Hi, I'm Guy Fieri and you know what I need?
I need you riding shotgun. I'm on my way to Flavortown.
This is Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
[Guy] This trip...
Ta-da!
[Guy] It's amazing Asian...
Delicious. I mean, like, delicious.
[Guy] Smoking American.
I cannot wait to see this.
[Guy] And some curveballs thrown in between.
Take me to Flavortown, brother.
[Guy] We've got the bomb barbeque in Aspen.
This is where we're going to separate the pitmasters.
[Guy] Funky fusion in Albuquerque.
This looks like it should be a calendar.
[Guy] And up in Anchorage..
I don't know where to start first.
[Guy] A lights out Korean-Mexican mash up.
That is fire.
That's all right here, right now on Triple D.
So, one of my favorite restaurant concepts that I ever opened
was called, "Tex Wasabi's," and it was a cross between sushi
and Southern-style barbeque, a real culinary mash up.
So I'm here in Anchorage, Alaska, and I hear about
a chef that's doing somethin just a little bit different
He's doing Korean and Mexican fusion.
You know I gotta check it out. This is Seoul Casa.
[Andrew] I have six tacos on there,
three spicy pork and three kalbi.
It's a different type of menu and a little unexpected.
We got supreme kimchi tots.
I'm a food reviewer locally, so I gotta know all the good spots.
[customer] And I was like, "Look, we have to come here.
"I gotta bring you to this place." "You have to come here."
[Guy] That's because at this place
chef and owner, Andrew Cho, is cooking up a two-for-one culinary combo.
- Korean marinated meats-- - Okay.
inside burritos, tacos, enchiladas.
- So a Korean-Mexican fusion? - Yeah.
You have this whole new cuisine
that most people have never seen before.
What did you have the first time you came in?
Kimchi-rito.
We got a kimchi-rito kalbi for table 14.
It's got a little bit of kimchi in it, meat, rice.
I just love it.
- I want a kimchi-rito. - Yeah?
- Take me to Flavortown, brother. - All right.
[Andrew] So we're making Kimchi.
- This is napa cabbage-- - [Guy] Right.
that's already been salted, Korean daikon, onions, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, sugar,
salt, Korean chili flakes, water.
All right, let's see it. So take that, how long is this gonna pickle?
- For at least about a week. - And what are we gonna work on next?
- [Andrew] Kimchi fried rice. - [Guy] Dig it.
- [Guy] Some oil, some butter. - [Andrew] The kimchi.
Day-old rice. It's had a chance to dry out a little bit?
[Andrew] Sesame oil, soy sauce.
- [Guy] Granulated garlic? - [Andrew] Black pepper, garlic salt.
We wanna fry the rice a little bit.
- Right, put a little crisp to it. - Yep.
So this is the marinade for the kalbi beef?
[Andrew] Yeah. Onions, kiwis.
- Kiwi, huh? - Yeah.
- [Guy] Garlic and ginger. - Like, kiwi basically...
- Works as a tenderizer. - Tenderizer, yep.
[Andrew] Water and from there we just blend it.
Dump this in here.
- [Andrew] Sugar, soy sauce. - [Guy] A bunch of it.
[Andrew] More water, pepper and sesame oil.
Everybody in the pool. How long is this beef gonna marinate?
- [Andrew] 24 hours. - [Guy] Excellent.
So we get the tortilla over here,
- give it a little steam. - Making it pliable.
Kimchi fried rice, green leaf lettuce, pico.
Kalbi beef. Cook it on the flat top.
- Put a little sear to it. - We get melted cheese.
- Put a little water into that? - Yep.
Got that spicy mayo right here.
Sour cream.
[Guy] So what do you do? Do you bring whole family down to eat this thing?
- No wonder you need a 13-inch tortilla. - [Andrew laughs]
We just toast it on the grill for a little bit.
There you go, the kimchirito.
I don't know whether to eat it or take a picture with it.
First thing I'll tell you, it's delicious.
There's so much flavor, your mouth, texturally, says, "You're eating a burrito."
Your taste buds take a left right at Seoul.
[Andrew laughs]
[Guy] The kimchi rice has got the funk
and the fact that you're going to all that effort to make that kimchi
the way you're doing it and you're doing it right. Delicious.
And the kimchirito here for you.
I think this might be my favorite burrito
that I've had in Anchorage.
The kalbi meat's nice and tender and the kimchi
give it this nice overall flavor.
- It's comfort food. - So, long time
family friend of ours, Ashley, and her sister.
[Guy] This is the kind of funky places you're finding in Anchorage, now.
They come and they go and when you find a good one like this
you don't wanna let it go.
[customer 1] Anchorage is such a diverse place.
We have over 100 different languages spoken in our high schools.
[customer 3] We are a melting pot.
We do have a lot of places to eat,
but how many places can you go that can legitimately say
they are a fusion between two completely different cuisine styles
and pull it off successfully
K-town wings, six pieces. Korean fire, six pieces. Garlic soy.
[customer] People don't think of this place
- when they think wings and they should. - Right.
[customer 4] These wings are always really fresh.
Every bite has a lot of flavor to it.
What have you got next for me, buddy?
So we're going to make our garlic soy wing sauce.
- [Guy] Okay. - [Andrew] Soy sauce, garlic and onion puree.
- Let me guess, tons of salt? - [together] Sugar.
You eat that much salt you'd blow up like a puffer fish.
Some water. Just cook it to a boil.
- Next sauce. - Our most popular sauce,
which is gonna be the Korean fire.
Korean fire. That's probably gonna have fruit cereal in it.
[Andrew laughs] We got the soy sauce going in, ketchup, gochujang,
corn syrup, sugar, onion and garlic and ginger.
- Water-- - [together] Korean chili flakes.
[Guy] Got it.
- Some sesame seeds. - We're gonna let this cook down?
- Now we get into making the wings. - Yep.
- Into the flour. - Into the soda water?
Yep, into the soda water.
See some Korean secret.
Now where's the seasoning going?
Into the seasoning flour right here.
[Andrew] Chili powder, granulated garlic.
- [Guy] Salt and pepper. - [Andrew] Mix it up.
So out of there, into there?
[Andrew] We actually double fry it.
We fry it once for about five minutes.
[Guy] Let it sit for how long?
- [Andrew] A minute or two. - [Guy] Okay. And then drop it fried again?
- Yep. - Let's see it.
- Start off with the garlic soy. - [Guy whistles]
Oh, so you put it right over the top of this?
- Yeah. - This is not a dipping thing.
- This is like going for reals. - [Andrew] Yeah.
We got that Korean fire.
Some sesame seeds, green onions.
[Guy] I don't know where to start first.
As my son, Ryder, would say, that is fire.
The crisp on the outside of it is fantastic
and then this complete takeover of flavor. It's like a...
It's like a riot in the streets of Flavortown, dude.
And they're so different.
One's light and a little bit more purer.
Ginger, garlic, soy.
The other gets into a little bit more extravagan
with the sticky, spicy, tangy, gochujang, kind of set up and the fact that you have two
almost completely different wings at the same time... delicious.
I mean, like, delicious.
[Andrew] 12 wings for table 11.
They're crispy but also tender on the inside.
- It works? - It works very well.
We got k-town nachos.
I have gone all over the country
and never found anything like this.
I can't wait to come back here.
It is funky, it's eclectic, it's the real deal.
-Well done, my friend. Well done. -Thank you.
[Guy] Up next, a legit barbeque spot in Aspen, Colorado.
Wow.
[Guy] Putting out rule breaking ribs.
This right here is a different level of weird.
[Guy] And wings you're gonna wanna fly in fo
This is its own category of wing.
Dad, when you said we were going to Aspen,
I thought you meant to go snowboarding. What happened?
Hunter, we're in a convertible, the top's down
and we have no gear. What did you think?
I thought we would just, like, rent them at the hotel or something like that.
No, no, no. Anyhow, son, I'm here to bring you to this really dynamite smokehouse.
This guy's story, his background
and the type of ribs he's serving
are gonna blow you away.
This is Hickory House Ribs.
Smoked half chicken.
The best barbeque in town.
Everything has so much flavor packed into it.
Hollow mac beef going to table 31.
We've lived here for 26 years and it's a mainstay rib place.
[Guy] But pitmaster Paul Dioguardi's
barbecue roots run even deeper,
going back to when he was growing up in Chi-town.
I started travelling around the country
doing rib competitions when I was 14.
- What did you go to college for? - Become a dentist.
- What? - Graduated college,
wanted to open up a restaurant in Denver.
- And then you moved to Aspen and bought this place? - Yep.
All right, so what are we cooking today?
Some Danish babyback ribs.
Full rack dinner with au gratin potatoes.
If I come to Hickory House, ribs are always on my plate.
And the meat literally just falls off the bone.
Before we get into ribs, we're making barbeque sauce.
So we're gonna saute some diced onions, tomato paste.
- Just a little bit of tomato paste. - Some water, vinegar.
- Gotta have some sugar. - [Guy] Just a little bit.
Lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder.
- [Guy] Salt, black pepper. - [Paul] Ground mustard.
- That's allspice. - Good call, Hunter.
- [Paul] Cornstarch. - [Guy] How long is this gonna take to cook down?
[Paul] Probably about 30 minutes.
All right, so we're gonna make our au gratin potatoes.
- That cheese? - [Paul] That is shredded potatoes.
- Does it get weirder? - It gets better.
It gets better, okay, next up. What's this?
All right. This is cream of celery soup.
- Now cream of celery soup. - Just hold on.
This is cream of chicken soup. This is plain old cheddar cheese.
- Gotta have sour cream. - [Guy] This right here is a different level of weird.
Diced onions and some water.
You're gonna do this with your hands?
We're just getting right into it.
We don't mess around.
[Hunter] Did you go to counselling?
Let me get you a therapist on the phone.
- Pan these up, okay? - [Guy] Okay.
We're going to make the topping that goes on the au gratin.
Butter, Italian breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese.
Mix that up into a little paste.
[Hunter] Should've worked out this morning.
We're gonna workout after this, I tell you that.
We're just gonna put a little topping.
- [Guy] In the oven. - [Paul] Cover it.
250 for about three hours.
[Hunter] I cannot wait to see this.
Next we do the ribs.
What are we gonna season them with?
- [Paul] We don't season these at all. - what?
- Do you brine them? - We don't brine them.
No dry rub, no nothing.
So we're just gonna throw these naked on the smoker?
We use real hickory wood and that meat is so sweet
you don't need to mess with it.
- This is weird. - This right here
- might be where the wheels come off the wagon. - Let's see.
[Paul] We're gonna load these up.
[Guy] Wait a second, you're stacking them on each other.
That's against everything I know of smoking ribs.
Don't go anywhere folks. This just gets weirder.
[Paul] Hour and a half like that and they're done.
[Paul] Here's our smoked ribs.
- They're beautiful. - Add some water, some original barbeque sauce.
Ooh, we're making soup. Are you really pouring this in here?
No kidding.
These are now gonna go in the oven for about three hours.
400 degrees. And then we cook them on the grill to order.
Okay, so...
I have been saying it the entire time
that your doppelganger, his name is Mike Giunta.
He is the first guy that was ever on
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
and you tell me that that guy does not look like that guy.
- Oh, my God. - [all laughing]
And now they're Triple D brothers.
We're having a good time here, man, we're having a great time.
[laughs]
Au gratin potatoes with the cheesy crust.
- This would put you to bed. - Here come the ribs, Hunter.
- I want to try the potatoes. - Yeah, I do wanna try that, too.
Those are dynamite. Great amount of potato.
Mmm.
-Right amount of cheese. -That topping's really good. That's crunchy.
This is where we're gonna separate the pitmasters.
It's a rockstar rib.
I want to apologize for not believing in
your non-seasoning because those are money.
So tender and so much flavor.
The sauce is money by the way.
If this is what you do as a chef with no formal training,
you would have been an amazing dentist.
[laughs]
We have the ribs.
The Danish ribs are something you do not see often.
And they're just so tender.
The barbeque sauce just gives it that extra flavor
that really makes the ribs pop.
Au gratin potatoes, they're very good, they're very cheesy.
This meal is a meal.
Chicken fried chicken with cheddar cheese.
- The food is legit? - Legit.
It's been a staple of Aspen for such a long time.
As soon as I roll into town I meet friends.
This is Madison from the W Hotel.
Leanne and Jeremy worked for Southern Glazer
who happened to be my partners in Santo tequila.
- Is there any place like this in the greater Aspen area? - No.
[customer 3] Everyone's trying to be gourmet,
where it's like some good ol home cooking barbeque,
get grease on your fingers, have a couple beers, walk out happy.
Table 23, smoked wings.
We love the wings. They're a little drummy wing,
they French them and they smoke them.
Wings have gotta be a hit around here
but then you go and lollipop them.
Now we're gonna make our dry rub.
Dehydrated brown sugar. Regular brown sugar doesn't mix as well.
Cumin, red pepper, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, paprika, celery seed, dill,
red chili pepper, white pepper, ground mustard.
- All right. - Just gonna apply seasoning,
load these right in the smoker.
We smoke almost everything at 240.
- [Guy] For how long? - [Paul] For about an hour.
So now we're gonna make our homemade blue cheese dressing.
We've got some mayo, some buttermilk,
blue cheese crumbles, sour cream.
- I think you need a bigger bowl. - White pepper, garlic.
Mix this up.
That's a lot of blue cheese, I like it.
So Hunter, he just fortunate made me some
and I want you to watch how I eat these
'cause there's a technique, on...
- Uh-uh. - Don't eye roll me.
- Uh-uh. - Come on, man. [laughs]
All right, buddy, let's see them.
You know I'm getting some of that.
Mmm.
- That is juicy. - Flavor all the way through.
Great crunchy skin, perfect smoke on that.
This is its own category of wing.
Now I'll go one with the sauce.
A rock star blue cheese.
- Absolutely. - Legit top five best dry-rubbed smoked wings--
- Awesome. - I've had on Triple D. W.
[Paul] Plating up dry-rubbed smoked wings.
It has that rich, smoky, hickory flavor to it.
And I really like that because it's not normal to Aspen to get that kind of taste here.
What do you think of the wings?
- I love the wings. - Food with a handle. The best.
I feel like I'm right out of Mayberry right now.
I got the nice sheriff that just walks the street
and eats at the local rib joint.
Full rack dinner, onion rings.
It's always great. It's why we keep coming back.
- [Guy] You're legit. - Killing the barbeque game.
- Outstanding job. - Thank you so much for having us.
This guy, the real deal.
[Guy] Coming up, a one of a kind joint in Albuquerque, New Mexico..
So far so good, buddy.
Rolling out a wild wrap.
The jackfruit, kimchi marinated Cali burrito at Albuquerque.
[Guy] And hitting the bullse with their belly.
Dynamite. Simple but perfectly executed.
This is an experience.
- Your sarcasm is unwelcome. - Let me tell you something...
Walk outside and check your attitude.
- Why don't you just get your own show. - [both laughing]
So I'm here in Albuquerque, New Mexico in the Old Town area.
Now, a couple years ago I was supposed to come down here
and meet two dudes that had a food truck
and they were doing all the types of food you love,
just with this great Asian inspiration.
Well, unfortunately, due to a bunch of circumstances,
they closed the food truck.
But the good news is they've opened a brick and mortar
and we're here finally to visit him.
This is Kitsune.
One order of Korean fried chicken, one Thai fries.
You wouldn't know you were in New Mexico.
You could be anywhere in the world.
And that's really what's exciting about it.
Togarashi and furikake, please.
- Heard. - Their menu is always creative and playful.
[Guy] Just like the name Thomas Groff and Tony Chiad gave this joint.
- What does "Kitsune" mean? - It's Asian for "fox",
it's like a mythical creature of shape-shifting and mischief.
[Guy] Which makes sense because these guys
have been doing it their wa since the beginning.
He was in culinary school and wanted to eventually own something,
so I was like, "Well, drop out of culinary school."
- Drop out of culinary school? - Drop out.
- Great advice. - [Thomas laughs]
So a food truck came up and here we are.
And how do you describe the menu on Kitsune?
[Thomas] We take whatever flavors we like to eat
and just kind of morph it into more presentable food.
I have another California jackfruit burrito.
This is the best vegetarian burrito I've ever had.
It's a huge burrito stuffed with rice, kimchi and then jackfruit.
- [Guy] What are we making? - Let's make a Californian burrito with Korean flair.
- In Albuquerque? - In Albuquerque.
- Yeah, it's simple. - We're making the bulgogi marinade for the jackfruit.
We use tamari so it's gluten free.
This is our house-made gochujang.
- Delicious, by the way. - Asian pear, shallot, garlic, some green onions.
Brown sugar, black and white sesame seeds.
- [Guy] Very nice. - [Tony] Rice wine vinegar,
sesame oil, ginger and garlic paste, salt, blend her up.
- That's delicious. - We're gonna make our house sauce.
It's like a red miso emulsion.
[Guy] So a mayonnaise-based red miso?
Right. These are eggs that we pasteurize in the sous-vide.
We'll just pour all the oil that we'll need on top of the eggs
and then the trick is to get all the egg yolks to emulsify
and then you just pull it up slowly.
Where did you learn this little technique?
Actually watching Australian TV.
-Really? -Yeah, yeah. And then you just
slowly pull it up.
It saves us a lot of time.
I've seen some hacks in my day,
that's my new favorite.
Throw in my red miso, house-made habanero hot sauce, siracha, togarashi.
It's like a Japanese spice blend.
- Oh, I know it. - Salt, vinegar to thin it out a bit
and then we just blend that all back together.
That is the quintessential Asian mayonnaise.
That's gotta be great on anything.
So far so good, buddy. Are you a jackfruit fan?
I love jackfruit.
So you're gonna go to the flat top with it, not to the fryer?
Flat top because we want to take all the moisture out of it.
- [Guy] Right. - [Tony] Brown sugar to aid the caramelization.
And then again, togarashi.
- Let it crust up. - Get that, like,
kind of pulled pork-y texture, you know?
"Pulled pork-y texture."
Just take a look at this, though.
You wouldn't be able to tell me it's not pulled pork.
- That's awesome. - [Tony] So we'll add that bulgogi marinade that we made.
Once it's marinated, cold smoke it.
You wanna pop two holes so the airflow,
it'll circulate in the bowl.
- You wanna do the honors? - No, your honor, your honor.
So I like to use the whole pellets
- so it doesn't burn too hot or too quick-- - Right.
so you get, like, the flavor of the wood pellet.
I like the little poke the hole through it, though.
It lets it kind of chimney out.
- Ta-da! - [Tony laughs]
I'm blessing you.
[Tony] Throw it back on the flat top.
[Guy] Right onto the flat top again.
- Recaramelize that marinade that we put onto it. - Right.
- Hand-cut French fries? - Yes, sir.
Season with some salt.
- Fries are gangster. - Warm tortilla, mound of fries.
That's great. Thanks a lot for that.
[Tony] The jackfruit, house kimchi, lettuce.
[Guy] The heavenly mayo.
Gotta stuff it all in there.
It's like you're trying to wrap a baby up right now.
Oh, now you're gonna put the diaper on it.
- [Tony] Here you go. - [Guy] It's beautiful.
I mean this looks like it should be a calendar.
[Tony giggles]
[Guy] I can't get it in my mouth fast enough.
It's awesome. Burrito's delicious, jackfruit's outstanding.
Texturally you get it, but you don't get the weight
and the heaviness and the fat of the pork.
Great balance with the acid to the sweetness,
to the crunch to the creamy.
Every piece of this is delicious.
The jackfruit, kimchi marinated Cali burrito at Albuquerque.
It's a mouthful both ways, right?
Badum-dum. He'll be here all week, folks. Try the jackfruit.
Two jackfruit burritos.
That bulgogi sauce is super hearty.
It's got this depth of flavo
Jackfruit or beef? Could you tell the difference?
- No. - [Guy] Pretty dynamite.
I love this food.
[Tony] Saucing KFC now.
You have multiple choices here.
You got cocktails, you got beers.
It's a little bit different, but I think that's why people like coming here.
- What else you got up your sleeve? - Er...
Hang on. Don't tell me. We're hanging out,
Albuquerque, New Mexico, in Old Town.
Let's see what this guy's got up his sleeve.
You want the other half of that? No? Okay, good.
Welcome back. Triple D hanging out in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
This is Kitsune in the Old Town area
with a couple cats that had a food truck,
then they just landed themselves here, in their own brick and morta
Some buddies of theirs they have the taproom,
they do the alcohol side of it.
These guys do the culinary side of it.
Let's get these done and then we'll drop the ribs and garnish.
[customer] If you're walkin around Old Town in Albuquerq
you would be surprised to find that there's
a Japanese fusion restauran and a small brewery.
I got the karaage.
Not a typical New Mexican meal.
One pork belly, table 10. Today I had the pork belly rice bowl.
The glaze on it was awesome.
The pork belly is cooked just right.
- What are we into next? - It's gonna be a rice bowl.
A char siu pork belly, a Chinese barbeque pork belly.
- [Guy] Okay. - We cook it sous-vide.
[Guy] Vacuum sealed.
Drop her in. Let her take a bath.
- 12 hours at 70 degrees-Celsius. - [Guy] Got it.
[Tony] Take it out of the bath, chill it down,
cut it and fry it for about two to three minutes.
Next is the Chinese barbeque sauce, the char siu.
- Hoisin, honey. - [Guy] Okay.
Tamarind, siracha, you need the heat with the sweet.
- And last but not least. - A little bit of five spice.
- Whisk it up and she's good to go. - [Tony] Yes, sir.
12-hour sou-vied pork belly out of the fryer.
[Tony] The char siu, glaze them up.
We got our pea shoots and our cilantro.
Just give it a little dress of the ponzu.
Soy kind of infused with citrus.
- Do you make that yourself? - Right.
Of course.
[Tony] Nice little pile of salad there.
Pickled onions.
The Kitsune sauce over the rice.
That just transported me back to New York City,
walking through Chinatown, buying some barbecued pork, a bowl of it.
Super tender pork.
Sauce is light, coating it nicely. Not syrup-y on top of it.
Right when it came out of the fryer you let it glaze right on top.
Love the respite, little break you get from the pickle.
The extra little fat from the dressing over the top of the rice.
Kitsune sauce should be in a bottle.
They should have a 50-galon drum with a foot pump
so you can come and fill up.
That's a nine five out of 10. That's dynamite.
Simple but perfectly executed.
[Tony] Plating pork belly.
- That pork belly's insane. - That pork belly will bury you.
It's got that crisp outside and then the inside
is nice, melt in your mouth like butter.
[customer 3] And it's worth just coming here for that sauce on the rice.
Something I had really never tasted before.
One order teriyaki chicken.
It's still some of the best food I've ever had.
The fusion... It creates, like, an unforgettable experience.
It's unbeatable.
[Guy] I love the story, I appreciate the discipline
You're super humble and very gracious about what you're doing.
Our goal is simplicity, complexity.
[Guy] You're executing it.
This isn't the last I'm gonna see of you, man. Well done.
Come see these guys, this is an experience.
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.
And what the difference is, Aspen water has very high PH.
Hold up one second, sheriff.
I can't work like this. I was on a roll.
[all laugh]
- You got better looking. - [Guy] Make up!
- I gotta get-- - Make up!
I need to start all over again.
I'm telling you, this is like a pressure cooker.