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 they doing?"
You know, I don't know. We should check it out.
[Guy] Over the years, I've seen and tasted it all.
This is ridiculous dude.
[Guy] 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 fueling up...
Look at you eating my food.
On a few Flavortown favorites.
It's not that bad.
Like these fried up frog legs in Lansing.
Two frog leg dinners up.
♪ Bring on the gizzards ♪
♪ Give me one, two, or three ♪
[Guy laughs]
[Guy] These loaded French fries in Franklin, Tennessee.
Here we go. Mmm.
Chef, awesome job.
Y'all enjoy.
[Guy] And in Nashville...
It's just like you're at home but with better food. [laughs]
[Guy] This Jamaican-inspired fish...
- Is it good? - Good is an understatement.
[Guy] And oxtail...
Oh, you know I'm an oxtail junkie.
[Guy] That's better than you can get on the island.
- I'm excited to go to Jamaica and try their version. - [laughing] Okay.
- I know she makes it the best. - I know.
[Guy] Familiar faces, new places and more off the hook flavors.
This is Triple-D Nation.
When you're in Nashville you can take a short walk or a shuttle
north to the downtown area to this place.
Nashville Farmers' Market. They've got everything you'd expect to find.
All the fruit and vegetable stands,
and then they've got the flea markets on the weekends.
And then, of course, what do you expect?
A Jamaican restaurant.
- Legit? - Real for deal, man.
[Guy] And since I was here in 2010,
loyal fans have grown to count on this place still being here.
This is Jamaicaway.
Curried chicken, rice, and peas and collards.
This is some of the best Jamaican food that I've ever had.
[man] This has been one of my favorite spots in Nashville.
I quickly realized exactly why it was on the show.
It's amazing.
[woman] This food is authentic Jamaican
with all the spices, and seasoning,
and everything that we love about our culture.
[Guy] That's thanks to Ouida Bradshaw,
who stepped away from the classroom
so she could school the people of Nashville on true Jamaican cuisine.
I was always a teacher but I decided to do what I was passionate about.
Yay. [laughs]
Does it seem like ten years ago?
It doesn't. It went by so quickly.
I got to be honest with you. You don't look a day different.
-How old are you? -I'm gonna be 54. I'm 53 right now.
[record scratch]
I think it has a lot to do with what you eat, what you drink.
- A lot of rest. - Oh, well, that's why I look 400.
I'm not eating enough Jamaican food is the problem.
- You look fantastic. - Thank you so very much, and so do you.
Seeing her on Food Network, it was like, "That's Miss Ouida on TV,
and she really took Guy to Flavortown."
- That brings us to salted cod. - Mmm-hmm.
- Give us the desalting. - We're gonna pour some hot, hot water.
- Now, how long will this sit here and... - About two hours.
So, how do you know when it's ready?
Because it's falling easily apart.
-[Guy] So, this is all ready? Now we'll go cook it up? -[Ouida] Yes.
[Ouida] The first thing we're gonna do,
- we're gonna have a nice, hot skillet. - Okay.
[Ouida] And then I'm gonna add some cooking oil to it.
- Add garlic. This is thyme. - Jamaican thyme. Whoa.
I wasn't hiding behind her.
- Yes, you were. - I was just making sure I had a perspective on it.
- Shredded onion. - Onion. The thyme is just coming out, big time.
[Ouida] Green peppers, yellow bell peppers,
red peppers, some green onions.
Stir it all in.
What I'm going to do now is to add my cod fish.
A little black pepper, paprika, and then ackee.
- Looks interesting. - Bon appetit.
Mmm. You get the tangy, brininess and saltiness of the fish.
Mmm, all that great vegetable flavor, slam it with some thyme.
I see how it all comes together.
- I'm excited to go to Jamaica and try their version. - [laughing] Okay.
- I know she makes it the best. - I know.
- Ackee and saltfish. - [woman] It's amazing.
This is a great representation of our culture and our country.
So, still at the Farmers' Market.
- Still at the Farmers' Market. - Still doing the greatest hits.
- We are. - Scratch-made food.
Oh, my goodness, yes.
- So, let me get the rundown here. - Okay.
We have barbecue chicken, barbecue spare ribs, mango chutney fried chicken.
All right, let's try the oxtail.
That's the biggest seller
- in our restaurant right now. - You know I'm an oxtail junkie.
- Are you? - Oh, oxtail...
[Ouida] We use cow's tail. It takes a longer time to cook it
but we think that it has a lot more flavor.
We're gonna go ahead and make our marinade.
First thing we're gonna add is thyme, onions and garlic,
scallion, all spice, water.
We're gonna pour it in to our oxtail that is boiling.
I'm gonna add some browning to give this some color.
I'm just gonna stir it a little bit.
Paprika and then season with salt.
So, we're gonna allow this to cook for the next two to three hours,
and then we are going to use some of the broth to make our sauce.
Add some corn starch to it to thicken it, a little sugar, ketchup,
and we also put some black pepper in it.
We all done.
Rice and peas, and we're gonna add our plantains,
and we're gonna add our oxtails to the plate.
Here is our plated oxtail.
- Oh. - Is it good?
Good is an understatement. I mean, there's so much depth of flavor.
There's still enough texture inside of the oxtail
that it's still something to enjoy,
and it's not just completely falling off the bone.
- It's outstanding. - Thank you.
Oxtails, rice and peas, and cabbage.
The oxtail is so good. The meat just drips right off the bone
and it is amazing.
[woman] All the flavors blend together,
and it's like music to your palate.
Do you know what people ask me?
"Does he really eat the food? Why isn't he big and fat?"
- [laughs] That's one of the number one... - I'm telling you what...
And look at you actually eating my food.
[Guy] And I'm not stopping here.
That's nuts.
[Guy] There's plenty more to eat.
I think God put bones in the food
to slow me down.
[Guy] It was delicious.
[Guy] Coming up...
[Guy] It's been over a decade since I met Ouida Bradshaw
at her Jamaican joint in Nashville, Tennessee.
This is an excellent coconut, by the way.
Doesn't taste like the coconut that comes out of the package.
- It tastes fresh? Yeah? - Oh, yeah. Tastes just like suntan lotion.
[laughs]
That's nuts. It's...
Coconut ginger peanut brittle.
- Drops. Coconut drops. - Brittle.
How's business? Tell me. Give me the rundown.
Business has been phenomenal.
Your show had really changed our course.
I mean, all I tell people I do is shine the light because you were already doing it.
You had all that experience.
Then you brought it to people and really started serving it to 'em.
When you walk in here it's just like you're at home but with better food. [laughs]
- What did you make me? - Red snapper escovitch fish with the head on.
That's exactly the way I would expect you to do it.
So, the first thing I'm gonna do is add some season salt,
black pepper, granulated onion, granulated garlic.
Gonna fry it on both sides.
Some red peppers, green peppers, onions, green onion, pimento seeds,
thyme, some vinegar, ketchup, garlic.
Stir this all around. Little seasoning salt, pepper, granulated onions,
granulated garlic, sugar.
Add some of this nice sauce to it with peppers and vegetables.
Red snapper escovitch fish.
- It's delicious. - I wish I could de-bone it for you.
- See? You finding a bone. - Mmm.
-I think God put bones in the food -Uh-huh.
- To slow me down. - [laughing] Okay.
Otherwise, I'd dig in just a little too fast.
- Well, this is fantastic. - Is it? Thank you so much.
I mean, really delicious.
- Red snapper escovitch. - It's so good
because of the flavors and the spices on it.
I mean, it was so spicy but not hot. Just really well flavored.
It's very fresh. I love all of it. It's very delicious.
If you want something flavorful this is right up your alley.
You give people this tour of the islands without a passport.
- Is that what I do? - You know? I think so.
- Okay. - I think so.
And then, going to see your boys, they're doing the same thing,
and they've picked up the ball and are really running with it.
Kamal and Rashean, they started here with her,
and they've taken that baton to form their own restaurant.
They have a great relationship,
they work really hard, their food's legit.
- You did a good job with them. - Thank you.
So happy to see you. So proud of you.
A, still look like a million bucks.
- B, still doing what you've done great. - Yeah.
I won't make it ten years until I come see you again.
- You promise? - I promise.
[Guy] Up next...
You nailed it. Way to go.
[Guy] We're heading down to Franklin, Tennessee for Southern staples...
The pickles are the only thing that are gonna save your life.
[Guy] With a spin.
There is so much flavor coming out of this.
I just love 'em.
So, I'm about 15 minutes south of downtown Nashville.
But, more importantly, I'm only, like, an hour north of Lynchburg.
You know, the home of the world famous Jack Daniel's Distillery?
Come on. Anyhow, I'm in Franklin to check out a joint
that's been recommend to me by the people in the know, you know?
And boy, did they know, because since I was there in 2013,
this small town hotspot has become a destination in other small towns.
This is 55 South.
NOLA Cheesesteak to table 11.
55 South is top notch, great food, great people.
[man] 55 South has been a favorite of ours
since there was a 55 South.
[man 2] When Guy came around for the show
it was all the talk of the town.
[Guy] And this place is still a topic of conversation because of chef and owner,
Jason McConnell's, twist on Southern comfort.
Chicken and salted jambalaya.
It's kind of a celebration of all Southern foods here.
I really like the jambalaya. It's very tasty.
The barbecue chicken nachos are really good.
Of course, Nashville's famous for their hot chicken. It is delicious.
- What are we gonna make first? - We are going to make hot chicken marinade.
- Marinade. - Got a little twang in you.
- I'm throwing twang in it. - You're doing good.
You got paprika. It's the base.
- We've got salt, black pepper, Louisiana hot sauce, cayenne. - [whistles]
Granulated garlic, little oil. You want to get this, kind of, going.
-Got a little bit of water. This is paste. -This is spackle.
- Look at that look. - It's not that bad.
[record scratch]
[tape rewinding]
[croaks] Awesome.
We'll put the chicken in this. Just gonna get the baste on it.
- And how long would you really like to let this marinade? - A couple of days.
Now we're gonna make the dredge.
Kind of an all-purpose Cajun dredge.
- We got the whole. - Got the whole.
[Jason] We're just gonna lay that in.
- So, we're gonna do a little white bread. - White bread.
- Little mayo. Two pieces. - Two?
I'm not gonna fit in my swimsuit.
This is a key component. You got to have lots of pickles.
And always, you know, you got to give it the...
That's a lot more than I bargained for. Here we go.
It's hot.
The chicken is super tender. There's great crunch,
nice texture on the outside of it.
Not overly done with batter.
The pickles are the only thing that are gonna save your life.
Mmm. Chef, awesome job.
- Hot chicken in the window. - They have, you know, the Nashville fried chicken,
but there's a lot more on the menu.
It's kind of got a little bit of everything.
You've got crab fries to P11.
Crab fries. Delicious, tender, fresh crab and, of course, who doesn't love fries?
Everyone likes loaded fries and so I wanted to do
just my kind of spin on what that is.
First, we deep fry our fries and toss 'em with some house-made chargrilled butter.
Chargrilled butter is melted butter, Worcestershire, minced garlic,
lemon juice, hot sauce, salt, water, and a little bit of liquid smoke.
And then, once the fries are coated with the butter
we top 'em with our chargrilled cheese.
And that chargrilled cheese consists of parmesan, mozzarella,
granulated garlic and parsley.
And then we top 'em with our fresh crab.
And then last, we finish with our crab mayo, which consists of mayo,
hot sauce, lemon juice, Old Bay seasoning, honey, onion, and parsley.
And finally, it's just layering everything in.
And these are our crab fries.
Crab fries over here.
There is so much flavor coming out of this. I just love 'em.
[man] I know they're built as an appetizer,
but that would be an entree item on anybody's list.
We're seafood-heavy in the restaurants
and I like very intense flavors.
What are you having?
- I know they're shrimp, but shrimp what? - Shrimp in a bag.
- Mmm-hmm.
-So, what does it taste? Spicy? -It's spicy,
but it's just got this really awesome flavor.
For shrimp in the bag we start off with Cajun butter,
which is melted butter, water, hot sauce, chopped garlic,
Old Bay seasoning, some blackening seasoning,
and a little bit of corn starch slurry to thicken it all up.
Then we boil our easy-peel Gulf shrimp.
Then we add our Cajun butter, kind of let those poach and saute in that sauce,
and transfer that to a heat-safe bag, put it in a bowl,
and send it to the table.
Bag of shrimp to B16.
I had the shrimp in a bag, and it is full of garlic, full of butter.
It is all the great things that you would absolutely want in the messiest meal.
Rip it open and go after it. It is such a novel way to have it
that you got to give it a go.
The best part is dipping the French bread into this sauce.
- Mmm-hmm. Mmm-hmm. - It's the best.
For Guy to come in and really see a local neighborhood favorite
down in Franklin was really exciting.
55 South has always been busy, but after it was on Triple-D it was crazy.
We thought we couldn't do anymore business, but we found out otherwise
and we've just grown exponentially since then.
Right now, we have three locations.
Franklin has been open for quite a while,
and we opened up Brentwood and then, a year later, opened up in Spring Hill.
I'm grateful for the three locations sharing the love.
I mean, Franklin is not on the path,
so how did Triple-D find Franklin
and find 55 South to begin with?
You're amazing.
[Guy] Coming up in Detroit...
Wait, wait, wait, wait, Hank.
[Guy] Who says you never get a second chance...
Nobody would give me a job.
[Guy] To make a first impression?
That's getting... ah. Mmm.
Chicken tender meal up.
Only thing this needs
is a picnic basket and a blanket.
[Guy] I'm here at East Lansing, Michigan.
Man, I haven't been here in a while.
Not since 2017.
I'm here to check out a joint that's frying gizzards, chicken wings,
and anything else you want.
- Do you know what the gizzard is? - Yeah.
- What is it? - It's, like, the second part of the throat,
- if I'm not mistaken. - Mmm. Yeah.
[Guy] And who knows what they're frying up these days?
You see, their motto is, "You buy, we fry."
This is Eastside Market.
Two catfish dinners up.
Eastside Fish Fry is one of the great places in Lansing.
The options are endless.
Chicken tender meal up.
Frog legs, alligator. All kinds of fried love going on.
[man] When I watched Triple-D the first time and saw Eastside Fish Fry
I was very proud of Henry Meyer.
Guys, looking real good.
Who just happens to be one of my former students flourishing in the community.
I got out of prison about five years ago.
You come out and
there's not a lot of people that want to give you a job.
There's not a lot of people that want to give you
- an opportunity. - Nobody would give me a job.
[Guy] But Henry Meyer got a second chance
when he turned his parent's commercial space into a fish market and restaurant.
So, who taught you how to cook?
I learned a lot in prison.
- Did you work in the kitchen? - Yeah.
I got your six-wing dinner.
I'm such a diehard chicken wing fan when I come here.
They're absolutely yummy.
What are we making first, buddy?
We're making our house seasoning. Lemon and pepper blend,
- a lemon peel. - Okay.
- Black pepper, garlic powder. - Got it.
Okay, so this is our dry batter that we're gonna use.
Next up, we're gonna make marinade for our wings.
-Some of this house seasoning, seasoned salt, -Got it.
- Old Bay. - Old Bay on the wings?
Old Bay on the wings, yep.
We're gonna shake it up, and then we're gonna bring our whole case of wings.
[Guy] And you're leaving them all connected?
That's what everybody likes, our whole wings.
- And how long is this gonna sit on here? - At least 24 hours
- but usually 48. - And you're going through how many?
About 2,500 wings a day.
We're probably selling 3,500 chicken wings a day,
so we've upped it, probably, at least 1,000 since Guy came.
Chicken king over here. I got to get you your own
chicken emporium helmet or something.
Next step, we're gonna make our house chicken flour.
- High gluten flour. - Good.
- Then we'll go with our special chicken fry. - Got it.
- Seasoning salt. - The Old Bay again.
Old Bay, yep. House seasoning here,
granulated garlic, and black pepper.
- So you're not shy on flavor? - No.
- All right, so now we take the seasoned wings. - Those go in here.
- [Guy] Dredge 'em around? - Yep.
- [Guy] Into the fryer. - Yep.
- [Guy] What kind of oil? - Soy bean oil.
[Guy] Come on.
Oh.
[Henry] Now we're gonna put some of our house seasoning on there.
That is a mess of wings.
Mmm. That's getting... ah.
That 48 hour dry rub marinade you're doing,
- that's just soaking all the way through. - Yeah.
And you put a nice, thin, dry batter on it. There's no fat.
- He's really cooked those wings down. - Yep.
Only thing this needs is a picnic basket and a blanket.
- What can I get ya? - I need some frog legs.
If you like the chicken legs here you got to try the frog legs.
Frog legs, please.
Frog legs are exotic.
I love fried foods so I love the frog legs.
I'd like to try those frog legs, please.
[Henry] The best way I can describe it,
frog legs taste like chicken that was raised around water.
I have the frog leg dinner for you.
First step is gonna be taking the fresh frog legs,
put 'em in our chicken flour that we made with Guy.
We're gonna add the same chicken flour into our water
to make a light, wet batter.
We're gonna take the dry battered frog legs
and we're gonna put 'em in our wet batter.
Next step is to put 'em back in the dry batter one more time.
Then, we're gonna drop these in the fryer at 350 degrees
and we're gonna cook 'em for about five minutes.
They're all done.
Sprinkle our famous house seasoning on.
Serve 'em with some boom boom sauce.
Mayonnaise, siracha sauce, ketchup, sweet chili sauce, red pepper flakes,
black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder and salt.
And that there is our boom boom sauce.
We got our five piece frog leg dinner.
How was your frog legs?
Frog legs are extremely juicy, extremely meaty, and fell right off the bone.
Frog legs going in to send.
The batter is spiced perfectly.
Very soft, and tender, and tasty.
I thought they were very crispy and moist on the inside.
I would have to say the same thing about the chicken gizzards.
-Gizzards, man. Just soft, crunchy. -[chimes]
[Guy singing]
♪ Bring on the gizzards ♪
♪ Give me one, two, or three ♪
- [Guy laughs] - Okay.
Woohoo. Hey, wait, wait, wait, wait, Hank.
How did you pick out the little ones? [laughs]
It's got great texture, got good chicken flavor, they're not over-battered.
It's really good.
Guy said there was gonna be a line out the door. He was right.
Come on, guys. Step up the pace. We got a big dinner rush.
Triple-D coming to see my son and his restaurant, it was almost unbelievable.
We're real proud of him.
I know he hires felons and he gives them an opportunity
to have a good job and get back on their feet.
He believes in second chances.
We've been able to hire about 80% non-violent felons. That's what I am.
- You guys gotten enough to eat today? - Yeah.
- We do liver, too. - You... oh.
-[laughs] You don't like chicken liver? -Mmm.
Hank, I'm not a big fan of a lot of the parts that had a job.
-[laughs] Yeah. That makes sense. -Okay?
Dropping fries.
And that, ladies and gentlemen,
is what makes up the Triple-D Nation.
Hey, Ouida. The usual.
Guy Fieri's alligator up.
And I can't wait to see what other places have been up to.
Oh, thank you.
We'll catch you next time.
- Any particular hot sauce? - Texas Pete.
- Okay. All the way Michigan. - Yep. Yep.
Don't we have Michigan Joes?
Texas Pete is what they had in prison.
That's what they had in prison?
- That's what we got, yeah. - So no Michigan right here.
That's what everyone likes
- so that's what we use. - There you go.