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.
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.
We're running the gamut...
Literally everything on the menu is a homerun.
...from barbecue...
They're smoked, then fried.
...to banh mi.
That's a real-deal sandwich.
It's rib tips and hot links in Los Angeles...
They're fun to eat.
That's delicious.
Mmm.
...jerk chicken and oxtail in Ohio...
Only Jamaican can do jerk chicken.
...and in Lansing, Michigan...
My heart is pumping.
...a barbecue...
I got a brisket banh mi.
...and Vietnamese mash up...
I've had a lot of Vietnamese food,
never had cola in it.
...gets a ringing endorsement.
Every single thing here is Flavortown.
[Guy] Familiar faces, new places
and more off-the-hook flavors.
This is Triple-D Nation.
So you're looking for a killer barbecue joint.
How do you find it?
Well, you read about it.
A friend could tell you about it.
You could watch some crazy show
about a dude driving all over the country, trying great food.
Or you could sniff it out.
That's why I drive a convertible.
And that's what's led me here, to Compton,
to check out some killer barbecue.
That was back in 2013.
And while the nose still knows,
the eyes tell a different story.
Because this barbecue spot,
that was once filling the Compton air
with their signature smoker smell,
has now spread the aroma all over LA
at Bludso's.
[server] Full rack of pork ribs.
Bludso's is so great because they serve the best barbecue.
[server] Brisket with baked beans and mac and cheese.
The barbecue is a good mix of California and Texas.
[server] Half a chicken, mac and cheese, collard greens.
Saw it on Triple D a few years back.
Kevin's got a big personality,
and it comes across in his food, for sure.
Are y'all enjoyin' the food?
[Guy] That's California native and pitmaster Kevin Bludso,
who learned everything he knows about barbecue
from his Texan grandmother.
Granny had a little small shack in Corsicana, Texas.
Every summer, my mother and father would send me down there.
Smoked ham ox, Granny's gravy on there.
What year was it? 2013?
'13, baby. Yeah.
Did you think this is where it was gonna end up?
[Kevin] You never know.
Do your barbecue, just don't do no bad barbecue.
[server] Slab of ribs, sauce on the side.
[woman] The ribs are good.
And it's just consistently good all the time.
[Guy] That's a good-looking rib.
To me, that's kind of like a pork skirt steak.
You're talking about fat and muscle, but huge flavor.
-So give me the rundown. -Okay.
Little brown sugar, white sugar,
seasoning salt,
-chili powder. -Chili powder.
-Granulated garlic, coarse black pepper. -[Guy] Okay.
Cumin.
-Cayenne pepper, oregano. -Okay.
-Granulated onion. -All right.
[Kevin] Gotta mix that up.
We're gonna rub it down.
You're gonna let it set up for 24 hours.
Twenty-four hours. In the cooler for 24 hours.
That's the way to go, man.
-What temperature are we runnin'? -250.
250 for how long?
[Kevin] About three and a half, four hours.
[Guy whistles]
I'll tell you what, this is a righteous rib.
All that flavor just coming out of that bone, onto that pork.
Man.
All this is your grandma's recipe?
All of it.
Give me two pounds of the LA rib tips for the Triple-D Nation.
[woman] I've had the ribs plenty of times,
but I also love them in rib tip form.
All right, walk me through. [stutters] What's new?
So this is our, uh, rib tip.
[Guy] Now, rib tips were a famous thing back in the day.
Yeah, still are.
They're smoked, then fried.
Then we sauce them up, just like a buffalo wing.
First, I like to just mustard them down, as a binder.
All we season these with is garlic salt
and coarse black pepper.
So we're about to put these in the smoker at about 250
with pecan.
They smoke for two hours.
We let our wood do all the work, you know, 'cause you want the smoke.
Now we've got our rib tips smoked.
We're about to cut 'em up and fry 'em up.
Put some of our home-made sauce on 'em.
Little hot sauce, little barbecue sauce,
a little garlic and a few other things.
Get a nice coat on 'em.
Order up.
Here's the thing I love about them.
I love my wings really well done.
I don't want them to be...
-fatty, and chewy and gooey. -Yeah.
I want them to have some crisp to 'em.
That's what's happening here.
You've smoked them, the flavor's going all the way through.
And then you're rehydrating 'em with this buffalo sauce,
so you get all the texture, all the smoke, all the flavor.
They're fun to eat.
That's delicious.
[server] LA rib tips with baked beans.
They smoke them slow and low, right?
They're always tender, juicy, lean.
And with that hot sauce... [kisses]
I thought it had a really good kick, but it wasn't too spicy.
I found the LA tips. Order up.
I buy this by the pound?
You can buy that however you want it.
By the pound, by the bucket,
by the pick-up truck, however you want it.
-By the pick-up truck. -Back up in there.
[Guy] And coming up, there's plenty more to load up on.
If it snaps, you know it's real.
-[Kevin] That's right. -[snaps]
[Guy] Did you hear that? That's the sound of real-deal barbecue in the house.
Shut the front door.
-[Kevin laughing] -Oh. I'm coming back for more.
[Guy] I can't count the number of barbecue joints
I've hit up on Triple D over the years,
but what I can count are the ones that have stood out.
I might just have to try just one more piece.
Do your thing, man.
[Guy] And Kevin's Texas inspired, Cali-created barbecue
is one I can't easily forget.
[server] Brisket with baked beans and mac and cheese.
I recently had some barbecue in Texas,
and this is just, like, right up there with that.
[server] Full rack of pork ribs.
Got the greens and the beans on the side.
It's been smoked correctly. It's perfect.
-2013, we're at the first location. -Compton location.
-[Guy] Compton location. -[Kevin] Yeah.
It is legit as they come.
But if they don't want to come all the way down to Compton,
you wanna open up in LA?
You said, "You taking this to Hollywood?"
And I said, "Yeah."
We're opening up on, uh, Melrose and La Brea.
-[Guy] You're messing with me. -No, not at all.
This guy could go international. The bomb.
We still have the one in Australia.
We still have the one in Hollywood, and we still--
Uh, hang on, let me just pick that up.
-The Australian drop that you just gave. -Yeah, yeah. You got that?
-The one in Australia. -Pick it up from down under.
-Yeah. -We have a location at The Proud Bird, by LAX.
And, uh, we're actually about to open up
a new location in Santa Monica.
It's been so fun to watch Bludso's grow from the small restaurant
to having something nice and big, like this.
It's always the same. It's nothing else. It is consistent.
-Now we're making? -Collard greens.
[Guy] Grandma's recipe again?
-No, this is my mom's right here really. -Mom's recipe.
Chicken base, chopped garlic,
chopped onions,
chopped yellow peppers.
Smoked turkey necks.
-Smoked turkey necks? -Yeah.
We let it cook down for about an hour and a half.
-Now, what are we doing? -We're gonna add our collards.
[Guy whistles]
This is gonna cook down to... [whistles]
We're gonna have to season this right now.
Crushed red pepper, onion powder,
seasoning salt.
[Guy] How long are we gonna let these go?
[Kevin] Uh, about an hour.
-[Guy] How we lookin'? -We good.
-Will you get me with some extra turkey neck in there? -Oh, yeah.
-Shut the front door. -[Kevin laughing]
Oh.
They're tender.
A little bit spicy.
They're rich, great broth with 'em.
Not too salty.
-Uh, just the right balance, man. -Thanks, man.
Awesome.
-Great greens. -Glad you like 'em.
Kev, great greens, man.
What are we making next, Brian?
Hot links. Pick 'em up.
Love the hot links.
They're home-made, and they just have a lot of love in 'em.
Homemade Texas links, Texas red hots.
-[Guy] Got it. -WIth the beef, no pork.
Oh, man.
Walk me through the process on this.
[Kevin] This is a staple at Bludso's.
In Texas, they call them red hots.
And people love 'em.
We use beef chuck for our links,
and we also use Angus beef short ribs.
So we're gonna grind this up.
70% chuck, 30% fat.
So now we're gonna add our seasoning.
Kosher salt, pink curing salt, sodium phosphate,
Spanish paprika,
and our special, secret chili spice.
Granulated garlic, crushed red peppers,
brown sugar, oregano,
coarse black pepper, and some fresh garlic.
Now we mix this up.
We're gonna go to the stuffer and make our Texas hot links.
And then they go right to the smoker for two hours.
Nice and plump.
I'm about to cut this up right now, baby.
Take your time, baby.
All right, Kev, I'm not saying this just 'cause it's you.
-If it snaps, you know it's real. -That's right.
-[snaps] -If you say it's a hot link, that's a hot link.
-It's a hot link. -But it's not such a hot link
-that people are not gonna appreciate it. -Yeah. Yes.
You don't want it to burn your lips.
You wanna be able to eat it and keep eating it, like you're doing.
My favorite part about it is,
besides the great flavor and the snap,
is that texture.
-Yeah, yeah. -The texture of the meat inside of it.
Delicious. You did not disappoint.
[server] Texas hot link with mac and cheese.
They were so hot.
It doesn't taste like a sausage I've ever had before.
They were amazing.
How are the hot links? Are they spicy enough for you?
The beef hot links are excellent.
They got a kick to it. I love my spice.
Got a hot links and a rib tips up, table five, please.
The barbecue here is so good.
Like juicy, tender.
The sauce, you can't go wrong.
You can buy the barbecue sauces to take home.
It's awesome.
Look at this. Give me the rundown, man.
You have taken this to the next level.
You got rubs, you got sauces, you got the cookbook.
What happened?
Well, you know, I keep it 100.
I always remember one thing you told me,
and you said, "Man, take advantage of this situation."
And I was like, "What do you mean?"
You said, "Rubs, sauce."
And you said that years ago.
And that's what we did.
People can buy this online?
Online, yeah.
-Buy it-- -Or they can come in the restaurant.
-Yeah. -Yeah.
I was so happy when you came out with the cookbook.
[Kevin] And I ain't done yet.
Yeah, it doesn't look like it.
Coming up in Columbus, Ohio...
Pa...
-[Guy] Paprika? -[Ena] Paprika.
...a crash course in Caribbean cooking.
I'm a Jamaican.
I didn't know.
And watch out for the test at the end.
Caribbean or Cuhribbean?
-Cuhribbean. -Cuhribbean.
-Caribbean. -[exclaims]
So I'm here in the Linden neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio.
Now, back in the day, this was the major shopping area.
But as times changed, things changed.
Well, that's actually a good thing here because it opened the door
to a type of food you might not have found in Columbus before.
And lucky for me, that door led to a killer Jamaican joint
with food as authentic as the chef who's cooking it.
And even after hitting the spotlight in 2017,
you can still find her serving Caribbean classics to the locals of Columbus.
This is Ena's Caribbean Kitchen.
Jerk chicken. Rice, and beans and cabbage.
[woman] Everybody knows this is the hub
to get some authentic Caribbean food.
Oxtail coming up.
When Guy was here last time, we were right here in this location.
What makes it so great?
The food is just dynamic.
-Dynamic? -Dynamic.
I think dynamic is a perfect word.
One jerk chicken Alfredo.
This is an experience that you can get in Ohio that's like nothing else.
[Guy] An experience that started way back
when Chef Ena Hales was cooking in her kitchen in Jamaica.
Were you in the restaurant business in Jamaica?
No. But I did have it at my house.
-You had a Jamaican restaurant at your house? -No.
-My kids bring their friends to the house.
-Okay. -Miss Ena, what you cook today?
And they love it.
-How many kids do you have? -Five.
-[Guy] Everybody work here? -[Ena] Oh, yes.
[server] Lamb with rice.
Everybody's still here working.
As, obviously, the first generation transitions,
the same constant quality is there.
Literally everything on the menu is a homerun.
Jerk chicken rice and beans.
Triple-D fan in the house.
We're gonna make the rub for jerk chicken.
Salt. Pa...
-[Guy] Paprika? -[Ena] Paprika.
I'm a Jamaican.
-[Guy] I didn't know. -[Ena laughing]
[Ena] Pepper blend, garlic powder, onion powder,
black pepper, white.
That's white pepper.
You can't say, "Black pepper, white." That didn't make--
You're Jamaican. I'm sorry. I didn't know.
[Ena laughing]
Adobo, pimento, all spiced, cayenne pepper.
Now we're going to do the wet rub.
-Garlic, scotch bonnet pepper. -[Guy whistles]
[Ena] Onion, thyme, red chilies,
house dry rub.
Which you can also buy here, right?
-That's right. -Shameless plug.
[Ena] Soya sauce.
-[Guy] Wine. -Liquid smoke,
vinegar and some browning.
-Brown sauce. -Let it roll.
Now we're going to prep our jerk chicken
with the dry rub and the wet rub.
Twenty-four hours. And are we grilling these?
Grill.
-[Guy] Finish it in the oven? -Yes.
Jerk sauce on the chicken.
[Guy] You get a little texture from the grill on the outside.
Marinade, little bit of that heat.
All the way down that chicken.
That's why it's only Jamaican can do jerk chicken.
Well, I'll tell you what this non-Jamaican's doing right now...
shoveling jerk chicken.
[Ena] Jerk chicken coming up.
Before Triple D, we used to do about 100 pounds.
After Triple D, we stepped up to 250 a day.
Jerk shrimp pasta.
From jerk chicken options to jerk shrimp Alfredo, phenomenal.
Now we're going to do the seasoning
for the jerk shrimp for the pasta.
Same seasoning that we make with Guy for the jerk chicken.
Only difference, we're using adobo.
Mix all of those together.
We're going to make the Alfredo sauce.
Butter, onion and garlic, heavy cream,
then the adobo, salt and black pepper,
shaved Parmesan, Romano.
After this thicken up,
then we start to cook our shrimp.
Onion and bell pepper, shrimp, seasoning, then our sauce.
In goes our pasta.
Now we are going to put it together.
Parmesan and the shaved Romano.
Jerk shrimp pasta.
We have the jerk shrimp Alfredo.
[woman 1] You've got the peppers in there,
that shrimp coming together.
Everything that is encompassed with an Alfredo, but to another level.
[woman 2] I'm not a spicy person,
but it has enough spice for you to actually enjoy the dish.
Escoveitch snapper. The one Guy love.
They had the chicken option, the shrimp, vegetarian,
but you also have fish.
Having those different options on the menu
makes it a great place to come to.
Oxtail, rice and beans and cabbage.
I just go straight for the oxtails every time.
They're so tender. Just grab a fork.
It is a Jamaican traditional dish.
We are going to marinate it.
Salt, garlic.
We use the powder and we use the fresh garlic.
Black pepper, thyme, soya sauce.
Then we're going to rub it in.
You let it sit for a while, you'll get a better flavor.
And we're going to fry.
The fry, kind of tendering.
Give you that lovely color.
We're gonna put it into the cooker.
Onions and garlic for 15 minutes.
Oxtail is done.
Callaloo, cornbread and oxtail.
Put a little garnish in there.
Oxtail with rice and beans and cabbage.
This falls right off the bone. It's rich.
They take the time, and they get it right.
Do you say Caribbean or Cuhribbean?
-Well, it depends. -Caribbean or Cuhribbean?
-Cuhribbean. -Cuhribbean.
-Caribbean. -[Guy exclaims]
Correct answer is whatever Miss Ena says.
Miss Ena, how do you say it?
Caribbean.
-[all laughing] -That was both.
It open up everybody's eyes
to let them know that you can get
good Jamaican food in Columbus.
You don't have to go to Jamaica to get it.
And now it's just really getting the attraction that it deserves.
It's super busy now.
When you have a restaurant that's this popular,
people are happy to live close to it.
We get customer from all over Columbus.
You got one all the way from California.
Yes, I sure do.
Great job.
And up next...
Very nice.
...a joint in Lansing, Michigan...
Yeah, we gotta pick it up. Full house out there, Ma.
...with a culinary combo...
I've never seen a place like this.
...you gotta see to believe.
You guys got a gem here.
I won't tell anybody about it.
You know, ladies and gentlemen,
we have found Triple D joints in the craziest of places.
Of course we found them at gas stations.
Well, we found it in a grocery store,
we found it in a liquor store, found in an antique store.
We've even found it in a boxing gym.
But I gotta tell you what, we're here in Lansing, Michigan,
just a few blocks from the Capitol,
and this has got to be the craziest one yet.
Inside of a cellular store?
I came calling back in 2017,
and found real-deal Vietnamese with a barbecue twist.
Now that cellular store is not there anymore,
but this place still has the phone ringing off the hook.
This is Capital City BBQ.
[server] The Wall Street Bull, brisket on top.
You have to come to Capital City BBQ.
Guy came here, and it's a hit.
[server 2] You got the shrimp spring rolls.
People come in for just the unique take
on her traditional barbeque and Vietnamese fare.
Every single thing here is Flavortown.
[Guy] And brought to you by Vietnamese-born
Flavortown resident Linh Lee,
who's fusing flavors from home with all-American barbecue
alongside her son, Mike.
I got a brisket banh mi.
A lot of Triple D fans like that one.
Brisket banh mi is just such a unique sandwich.
Something I've never tried before.
-First up. -Pickled daikon.
-Daikon. -White vinegar, salt, sugar.
-Daikon in there. -[Guy] And we dump in the carrot.
What do we do next?
We're going to make a sandwich.
Sriracha mayo, jalapeno, brisket,
cucumber, green onion.
[Guy] Pickled daikon and carrots.
Cilantro.
Very nice.
My heart is pumping.
[Guy] You've got good smoke, good bark on the brisket.
Pickled veggies are great.
Little sriracha mayo.
That's a real-deal sandwich.
[Mike] Can you draw out the brisket banh mis for me?
[Linh speaking]
You have the brisket banh mi.
[woman] You get the sweetness of the barbecue
and then the freshness of the vegetables.
[Linh] You want a pork noodle salad?
You know, there's so much good stuff to try.
I've tried to eat my way across the menu myself.
I used to come when it was a cell phone store.
So now the cell phone store is gone.
Now I just come for the food.
[Linh speaking]
I was really happy when she got rid of the cell phone store
and got more seating.
Yeah, we gotta pick it up.
Full house out there, Ma.
The phone store went away, the menu started getting a little bit bigger.
I got the pork noodle bowl today. Never tried it before.
But it was super fresh and tasty.
Here is a pork butt shoulder.
I like to cut it very thin.
Now we're going to marinate the pork
with marinade I made with Guy.
Lemongrass that went through a food processor.
-[Linh] Garlic. -[Guy] Shallots.
[Linh] Black pepper, crushed pepper,
-salt, sugar. -[Guy] Okay.
Sesame oil, fish sauce.
Cola.
[Guy] I've had a lot of Vietnamese food,
never had cola in it.
They blend everything in here.
And we're going to let it sit overnight.
Pork on the grill.
Put all ingredient together in a bowl
to make the pork noodle salad.
Bean sprout, lettuce, mint,
cucumber, cilantro, the pork noodles,
carrot daikon.
I'm going to take it off from the grill.
Chop it up.
Sauteed green onion, fried egg roll.
And this sauce, in Vietnam we call nuoc cham.
Boil little water, sugar, salt,
chili pepper, garlic.
Take it off from the stove. Vinegar.
Pickled carrot daikon.
Fish sauce. And here we go.
Pork noodle salad, side of fish sauce.
I like the pork, it's seasoned well.
It goes well with the noodles and the lemongrass.
[man] Sauce is really, really tasty, too.
You get some sweetness, some tang from the vinegar.
Brisket banh mi. You must have seen Triple D, huh?
You guys got a gem here. I won't tell anybody about it.
-Keep it between us, okay? -All right. That's right. Secret.
After Triple D was here, a lot more people were talking about it.
People start coming and start buying the food.
She make great food over here.
I've never seen a place like this.
I really dig it. I think this is fun.
You... are wild.
Thank you!
Escoveitch snapper coming up for that Triple D fan.
I got a brisket banh mi, a Grease Lightning with fries
and an order of the egg rolls.
All right, folks, that's it for this cruise down memory lane.
[server] The brisket with baked beans and mac and cheese.
The Wall Street Bull for Larry.
But don't worry, we got a ton of funky joints to revisit...
Order of Texas red hots.
Thank you so much for coming out.
...all over this Triple-D Nation.
Why I gotta mail 'em?
I can't come to the party and cook 'em?
-That's what I meant. -Okay, I'm there then.
Only ring that hot one right up front.
What, the register?
I bought that register legit. That register is not hot.
[Kevin laughing]