Guy Fieri — also known as the Mayor of Flavortown — knows a thing or two about what makes
for a good bite of food. During his time with Food Network, he's ventured into some pretty
strange culinary territory. Sure, these foods may seem a bit weird, but they also happen
to look really, really good.
Naturally, a guy like Fieri is no stranger to the beloved grilled cheese sandwich. But
he apparently wanted to step out of his grilled cheese comfort zone and try a new spin on
the already-incredible item, so he gave Herm's Inn a visit. Located in Logan, Utah, this
place was a huge hit with the locals, so the host knew right off the bat they were doing
something right.
When Fieri's spidey senses start tingling you know he's in for something special, and
it came in the form of the restaurant's Inside Out Grilled Cheese.
"Everybody tuning in at home, this is the weirdest grilled cheese we've ever seen on
Triple D."
Instead of simply putting the cheese between two slices of toasted bread, both sides of
the bread received a handful of shredded cheese. The shreds on the outside of the bread crisped
up for a crunchy top and bottom layer. Then guacamole, black beans, and Sriracha were
spooned on top of the gooey middle cheese. There was only one thing left to do — take
a bite and smile.
Most restaurants tend to have similar options for burger toppings on their menus. But if
you saw peanut butter on that list, you might think it was a little too weird. Sure enough,
a spot called Sabores International Cuisine in Logan, Utah, thought differently.
The Mexican-born head chef at Sabores knows his way around food. Not only did he run kitchens
in his home country, but he even cooked for President Ronald Reagan. His resume is rock
solid, which is why the addition of peanut butter on his burger means customers should
trust that this unconventional pairing actually works.
The burger is pretty much a basic bacon cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, onions, and spicy mayonnaise.
But the peanut butter adds a new level of nutty goodness that Fieri claims is similar
to a Thai peanut dipping sauce. Next time you grill burgers, maybe add peanut butter
to the collection of table condiments.
At Seither's Seafood, the people in the kitchen are particularly talented at stacking food
— especially seafood. And, when Fieri arrived with his appetite growling, they were prepared
to blow him away with their Seafood Totem Pole.
The vibrant spray-painted artwork that adorns the outside of Seither's lets you know you're
in for a groovy time when you enter. The head chef, Jason Seither, grew up in the Louisiana
Bayou, and he brings all of that authentic Cajun flavor to many of his dishes. And nothing
says Cajun cooking quite like his famous totem pole of culinary magnificence.
The base of the structure is two scoops of housemade crab stuffing with a fat puck of
golden fried eggplant sandwiched between them. Then an entire soft shell crab sits atop that
before it all gets a thorough ladling of cream sauce. To ensure the pole remains in place,
a shrimp skewer is thrust into the top. Another ladle of sauce is added, as well as a downpour
of grated parmesan cheese.
If you find yourself in Reno, Nevada, you should do your appetite — and curiosity
— a huge favor and head to Full Belly Deli where you can find chicken done differently.
Here, customers rave about the poultry that's baked in a crunchy coating of nacho cheese
chips — so Fieri just had to dabble.
Aside from the unique way of baking the chicken, the sandwich itself is pretty standard, although
the bread has jalapeños and toasted cheddar baked into it. Romaine lettuce, heirloom tomatoes,
pickles, and spicy Southwest sauce already set you on course for a good time, but once
that breaded chicken is sliced and gently laid onto the bun, everything changes.
It seems like the nacho cheese chips don't exactly take a front seat to the other ingredients,
but the intense crunch they offer gives the sandwich that extra something.
When the Mayor of Flavortown stepped into Dr. Field Goods Kitchen, even he wasn't prepared
for the goliath portion of bacon they were ready to hack away at.
Head Chef Josh Gerwin wanted to do something different when it came to his menu, and he
knew bacon would play a role. But bacon doesn't just play a role on one of his burgers — it's
the entire performance. He smokes a massive slab of bacon with applewood for six hours
to ensure every inch is tender. Then he grinds up the finished product and molds it into
patties.
That's right, the entire burger is bacon, not just a few strips on top. Heirloom tomatoes,
organic greens, and mayonnaise are all it needs after that — the chef doesn't want
anything standing in the way of the rich patty flavor. Like any great performance, it's worthy
of a standing ovation afterward.
"This is what everybody wants a BLT to be like."
Fieri is a guy who loves to get down and dirty with his food, so he had to try the tacos
from Extra Virgin when he was in Kansas City, Missouri. But these weren't normal tacos.
These things were stuffed with duck tongues.
Michael Smith, head chef at Extra Virgin, took a risk when he put duck tongue tacos
on the menu, but alas, the endeavor proved more than fruitful. If customers saw the raw
tongues before they were cooked, they might think twice about indulging.
"There's a bone in it… yeah a little cartilage bone, it's about an inch long."
But that's why the magic of the kitchen stays in the kitchen.
Once the tongues cook for a few hours in a mixture of spices, they look just like any
other pulled meat. The tacos are stuffed with the duck, then topped with pickled onions
and queso fresco. Pretty simple, yet so unique.
Crab cakes are amazing on their own, and they work wonders in a sandwich as well. You know
where else those crab cakes work? Smack dab in the middle of a grilled cheese. That's
why Fieri visited the Grilled Cheese & Crab Cake Company in New Jersey.
Fieri watches in awe as Head Chef Steve Novak adds a plethora of ingredients in a big tub
that eventually becomes the jumbo lump crab meat's binding agent. Once the binding agent
is mixed and the crab meat is dumped in, the whole tub is placed in a fridge to solidify.
Then, it's off to the races. A heaping scoop of the mixture is flattened on the grill while
two fluffy pieces of toast are layered with Monterey Jack cheese and tomatoes.
In no time at all, the patty joins the party and viola! According to Fieri, the crab cake
is "a little bit creamier than most people expect" — but that's not a bad thing.
Ever get one of those cravings that only a cheeseburger or fried rice can fix? If you're
fortunate enough to live near Red's Chinese in New Orleans, Louisiana, you can pay one
price for both. And this was something Fieri had to see himself: Cheeseburger Fried Rice.
The very first ingredient Chef Maxwell Darling shows Fieri how to make is a creamy condiment
called Awesome Sauce. Right there you know this dish is a winner. The chef then fires
up a wok and throws in onions, ground beef, and white rice. Then he throws in lettuce
and tomato — this is cheeseburger fried rice after all.
Once the wok work is finished, the whole thing is dumped onto a large plate and topped with
nacho cheese sauce, yellow mustard, sesame seeds, pickle chips, and a hefty drizzle of
Awesome Sauce. Fieri attacked it with chopsticks in hand, and he seemed more than pleased with
the final result.
"I can see why it's such a big hit. Spot on."
Biscuits with gravy is just one example of the perfect comfort meal. Well, Full Belly
Deli in Reno, Nevada — the place famous for their Nacho Cheese-Chip Coated chicken
sandwich — hit another home run with their twist on that gravy-drenched comfort food.
Except they choose to ditch a fork and a knife and go burrito style — and it works.
It's ingenious to put biscuits and gravy in a warm tortilla — why more places aren't
doing it? The biscuits at Full Belly Deli are made from scratch and they pull apart
like golden tissue paper. Once their signature chorizo gravy thickens and cooks, the epic
construction begins.
A dinner-plate-sized tortilla is layered with two pieces of American cheese, crunchy hash
browns, and biscuit slices. Then, a massive ladle of gravy arrives and hugs the whole
structure. A dextrous tortilla rollup is essential, and the end result is a massive gooey burrito.
It's handheld comfort food at its finest.
Even people who don't eat potatoes will probably cave when faced with a basket of fresh tater
tots. Well, Fieri found perhaps one of the richest tater tot dishes imaginable at a place
called Belly and Snout in Los Angeles, California.
Oxtail was what Fieri was working with at Belly and Snout with their version of a loaded
tot. Chef Warren Almeda prides himself on offering a combination of Filipino, Mexican,
and American culture in the style of fast food. Oxtail was an important dish for the
chef growing up, so it harkens back to his youth. He braises the oxtails in a blend of
spices to create a decadent chili that's tasty enough on its own. When used as the dressing
over a freshly fried tater tot salad, though, it's legendary. And not surprisingly, the
Mayor agreed.
"You're doing something nobody's touching.”
“Thank you.”
“Excellent."
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