tell them, just handle it.
I tried. He said he wants to talk to the "Triple D" guy.
-So... -Don't do anything without me.
We're making a chipotle chicken when I get back.
Go get 'em, Dad.
[Aly] Chicken chipotle.
Oh, my gosh. It's creamy and it has textures.
It has a great spice to it.
To be honest, there's nothing wrong with the car.
I'm sitting outside, and you guys are sitting here
talking and laughing, and it smells so good.
-So, I wanted to try. Can we cook together? -[Aly] Yeah.
-We're gonna make a chicken chipotle pie. -Ooh.
[Aly] Put a little oil, salt and pepper,
-and then we're going to roast it. -For how long?
375, 1 hour, 20 minutes.
-[Hunter] And we'll shred it? -[Aly] Yes.
-And now we're making the filling. -Okay.
Butter, garlic, onion,
celery, carrots, and now corn.
Flour, half-and-half, cream.
Add the chicken. Put some salt and pepper, some cheese.
Pretty much just like chicken pot pie right here, right?
-No. -I don't even know who said that.
No one even said that.
-This is chicken chipotle pie. -Chicken chipotle.
I'm gonna keep on adding some cream.
Right, you want that chicken pot pie to be really creamy, and...
[both laugh]
[Aly] Add diced chipotle.
-Now, we're going to assemble. -All right.
-So we go with our filling? -Top is another round.
When's this little, uh, love heart emblem coming on there?
-[Aly] That goes on the end. -And how long is this gonna cook?
-[Aly] 25 minutes at 375. -[Hunter] Wow.
This is a gorgeous looking chicken...
-Chipotle pie. -Pie.
-[Aly chuckles] -Hot.
A good amount of smoke from that chipotle.
All those vegetables are super tender.
And that pastry, oh, my gosh, that's flaky.
I can see why my dad loves this job so much.
[Guy] Okay, let's get ready to make some chipotle chicken pie.
It smells like chipotle.
I don't know what you're talking about.
Yeah, Mom? Okay, I'm coming.
[Guy] I got duped by my own kid.
That's a good chicken pot pie.
[Aly snickers]
[server] One chicken chipotle.
Being able to get texture in every single bite
was absolutely delicious.
-I like the flake of the crust. -Right, you can't beat that.
Says it right here.
"Good Food, Good Mood."
You are a good mood and you make great food.
But making this with my son...
I'll get him back.
Coming up, a taste of Asia in San Diego.
I can't get this bite in my mouth fast enough.
-Like righteous ribs... -You're dangerous.
...and fish you just wanna dive into.
You are going to lose your mind.
So, here in the East Village of San Diego,
about eight blocks from Downtown
and maybe five blocks from the water...
Now, this area has gone through a big transformation.
Lot of apartments being built,
and in there is a little Thai restaurant
where a brother and sister migrated from Thailand,
and they're serving up some family favorites.
This is Sovereign Thai Cuisine.
Fried chicken leg and beef fried rice.
My favorite place in town is Sovereign Thai.
[Eo Dejcomrunkul] Spicy beef soup.
It's not the run-of-the-mill Thai food.
They have more unique flavors.
[Guy] Which comes from the unique background
of brother-and-sister team Eo and Jumi.
I'm from Thailand, but my family is Chinese.
So you do primarily Thai,
-but anywhere around Southeast Asia? -[Eo] Yes.
We have rockfish ready.
The fish here, it just can't be beat.
[diner] It's a whole rockfish,
deep fried with the Thai flavors.
Cilantro and garlic, herbs...
The list goes on and on.
-Let's see it, chef. -Rockfish.
[Guy] Take the scales off.
That's Flavortown glitter right there, folks.
[Eo] Score it.
-[Guy] And what are we seasoning it with? -[Eo] Salt.
-No cornstarch, no flour, no nada? -No.
Wasn't the swimming that he thought he was gonna be doing.
What's the sauce gonna be?
[Guy] Really?
It's a little more floral.
[Eo] White sugar, salt...
Water, low heat.
-So it dissolves. -Yes.
-[Guy] Got it. -Into the mixing bowl, the sauce.
Spicy, a little bit sweet.
-Uh, smoky... -I like that.
-Mix that. -Why do they call you "Eo"?
-You cried that much? -Yes.
-Red onion in there, ginger. -[Guy] Okay, ginger.
-[Eo] Lemongrass. -[both] Cilantro.
Green onion, mint.
[Guy] This is the raw part of it
-that goes over the top. -[Eo] Yep.
One of the first things I ever cooked
with my buddy "The Cuban"
was Cuban-fried red snapper.
We just celebrated his 3-year anniversary of his passing.
We miss you, Cuban.
Of course, I'm doing fish on your anniversary.
Look at all that crunch-ification.
[Eo] And then, we put sauce on the fish.
Aw! I can't get this bite in my mouth fast enough.
Oh! Different kind of "Eo."
If you like a fried fish
with any type of salsa,
you are going to lose your mind.
You could put that on a piece of cardboard,
that sauce.
You could serve that on a napkin.
It's one of the freshest...
Texturally-engaging...
From the fried fish to the tender, moist fish underneath,
from the peanuts to the onions
to the thinly-sliced lemongrass,
to the bites of lime, the mint...
That's outrageous.
Whole fried rockfish.
It's crunchy, crispy, soft and moist.
And the sauce just pops.
-It's legit, right? -This is, like, off-the-hook.
-Amazing. -Hey, that's my, that's my line.
[laughs]
[Guy] He's doing some culinary techniques
that I don't know that I've ever seen in Thai food.
-It's just pure. -It's phenomenal.
We have a spare rib.
The ribs are totally awesome here.
[diner] I think they sous vide it for, like, 24 hours.
It literally cuts like butter.
Fried fish to spare ribs.
A spare rib cut into a St. Louis rib.
[Eo speaking]
-[Guy] Who taught you this recipe? -Myself.
Over and over, until...
-[Guy] Until it's perfect. -[Eo] Yeah.
-Now, the marinade? -[Eo] Fresh garlic.
-White peppercorn. -[Eo] Coconut sugar.
That's where you're gonna get the real concentrated flavor.
-[Eo] Oil, honey. -[Guy] And then oyster sauce.
That looks like an aquarium in Flavortown, huh?
Blend this up. How long does it marinade?
-[Eo] 24 hours. -[Guy] And how do we cook them?
You're dangerous.
That marinade is bananas.
Seal them, drop them in.
-[Eo] 145, 24 hours. -For 24 hours?
-Eo, you must be kidding. -[laughs]
All right, what are we making now?
-You say this is Laos style? -Yes.
-What makes it Laos? -Smoky flavor.
-We reuse guajillos. -[Guy] Guajillos?
Okay, so a Mexican chile.
[Eo speaking]
-So we're gonna toast those. -Yes.
-And the same with the onion. -[Eo] Yes.
And then, put into the food processor.
It's like The Wizard of Oz in there.
I gotta find that coconut sugar.
Regular sugar...
-[Eo speaking] -[Guy] Fish sauce.
[Guy] All right, so this gets done,
we take the ribs out,
-throw them on the grill and baste them. -[Eo] Yes.
And what else comes with the dish?
-Sugar, Sriracha. -Sriracha.
-[both] Sambal. -[Guy] Chopped garlic.
Once the sugar dissolves, we're done.
And now, we build the salad?
[Eo] Red cabbage, carrot, cilantro.
Mint, tomato.
-And just a little bit of the sauce. -[Eo] Yes.
[Guy] That is, like, a sauce machine.
[Eo speaking]
These ribs are so tender,
and the sauce fits it so well.
That's no joke right here.
You get that palate-refreshing from that herb salad.
-Outstanding. -Thank you.
-It's gonna be spare rib supreme. -Ooh.
First, you get kind of a little sweetness,
and then I got a little bit of heat
that came in on the back end.
Spicy enough, but not overwhelmingly spicy.
The meat falls right off the bones, just top notch.
-You gotta "Thai" it. -[laughing]
[diner] Every time you come to Sovereign Thai,
you leave with a smile that goes ear-to-ear.
This is, like, the best of the best.
-There's a new reason that your name is Eo. -[chuckles]
It's, "Eo, my gosh! You've got to be kidding me."
-Well done, chef. Thank you. -[Eo] Thank you.
That's it for this week, but don't you worry.
I'll be looking for more joints
all over this country.
I'll see you next week
on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives!
I eat a lot of raw food.
Raw food.
-Raw. [chuckles] Raw. -Raw.
-Raw.
I've just realized I can't say that word.