I'm at Penny Ann's Cafe at Salt Lake City, Utah,
taking on the PAC Stack Challenge.
I don't know how you're gonna do it, to be honest with you.
Me neither.
Good luck, buddy.
If I finish three and a half pounds of Heavenly Hot Cakes in under 30 minutes...
We had a couple families order it...
[Casey] Right, families.
...I'll win hot cake mix and syrup.
Let's go, Casey. Come on!
[woman] Salt Lake City, Casey!
So many pecans!
[crowd chanting] Cake, cake, cake...
[Casey] PAC Stack Challenge
I'm gonna send you packin'!
[crowd cheering]
[Casey] For years,
food's army has grown unchecked.
Bigger...
Wow!
...spicier...
Whoo!
...bolder.
What is that?
But a hero rises...
That's tremendous.
...ready to taste the nation most epic eats.
Uh...
I'm Casey Webb.
Yes!
Holding the banner of man, and armed with years of experience
in the restaurant industry.
[crowd chanting] Ca-sey, Ca-sey!
[Casey] I go into battle.
Bring out the steak!
Food, your days are numbered
It's gonna be a wild ride!
The mighty Casey has a taste for victory.
Whoo!
This is Man v. Food.
My new expedition has taken me to Salt Lake City, Utah,
for a totally bonkers burger a Hawaiian haven,
and a super sweet hot cake challenge.
Salt Lake City, don't be salty.
I'm here!
Lovers of winters cold and summer sun,
the 801 knows how it's done
Named after the great Salt Lake,
this capital city lies insid a mountain valley,
making it a year-round destination for outdoor fun
And after a long run on the slopes,
there's a special burger waiting to whet the appetite
Pastrami burgers are ubiquitous in Salt Lake City,
but when locals want the very best,
they come here to Lucky's Iron Door,
where they're serving a vas array of burger behemoths.
Salt Lake earned its crown as a burger town
by way of their classic pastrami burger.
A pastrami-topped patty popularized by Utah's Greek communities.
[man] You know, growing up in Utah, pastrami burgers are a thing
Like, they're... There's multiple places that do them well,
but this place does it over the top.
You've had pastrami burgers your whole life, is that safe to say?
-[customer 1] Sure. -[customer 2] Very safe to say.
A lot of 'em.
Tell me, have you been anywhere else in the country
that you had a pastrami burger?
No.
I'm not sure, not that I can recall...
Cause I don't think it's actually a thing outside of Utah.
I didn't realize it wasn't a thing outside of Utah.
[Casey] And at Lucky's, they surpass all tradition and go next level.
Taking regular burgers and blowing them out of the water
with big and bold flavors you've never seen before.
Like the al pastor burger with grilled pineapple,
or the spicy bear burger stuffed between two grilled cheeses.
You can always try something that's a new adventure.
That makes my mouth happy.
[Casey] Are you gonna finish that?
But die-hards know that the Reuben burger is boss,
an ultimate take on the Salt Lake staple,
topped with thinly-sliced hickory-smoked pastrami,
melted Swiss, sauerkraut, and house Thousand Island
sandwiched between a caraway-seeded rye bun.
-So it's a burger... -Yes.
...that has a Reuben on it.
It's like a whole experience.
The first time I tried it, it was there and it was gone.
-[Casey] Really? -And I was just covered in sauce.
I think it's the cheese and the dressing
and the kraut that bring ou all that extra flavor.
My mouth is actually watering.
[woman] Cheers.
[Casey] Time to witness this beat on meat magnum opu
-Hey, Rob! -How are ya?
-I'm doing great, man. -Good, good.
Thanks for having me.
-Lucky's Roadhouse. -Yes.
-Burgers... -Burgers, bacon, booze.
Why has it taken me so long to get here?
So, what is it about the pastrami burger?
[Rob] It's a Utah thing.
We wanted to elevate it a little bit, you know?
A little smoke on it, turn it into a Reuben burger.
Stop it.
We begin with a brine.
We're starting out with a little pink salt.
[Casey] We add regular salt sugar, garlic powder,
and Rob's house pickling spice.
There's some coriander, some mustard seed, and then some other things.
Basically, Rob's not gonna tell me what's in here at all.
We take out the brisket and pour out the brine.
So, I'm gonna cover this up, stick it in the fridge for...
7 to 14 days.
And then after that seventh day?
[laughing] God created pastrami.
There it is! Nice!
Once it's had a nice soak in the brine bath,
we rub on mustard as our binder.
Mustard is the... like, the greatest sticky substance for our seasoning,
'cause most of the flavor's gonna cook off it,
and it's not gonna overwhelm our meat.
And there's secret seasoning
[Rob] A little bit of toaste coriander, toasted mustard seeds,
and that's about as far as I'm gonna go with that.
-A lot of secrets here in Utah. -Lot of secrets.
Lot of secrets here in Utah.
We head out to the smoke she and pop our brisket in for nine hours at 250.
Rested and sliced, Rob lays down our pastrami
with a splash of beef jus for flavor,
a fresh chucked patty, and a caraway-seeded bun.
It's time our burger and Reuben become one.
And lucky for me, this town is big enough for the two of 'em.
There's a Reuben for ya.
There is a Reuben!
And there's a burger in there, too!
Got any last words? Any direction?
Don't burn your face.
[Casey] I love the richness and the tang of the sauerkraut.
It's the last part of the bite, and it comes shining through,
so you're definitely eatin' a Reuben at first.
Like, it's full-on Reuben.
And the pastrami is so tende the nuttiness of the cheese
the burger is perfectly cooked.
Great sear. Got that little bit of crunch to it.
The Thousand Island dressin is just the star of the show
All the flavors really come together.
It's, like, two of my favorite sandwiches all in one!
This burger has me feelin' lucky,
but a stack of hot cakes awaits.
-[crowd cheering] -It's just the biggest stack of pancakes I've ever seen.
PAC Stack Challenge, get ready to flip!
Whoo!
[Casey] I'm at Salt Lake Cit Utah, coming in hot for a hi stack of hot cakes.
But before I take on breakfast,
I'm gearing up for big island flavor.
With the highest percentage of Pacific Islanders in the continental U.S.,
it's no surprise that Utah has some great Hawaiian eats
And when that island craving hits, there's no better place than The Salty Pineapple.
Starting as a food truck in 2016,
this Hawaiian barbecue have serves up
the traditional Hawaiian plate lunch with a flavor-packed punch.
Using family recipes, owner Daysha Filipe
redefines what comfort food means to the Salt Lake community.
A lot of folks have never been exposed to island food or Polynesian-style food.
Here, it's pretty common.
We have a lot of Polynesian people here in Utah.
Because of that we have a lot of restaurants,
but Salty Pineapple has to b number one.
I like the flavor the most, just pops out...
-Right. -...compared to what I've had.
They put their spin on traditional food that you're used to.
We're in a very much of a tropical vibe,
but we're in Utah.
And it's actually snowing.
[woman] I think that's why Utahns love The Salty Pineapple,
because Utahns love Hawaii.
-Put a palm tree in front of the table, maybe? -Uh-huh.
[Casey] The plate lunch dates back to the 1880s,
where locals used white ric and mac sal to bulk up leftover meats.
But at The Salty Pineapple, you get choice of proteins
like Hawaiian barbecue with teriyaki, or surf and turf with coconut shrimp
[crunching]
-Can hear the crunch from here. -Mmm-hmm.
[Casey] Yep, your taste bud will be saying, "Mahalo."
Here, we can get choices of one protein, two or three,
so we choose all of it.
Delicious.
[Casey] But, for the best of both worlds,
real islanders know the sweet and salty plate is unmatched.
With classic white rice, Polynesian mac salad, savory kalua pork,
and Pop's sweet garlic chick topped with fresh pineapple
What is this?
[Casey] And you're the "Pop's?"
So it's the most popular and it's also named after you.
Is it sweet, is it spicy, is it salty?
[Casey] You can't tell me what it is now, can you?
Turn off the cameras, he's gonna tell me the secrets.
First bite, crunchy, then you get all the sweet flavoring to it.
Just, ooh!
I've heard enough. I'm hungry for Hawaiian.
-[Casey] Daysha! -Hi!
-[Casey] How are you? -Good, how are you?
-I'm doin' great. -Aloha to you.
Thank you for having me, this is so great. I'm so excited.
Well, I'm excited to put you to work!
I'm ready to work, I'm here to work, that's why I came here.
How did this all come to be?
Well, my grandparents opened a restaurant
about 20 years ago, um, just down the street.
I've pretty much worked ther since I could grab tongs.
-The cool thing is, you've stayed in the business. -Right.
[Casey] What are we making today?
So, today we're gonna make the island favorite,
sweet and salty plate.
So where do we start? I see banana leaves...
Yes. Our banana leaves, this is, like, crucial in kalua pork.
[Casey] Banana leaves are perfect for cooking,
because their pores allow the steam to pass through.
[Casey] We tie up our pork, and move to the oven for an eight hour steam.
Wow, look at that!
That's amazing!
-So we're just going to... -[Casey] Just unravel it!
Thank you.
So now we are going to take the bone out.
[Casey] It just falls right out.
It's so good!
There's more meats in this plate, though, isn't there?
Definitely.
So we are gonna make the Pop's sweet garlic chicken.
-That is my grandpa. -It's his recipe.
Right, it is.
The secret recipe is the sauce.
Are you gonna be able to tell me somewhat of that secret recipe?
-Some of it, yes. -Some of it, okay.
-I don't wanna get disowned. -No, no!
We double dredge cubed chicken breast for an extra crunch,
using secretly seasoned flou and buttermilk.
Now it's off to the fryer, and onto the sauce.
We're gonna make the Pop's sweet garlic sauce.
Awesome.
Daysha drops in shoyu soy sauce, sugar, minced garlic,
and her Pop's top secret sauce.
All right, so we need the sugars to break down
to make it more of a sauce so it can actually adhere to the chicken, is that right?
-Yes. -Okay.
Let the sugar floweth.
Our fried chicken gets coate in the sweet garlic sauce,
and it's time to plate our plate lunch.
So, with every Hawaiian-style plate we gotta start with the rice.
[Casey] We dress our rice with furikake,
a dry seasoning of seaweed, sesame seeds, and fish flake
On goes the mac salad, fresh pineapple,
and last but not least, Pop's sweet garlic chicken and our kalua pork.
Have it sitting in its juices
-so it's gotten a little more tender. -Wow, this...
The smells in here are silly.
The sweet and salty plate.
-Yeah. -It's family style all in one plate,
without you having to do all the work.
I love how crunchy it is, it's like the perfect balanc between sweet and savory.
Pork is so tender and smoky I love the flavor of the banana leaf,
just simply salted.
It's, like, really letting the pork do its job.
I want to start over with the sweet, then go to the salty.
There is like a figure eight of flavor here.
I've had my lunch plate, but now I'm ready for dessert.
Put those hot cakes down the hatch!
[crowd cheering]
PAC Stack Challenge, batter up!
Whoo, yeah!
[Casey] I'm in Salt Lake Cit at Penny Ann's Cafe for the PAC Stack Challenge
If I finish three and a hal pounds of sky-high hot cakes,
I get their specialty hot cake mix and syrup.
Look out, PAC Stack, 'cause the higher they climb, the harder they fall.
Owned and operated by the Willey family since 2011,
Penny Ann's Cafe is a Salt Lake institution,
bringing the best of East Coast diners to the West.
-Well, I'm from New York. -Oh, you are?
[man] And this is like a Ne York diner, when you can't beat New York diners.
Right, what is a diner about?
Family, great food, and usually more than you can eat.
Like you're coming home.
[Casey] Served with a smile and over-the-top flavor,
here, breakfast is way beyon two eggs and toast,
with specialties like the bacon and maple BAM waffle,
and the Penny Pot potatoes.
But everyone knows Penny Ann's true claim to fame
is the Heavenly Hot Cakes.
A cherished family recipe made with sour cream,
they're moist, fluffy, and flippin' fantastic.
The hot cakes are just heavenly. They are!
-[Casey] It says it up there. -[all chuckling]
[Casey] But I'm not here fo a short stack.
I'm here for the PAC Stack Challenge.
Ten towering hot cakes topped with caramel sauce,
candied pecans, and whipped cream,
weighing in at three and a half pounds.
I can put down easily, three.
But if I go after that, you know what I mean,
it's because I'm trying to impress him.
You wanna have one solution to make it happen?
-What's that? -You need to do the shake!
-[laughing] -[Casey] Shake it all down.
You're just a storage, you know what I mean? Compartmentalizing...
Compartmentalize my hot cakes.
[man 2] I don't know how you're gonna do it, to be honest with you.
Me neither.
What if I compress it?
-Is there actual... -[man 2] No.
-[Casey] There's a lot of bounce back. -That's a lot.
Good luck, buddy.
[woman] I think you just got go for it quick.
-Yeah, I shouldn't savor the sweet. -No.
-There's no time for that! -[woman 2] Down it.
-You only have 30 minutes! -[woman 2] Just down it.
[Casey] My fate awaits. Time to batter up.
-Warren! -Casey!
-How you doin'? -Good, how are you?
I'm doin' pretty good.
The PAC Stack Challenge.
[Warren] It's pretty much ou full stack and our short stack combined.
You're a cruel man, Warren.
So, how long do I have to finish it?
-30 minutes. -[Casey] You gonna help me?
No.
I've tried it once and got about halfway through.
If and when...
...I finish the challenge.
What do I get?
You get to take a bag of our hot cake mix home with you...
-[Casey] Wow. -[Warren] ...and some of ou real Vermont maple syrup.
But has anyone ever finished it?
No one's finished it yet.
We had a couple families order it and they finish it together, you know?
A little bit out of the caravan...
Mom, dad, couple kids.
So, let's make some hot cakes.
We begin with the batter.
Warren whisks eggs thoroughl and adds in their secret weapon,
sour cream.
A little bit more moist, not as dry.
[Casey] In goes kosher salt baking soda, sugar,
and their specialty hot cake flour.
And so this is all well-combined, and it's ready to go.
These are growing as we're talking about it.
[Warren] Leave 'em on, don't flip 'em too early.
You'll actually start to se bubbles come up in the middl
-Ten, huh? -Yes.
Ten.
It's never less than ten?
No.
[Casey] We flip.
Is there any way to cook out some of the weight?
-No. -Not really, no.
And pack on the PAC stack.
Here we go.
With a hefty drizzle of caramel,
you got a heavy hand, Warren.
You bartend?
[Warren chuckling]
Candied pecans and fresh whipped cream,
the hot cake tower has been topped.
[Warren] What do you think?
I think I'll call my mom.
[crowd cheering]
Casey, you have 30 minutes.
Are you ready for the hot cake challenge?
Are you guys ready?
I'm ready!
Bring on the hot cakes!
[all] Three... two... one...
-[all] Go! -[crowd cheering]
They're as fluffy and delicious as everyone said they were gonna be!
[all] PAC Stack! PAC Stack! PAC Stack!
[Casey] As promised, these hot cakes are heavenly
So good!
[all] Ca-sey! Ca-sey! Ca-sey!
[Casey] But I quickly learn there's no time to savor all this breakfast bliss.
That's a lot!
A lot to do.
He's gotta eat faster. Your brain won't figure out your stomach's full.
Just shove... Just shove it down.
[Casey] The food wall is approaching,
and these cakes are really rich and heavy.
Will I be able to bounce bac from this sinful stack?
[all] Attack that stack! Attack that stack! Attack that stack!
[Casey] I'm at Salt Lake Cit at Penny Ann's Cafe
battling the PAC Stack Challenge
in Casey to hot cake combat
You can do this, Casey! Come on!
[Casey] After racing to get the first half down,
the flapjack fatigue is starting to hit.
You're halfway there.
[Casey] Whoo!
You have 15 minutes. Take some deep, cleansing breaths.
-Yes. -Push it down.
-Deep cleansing breaths. -Deep cleansing breaths.
-[taking deep breaths] -There we go.
There we go.
[Casey] Cool, calm, and determined,
I keep going.
It's just the biggest stack of pancakes I've ever seen.
The hardest part is, like, yeah, it's all that sugar.
To when I think he's just gonna have to take some motivation from the crowd.
Do it for Salt Lake City, Casey!
Let's go, Casey! Come on!
-[crowd cheering] -You got this, yeah!
[Casey] The caramel is so sticky it's stopping me in my tracks.
Taking a friend's advice...
You only have one solution. You need to do the shake!
[Casey] I do my shake to help push the hot cakes down.
But with all these candied pecans,
a tired jaw still stands in my way.
[all] Ca-sey! Ca-sey!
So many pecans!
Time is ticking...
[crowd chanting] Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake!
[Casey] Yet, a short stack remains.
I need a miracle.
You got about five minutes left.
-Five minutes left! -You got five minutes.
Keep goin'.
[Casey] Just as I'm ready to throw in the towel,
the candied pecans kick in with a full-speed sugar rush
Go nuts, Casey!
He's down to the final hot cake.
One final push till the end.
Come on, Casey! You got this.
Put those hot cakes down the hatch!
[Casey] I tap into a supersonic trance...
[crowd chanting] Last bite! Last bite! Last bite! Last bite! Last bite!
[Casey] ...and claim victory
[all cheering]
Whoo!
I am... I am extremely impressed.
You crushed it and you still had a good 12 seconds left.
-Thank you so much! -You're welcome.
And I'm excited to say, in a battle of Man v. Food,
-Man won! -[all cheering]
[crowd chanting] Ca-sey! Ca-sey! Ca-sey!
I love you, Salt Lake City! Whoo!
[all] Whoo!