Hey, everybody, I'm Guy Fieri, and we're rolling out,
looking for America's greatest "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives."
-[rock music plays] -This trip...
I'm gonna stand over here.
...we've got dishes that are a real mouthful.
-The chakalaka. -Boom, chakalaka?
[Guy] Like bunny chow in North Carolina...
Flavor City.
...chicken oysters in Florida...
-Outstanding. -[Guy] Yeah, really dynamite.
...and a halal Mexican combo in San Jose, California.
That's really the pièce de résistance.
Putting together a monster mash up.
Take that beautiful chili relleno and bury it
into a burrito.
Look at that!
That's all right here, right now, on "Triple D."
[main theme playing]
All right, Hunter and I are here in San Jose,
about five minutes from downtown.
Now, Hunter, if I say that we're going to a restaurant
that's serving halal meat.
Middle-Eastern, that sounds awesome.
Why does that have to be Middle-Eastern?
What if I said we're having halal Chinese?
-We're having Chinese? -No, we're not having Chinese.
But if I said we're having halal Italian.
-Are we having Italian? -No, we're not having Italian.
-What if I said halal Mexican? -[Hunter] We're having Mexican?
Yes, we're having Mexican. Where did I lose you?
-This is El Halal Amigos. -[Hunter] Halal Mexican?
Yes, I mean, come on, where did I lose you?
[Hunter] Just start with that.
Taco plate ready for table 11 on the window.
I've been eating halal my whole life, so it's exciting to have
one of the first halal Mexican restaurants
here in the Bay Area.
Spicy, let's go.
You get your carne asada, your chicken.
You have the spices that are layered.
Enchiladas verde for you.
There's a lot of heavy hitters here in San Jose,
and I gotta say, Halal Amigos is one of them.
Really?
Premium upgraded meats, upgraded ingredients.
[Guy] All made in house by "Triple D" alum,
Hisham Abdelfattah,
and his partner, Eddie Ruiz,
who went from food truck to fast casual,
with this culinary pairing.
What makes halal?
We're not using animals who eat animals.
The pig is something that we can't use.
The animal is hand cared for to the butcher.
So there's a blessing and a process to that.
-Where did the recipe -- -From him.
-These are your recipes? -That's both of us.
I gotta give him some credit, where credit's due.
Barbacoa costillas for you.
What's your favorite thing on the menu?
The ribs. This is the best for me.
Meat fell off the bone and that beef was fantastic.
We got our barbacoa costillas plato.
Our beef ribs and brisket.
What does costillas mean?
Ribs.
So we're making the barbacoa marinade.
-[Guy] OK. -[Hisham] Boiled guajillo.
-Seeds and stems removed, got it. -Seeds out.
Yep, thyme in, fresh oregano, some black pepper,
onion powder, garlic powder, kosher salt.
Pick up this bad boy really fast.
Next up...
We're gonna season our beef ribs with salt, pepper,
garlic, everything by hand.
Well, if you did it by foot, it would really be awkward.
[Hisham] Then the guajillo salsa.
[Guy] Lay it into the banana leaf,
cover it, hit it with foil, into the oven.
Four hundred degrees, for five to six hours.
And how's the brisket get prepared?
[Hisham] The same exact way, and let it rest overnight.
Stick it in the oven for five hours, at 400 degrees.
-Re-fried beans. -[Hisham] Now our Mexican rice.
Some vegetable oil here. Fry some onions.
And then we're gonna throw in pinto beans.
-[Guy] Soaked and boiled. -[Hisham] A little bit of salt in there.
Then we'll mash these as they heat up.
-[Hisham] We'll mash these, yep. -[Guy] Toast the rice.
[Hisham] And our vegetable oil here.
We really want it to get brown.
You need that texture.
[Hisham] Garlic, salt, Sazon Goya.
-[Guy] Tomatoes and onions? -[Hisham] Yes, sir.
And water. Bring it up to a boil.
-Takes about 30 minutes. -[Guy] I dig it.
[Hisham] All right. We're gonna make our nar salsa.
-Nar? -N-A-R.
Nar in Arabic means fire.
Start with deep fried chile de arbol.
A few tomatoes. Blend this up.
So why not the chilies into this at the same time?
We wanna make sure that the chilies are blended well.
Ultra fine. Who wants to sweat?
Caramelized onions. Apple cider vinegar.
-[Guy] Granulated garlic. -[Hisham] And some kosher salt.
-I'm gonna stand over here. -[Hisham laughs]
Like the roasted tomato, little bit of heat.
That's like a really good table salsa.
A hundred percent.
[Hisham] We're ready to plate this.
-This smells delicious. -Beans and rice.
Banana leaf, for showmanship.
Brisket at the bottom.
Ribs -- boom. Queso fresco.
Caramelized onions. Radish.
Cilantro for everybody.
Our sauce and our tortillas.
Kind of build it as you want it.
[Hisham] There's no wrong way to this dish.
Mm.
When you get the fat rendered down from that rib,
that's really the pièce de résistance.
[Hunter] That brisket is super moist.
[Guy] You really can taste the beef in this.
Good beefy.
[Guy] I like a rice that has its own identity.
-It's light and it's fluffy. -Mm-hmm.
Mm, very good. Spot on.
I have the barbacoa costillas.
One of the most tender dishes that you'll ever have.
The sauce has its own smoky flavor.
[Hisham] Nice and juicy. Whoo!
El Halal is a part of our community.
[patron #1] People love to come down here and make this
a destination spot.
I just tell people, this is top-shelf street food.
[Hisham] Chile relleno carne asada, ready at the window.
[patron #2] You never really see a chile relleno in a burrito.
Like, a package deal of goodness.
We're gonna make our chile relleno salsa.
Start off with some roasted tomatoes, black pepper,
kosher salt, Mexican oregano, fresh garlic,
caramelized onions.
We gotta cook it down in vegetable oil
for about 20 minutes.
[Guy] OK, what are we gonna do next?
We charred some poblano peppers.
We sweat them inside of a plastic shopping bag.
Let the heat from the inside kick off the skin.
Take off as much char as possible.
[Guy] Take the seeds out.
Stuff this with some queso Oaxaca.
Mexican string cheese.
[Hisham] We wanna be able to seal it up.
-I see what you're saying. -Not funny.
-Hysterical. -Not funny.
-[Hisham] Take this toothpick. -Give it a little weave.
-There you go. -[Guy] Got it.
-Egg whites. -The key to making the chile relleno.
Just like, how the two beaters are different.
[Hisham] We want to get it really fluffy.
Throw some egg yolk in here for a little flavor, color.
Flour this up right here. Hold it by the stem.
That's a lot to do.
[Hisham] Not deep fry, but pan fry.
[Guy] Beautiful.
Now I'm gonna start our carne asada.
-[Guy] OK -- got it. -[Hisham] Halal skirt steak.
We're gonna make the seasoning right now.
Garlic powder, oregano, salt, black pepper,
onion powder, taco seasoning. -[Guy] Taco seasoning?
[Hisham] Season our steak, tortilla right here,
some of our rice, beans. Throw some carne asada on here.
Take that beautiful chile relleno and bury it
into a burrito. -Right there, baby.
Chile relleno salsa we made, sour cream.
Pico de gallo, queso fresco. Fold this.
-What size is that? -[Hisham] It's a big burrito.
-Boom. -[Guy] Look at that.
-[Hunter] Jeez. -Creamy and cheesy.
[Hunter] Wow.
Don't eat the foil again, Hunter.
I had to take you to the vet last time.
That chile is just toasted enough.
The flesh is tender.
[Hunter] Still got a little of that crunch from the fry.
I think the carne asada is the way to go.
The nar sauce.
I'm being kind of nar-dy right now.
[Hunter] That's the bite right there.
-Yeah. -[Hunter] Good texture.
[Guy] It's balanced.
The fact that the two of us can't put that down
is a perfect example. -Breakfast, lunch, and dinner right there.
Chile relleno burrito with barbacoa is ready.
[patron #3] It was really amazing.
It was super tender. I don't think you can find it
anywhere else like that in the Bay.
And we love our orange sauce here in San Jose.
Yeah, it's called nar.
You gotta be in with the people. I know what it is.
[Hisham] Nachos ready.
The flavors are something everyone has to check out.
[Guy] Here's what's fun about this.
Everybody has the things that are important to them.
And this is important to you and your religion
that you wanna follow halal.
But that doesn't mean that it can't transcend
into other ethnicities. -No.
[Guy] And you guys are doing this partnership,
working outside of what is traditionally done.
Respected.
-Thank you, Chef. -Seriously, nice job, Chef.
[Guy] And coming up...
Hot!
...we're tucking into Black Mountain, North Carolina...
If you're not having a good time here,
it's 'cause you don't wanna have one.
...for believe it or not,
authentic South African specialties.
It's a cultural experience.
It's a community experience -- outstanding.
So I'm here in Black Mountain, North Carolina,
20 minutes east of Asheville.
I haven't said it in a long time on "Triple D,"
but I gotta say it on this one. If it's funky, I'll find it.
And boy, is this joint funky.
Old farmhouse, and then, there's kind of
an outdoor shed area bar thing.
Oh, there's a garden.
They have chickens.
They have pigs that they don't eat.
And as you're going through all that, you think it's funky?
Yeah. Here's what the menu is.
It's South African, huh.
There's a story and more. This is Bush Farmhouse.
Ready, bobotie with curry and rice.
You've never seen a place like this before.
This fish is looking blacker.
You feel like you're in a different place, even
if you're just around the corner from home.
[Guy] Which is the culmination of owner Mark Henegan going
from his life in South Africa to the restaurant biz in New York
to bring in a whole lot of funkiness to this old farmhouse
with his sons, Troy and Skyler.
Were you a restaurateur in South Africa?
My dad had a little cafe,
and my grandmother used to cook, and my mom used to cook.
I just fell in love with food and this loving culture.
And so what is the food?
We kind of blended all the traditional foods
with the Europeans that came in South Africa, the Greeks,
the Indians, the Portuguese.
What are we gonna make today?
We're gonna do the pap and boerewors,
traditional South African farm sausage, and the chakalaka.
Boom, chakalaka?
[patron #1] I like the chakalaka.
It's like a beans and onions and gravy type of thing.
[patron #2] You take the cornmeal, spinach, and the chutney,
and the sausage, and mix it all together to get this beautiful
combination of flavors.
All right, so what are we getting into?
[Mark] So we're making the spices
for the boerewors. -The sausage.
[Mark] What I like to do is just get some ice-cold water,
cloves, coriander, allspice, garlic,
salt and pepper, white vinegar,
Worcester sauce, breadcrumbs, and paprika.
-So ground beef, ground pork? -[Mark] Yep.
[Guy] So we'll let this rest for 24 hours, then we'll case it,
cook it on the grill outside. -And it gives all the flavor.
So what do you do when it's snowing out there?
Cook outside.
What do you do when it's 110 degrees?
-We cook outside. -From shorts to a parka.
What are we gonna do next?
[Mark] So we're gonna make ourselves some chakalaka.
If I go to South Africa and I say,
"Hey, I want some chakalaka,"
I'm not getting some half story from you, right?
Oh, no.
Chakalaka means something like, "I have no underwear on."
Oil and onions, tomato paste, garlic, ginger.
A lot of ginger in South Africa?
[Mark] Oh, yeah.
Salt and pepper, lemon juice, sugar, curry,
tomatoes, peppers, some jalapenos, water.
And then once that's all cooked down,
we're gonna add in the carrots,
and then you add the baked beans.
-Out of a can? -Vegetarian baked beans, yeah.
[Guy] So we just stew this down.
And this, the chakalaka, is gonna go with the spinach.
Which we call morogo -- it's like a spiced spinach.
We put some onion, garlic, turmeric,
pepper flakes, water, lemon juice, spinach,
tomatoes, salt and pepper. -Love it.
-So what's next? -[Mark] Pap.
We use, like, Iwisa cornmeal from South Africa.
You boil the water, put some salt, butter in,
and then cornmeal, and stir until it gets really,
really stiff to a consistency where you can eat it
with your hands. -[Guy] OK.
[Mark] Now we're gonna build our pap and boerewors plate.
Look at that.
[Mark] This is homemade chutney,
tomato onion gravy, chakalaka.
-[Guy] The pap. -[Mark] Spinach, sausage.
Traditional, it would just be served just like that.
Eat it with your hands, dip it into the sauce.
I love eating with my hands. The chakalaka's no joke.
Honestly, no two bites that I've had have been the same.
You get some chakalaka and the burnt onion,
a little kiss of that sweet chutney, or then you get over
here to the spinach.
But the through is this snap of this sausage.
I get a little bit of the coriander,
a little bit of the allspice.
Delicious.
Pap and boerewors.
The chakalaka is delicious.
I love that crunch of the sausage.
-What do you think? -Fantastic.
Definitely something unexpected for
the Asheville area.
It's a little bit off the beaten path.
They've got this shop with South African wares and foods,
and then there's this whole outdoor venue,
and they do live music.
All right, what are we gonna do next?
All right, lovely, we're gonna be doing the...
Did you just call me lovely?
Yeah, we're gonna be doing the...
-No, thank you, lovely. -...bunny chow.
It's so authentically South African.
Bunny chow will be.
You can use spinach or you can use kale or whatever's like,
you know, green on the scene.
Whichever's green up on the scene?
Is that a South African one liner?
-No, I just made it up. -I want that T-shirt.
Welcome back, "Triple D"
hanging out in Black Mountain, North Carolina,
with Chef Mark serving South African cuisine,
Flavor City.
We've got one oxtail, one octopus.
[patron #1] I don't know anywhere else that you're gonna
find the kind of food that you have here.
How long on that bunny chow?
I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to bunny chows.
They nailed it.
It's a delicious lamb curry inside this crusty bread.
No bunnies were used in this chow.
How old is this recipe?
Bunny Chow's been around for a long time in South Africa.
-Everybody knows about it? -Everybody knows bunny chow.
[Mark] Well, we have here some locally sourced lamb.
We give it a little bit of a sear, and then I'm gonna add
every spice that you can think of that has curry spice in it.
-[Guy] Hot curry. -Yeah, hot curry.
Hot!
[Mark] Now remove the lamb, and then we're gonna add
onions, peppers, garlic... -[Guy] Ginger.
...ginger, jalapeno, turnips, and carrots.
And then we're gonna add in the meat.
Water in there. Just let it cook
really, really slow.
Got it. Bay leaf.
-[Mark] Garam masala. -[Guy] Black pepper.
[both] Rosemary and thyme.
[Mark] Curry, water, potatoes, tomatoes,
coconut milk, and chutney. -A little more water?
[Mark] Simmer for at least an hour and a half, and that
will all cook down beautifully. -[Guy] Love it.
-So what's next? -Peach chutney.
Throw in the onions.
Ginger, pepper, garlic, mustard seed,
red chili flake. -[Mark] Salt.
-Turmeric, cinnamon. -Allspice.
-Cumin. -Cumin, coriander.
Once this is nicely roasted and brown, peaches,
and then dried apricots.
Raisins, brown sugar,
and, of course, vinegar. -A little ACV.
[Mark] Then we'll just make it nice and smooth.
All right, now what are we gonna serve with this?
[Mark] Take some hollowed out sourdough bread.
So this is two portions, or is this a whole big one?
In South Africa, you get a quarter bunny,
or a half bunny, or a full bunny.
-[Guy] That's the ordering method? -[Mark] Yes.
Make a little hole in the middle, like a bread bowl.
-[Guy] You're gonna grill this? -[Mark] Yeah.
That's a nice warm loaf.
And I like to put a lot of sauce into it.
The bread really soaks it up. Tzatziki.
The ever so traditional South African pico de gallo.
-[Mark laughs] -[Guy] Chutney that we made.
-Pickled carrots. -[Mark] Coconut on, and just some --
Just some hedge trimmings.
[Mark] And some of the little fun stuff over there.
The lamb's super tender.
The sourdough bread bowl adds a ton of flavor.
You're getting little bits of heat, then you're getting
little bits of sweetness, and then you get the richness
where you'll get the potatoes
cooking down some of that starch.
And then as you jump outside the bowl and you start picking
up some of the tzatziki or you pick up some of the chutney,
it just changes the whole recipe.
For such an easygoing, laid-back dude,
you sure are disciplined in pulling that flavor out.
Outstanding.
There's a proper bunny chow for you.
The peach chutney gives it a little sweet.
[patron #1] You've got these savory spices and the meat
that's cooked to perfection.
When you come here and you try this, it reminds you of home?
Hundred percent.
It feels like an international hug.
People come back time and time again.
[Guy] It's a cultural experience.
It's a community experience.
If you're not having a good time here,
it's 'cause you don't wanna have one.
Thanks for having me, man.
-Thanks so much. -Really enjoyed it.
Up next, in Boynton Beach, Florida...
Share the magic.
...a funky joint raising the bar...
A masterful dish.
...hunt familiar favorites.
You may think you're getting chicken nuggets,
but what you're getting is one of the more
elevated levels of chicken and fried potatoes
that you'll ever have.
[gentle, rock music playing]
All right, Hunter, if I said,
"Don't judge a book by its cover," what would you think?
Uh, probably something like, you know, "Winnie the Pooh."
Winnie the Pooh?
You got Tigger, you got Eeyore,
Christopher Robin, Piglet.
You know, there's more to the story.
OK, now I got you, I got you.
OK, well, we're here in Boynton Beach, Florida,
and the restaurant we're gonna visit is kind of like,
I guess, Winnie the Pooh, because there's so much more
to what you're seeing.
It's a very simple restaurant. It's got a very easygoing name.
But the chef, his creativity, his background has all
come together and taken what looks like regular food
and elevated it to the next level.
This is Driftwood.
Fire on a steak tartare.
Love coming to this spot because it's chef driven.
He's just creative. He improvises.
Got onion petals coming up.
It's not just one type of cuisine.
He merges all of it.
[Guy] Which comes from chef and owner Jimmy Everett,
taking cues from the top kitchens he's worked in
all over the country before opening his own shop
and doing things his own way.
The first few years we were open, I was doing anything
I could to stand out.
But there was a certain point where I definitely focused
very hard on things that are very accessible,
that people recognize. -Right.
So it's like, how do we make really cool things with it,
but it reads very simple?
[Guy] What are we making?
[Jimmy] Smoked pork jowl fried rice.
It's a really good mix of southern flavors and Asian,
'cause they use collard greens in their kimchi.
And then you get that yolk moment, and it's perfect.
All right, let's get into this.
[Jimmy] So we start with raw pork jowls,
our pure kosher salt, brown sugar, coriander, mustard,
crushed black pepper, garlic, thyme, chipotle powder,
ground star anise.
-[Guy] Just dry brine in the fridge. -[Jimmy] Yep.
After a week, we're gonna rinse it.
[Guy] Then you're gonna sous vide it.
[Jimmy] 24 hours, 69 Celsius.
Don't get into this Celsius thing with me.
Celsius does not work for us.
[Jimmy] After it's sous vide, we blast it in the smoker
to get that flavor on there. 325, two to three hours.
What are we into now?
[Jimmy] Kimchi made with collard greens instead of napa cabbage.
Got it.
First, we're gonna make the paste.
Fermented chilies, red miso, raw garlic.
We're gonna mix the leaves with the stems.
Raw onion.
The salt is 2% to the weight of the total veg.
-[Guy] OK. -We don't use a lot of percentages.
We also don't use a lot of Celsius.
[Jimmy] I'm gonna add this paste.
Once it's all evenly coated, pack it in here.
This is gonna let the gases release as it ferments.
All right, what are we up to next, Chef?
The rice. This is called a sushi sou.
[Guy] Rice wine, vinegar, salt, sugar, and kombu.
-[Jimmy] Mix it well and let it air dry overnight. -[Guy] Dig it.
-So now we're making the pork jowl fried rice. -Got it.
So this is the smoked, cured,
sous vide smoked pork jowl. -[Guy] 16-year pork jowl.
-Yeah, we got it. -[Jimmy] Yeah.
I'm gonna start adding this rice.
This is a K-Bravo daikon. It's a type of radish.
[both] K-Bravo.
[Jimmy] The collard green kimchi.
The deglaze is garlic soy. Toss it around.
And now we're gonna go on the plate with that.
This is a local duck egg.
Garlic on there. Fresh scallion.
I know everybody at home is saying,
"Oh, my God, he's eating a duck egg."
No, you have to think about this
in the realm of carbonara.
Mm, that pork jowl is so tender.
You know, when you go to a concert,
there's always something that stands out.
Mmm.
I thought, for sure, it was gonna be the pork jowl.
Then I thought, for sure, it was going to be the kimchi.
Little did I know, and I don't wanna hear about it.
I know what you're gonna say.
The 137 and a half degree duck egg...
[Hunter] At 62 degrees Celsius.
...was going to turn out to be
the pièce de résistance. It's a masterful dish.
-Pork jowl fried rice. -[patron #1] Thank you.
It just blew my mind.
Jimmy knows what he's doing in the kitchen.
-New stuff every week. -Plating fish and chips.
Everything's locally sourced.
Boynton Beach needed this restaurant.
-For sure. -[patron #2] Mm-hmm.
The world needs this restaurant.
And how would you describe the chicken nuggets and fries?
Addicting.
The best way I could describe the chicken oysters is southern
comfort meets very elevated.
Now, chicken oysters, there's only two per chicken.
-See 'em right there? -[Hunter] Those little guys right there.
[Jimmy] So we're just gonna cut that out.
And we're gonna make our buttermilk marinade.
Buttermilk, house made pickle juice, granulated garlic,
chipotle powder, kosher salt.
Add these oysters right in there and let it sit overnight.
Then we'll pull it out and we'll dredge it.
So AP flour, cornstarch, granulated garlic,
black pepper, chipotle powder, kosher salt, baking powder,
corn flakes. -[Guy] Over the dredge.
[Jimmy] We're gonna let this air dry overnight, and then
we're gonna deep fry it at 350 for four minutes.
Is it served with a sauce or anything else?
We have two sauces. So we're gonna start off
with a sweet potato honey mustard --
roasted sweet potatoes, warm this up
with some chicken stock, butter.
While we're doing that, we can start building up
this Huancaína sauce.
Roasted yellow bell peppers, feta cheese, fresh lime juice,
garlic confit, raw garlic, aji Amarillo paste.
And emulsify with some oil.
-[Jimmy] That's it. -Beautiful.
And once this cools down fully, it's gonna have a little bit
thicker of a consistency from that oil.
-Oh, that's delicious. -That feta cheese
is nice in there. I like that.
[Jimmy] So now that this sweet potato and butter is all
kinda just warmed through, blend it smooth.
Add Dijon mustard, some local honey, salt,
and that should be it.
I also want it to look like honey mustard.
It looks like honey mustard. It tastes like honey mustard.
But it has a rich body. -Oh, it's cool.
That's everything but just honey mustard.
And this is coming with papas bravas.
Yeah. We do a six piece in here.
We just throw some of the bravas.
And what I like to do, a little spill out the bag.
Share the magic.
Are you going potato first or are you going chicken first?
One of the best parts of the chicken.
Oh, my gosh.
[Guy] The sauce is complemented incredibly.
From creamy, sweet, to spicy.
You may think you're getting chicken nuggets,
but what you're getting is one of the more elevated levels
of chicken and fried potatoes that you'll ever have.
-Outstanding. -Yeah, really dynamite.
-Fried chicken oysters. -[Guy] What do you think?
I've never tried anything like that.
That's really good.
I would come back every single day for these.
-Just for this. -It's like my favorite meal.
-Dry rubbed wings. -He's just a great chef.
-He knows what goes with what. -It's like Michelin level.
We love food, and that's the most important thing.
It's really one of the places you've gotta visit.
Well done, buddy. Thank you.
Was that a road trip or what? But don't worry.
There's plenty more joints all over this great country.
I'll be looking for you next time on "Triple D."
It'll only be better with time.
-Yep. -Uh, didn't put a timer.
A little bit of heat.
Second time you've tried the time joke.
It wasn't funny the first time.
I thought the second time was actually pretty good.
-OK, that's third time. -It was funny.
Third time's a charm.