Hey, there, I'm Guy Fieri and we're rolling out
looking for America's greatest Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.
This trip...
-Hi, guys. -Hi.
[Guy Fieri] ...we're diggin into dishes...
Me like-y.
...perfect for picking up..
It's funky freaky Friday.
...and chowing down.
This is my jam right here.
Like meat packed pizza and sandwiches in Laramie, Wyoming...
You're on your way to flavor town.
...Vietnamese specialties rock in Anchorage, Alaska..
My mouth is watering right now even talking about it.
...and upped-up pub grub in Cleveland...
Does the owner make you do this
or is this just you going wacko?
...mixed with one of my favorite holiday treat
I am like a little kid at Christmas.
I'm trippin'.
That's all right here, right now, on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives
[theme music playing]
So I'm here in Cleveland a great triple D town
and also home to a bunch of my cousins.
And for years I've come here I've never made it over to the Christmas Story house.
I mean, that is a Fieri family favorite movie
and we watched it hundreds of times.
So across the street happens to be a joint
that's serving Cleveland comfort food.
I got to check it out. This is the Rowley Inn.
These veggies for your Chilaquiles is here, boss.
As soon as you come here you're hooked into wanting to be a regular.
I got the shrimp and grits for ya.
How did you find the Rowley Inn?
[female diner 1] It's just a little local hidden gem just started coming here.
-You know? -Well, I don't. That's why I was asking.
-No, you don't? You know. -And I was hoping you would tell me, you know?
[female diner 2] You would really be surprised
by just how good the food is here.
[Guy] That's because when owner, Jon Oberman, bought this joint
the bar was set pretty low.
This was a very, very divey bar at the time.
It was a punch palace, no windows, vinyl ripper up floors--
A punch palace?
That is one of the funniest lines I ever heard.
But now they got chef, Erich Lautieri,
punching things up in the kitchen.
Bacon-Wrapped Tots ready to go.
I always recommend the Bacon-Wrapped Tots.
Soft potato on the inside wrapped with this crispy bacon.
And chipotle ranch brings the whole thing together.
All right, what are we making first?
Mashed potatoes for the bacon wrapped tots.
[Guy] Boiled Yukon, skins on
[Erich Lautieri] White pepper, salt,
roasted garlic, browned butter.
-[Guy] Okay. -[Erich] Heavy cream.
Mix it in with our shredded hash
a little more salt, black pepper,
now we're ready to form them.
[Guy] Let's see it. That's not a tot, that's a baseball.
-Yeah, you know... -Yeah.
[Erich] ...you got to give people what they want though.
-And the wrap is? -Just one whole piece of bacon, man. Bam.
[Guy] While those are frying what's the sauce that goes with 'em?
-Chipotle ranch sauce. -How many items are on the menu here?
Which one?
The breakfast menu, the dinner menu, the taco menu, the...
...the prime rib on Saturdays?
Does the owner make you do this
or is this just you going wacko?
Uh, yeah, uh, yes. So it's...
Best answer I've ever heard.
[Erich] We throw with the ranch dressing, chipotle peppers,
the Worcestershire, I just call it Wuwu,
because not everybody knows how to say it or spell it.
So that's you way, is Wuwu?
-Plate it up. -[Erich] Boom, just like so.
Dude, it looks like a top made after me.
Incredibly creative.
You get crispy, you get creamy,
you get crunchy unctuous bacon.
-Thanks. -The chipotle sauce which is so needed
because it adds a little bit of heat, it adds another little dimension.
The creaminess of the ranch cooling it down a touch.
-Funky, fried, freaky-- -Freaky Friday funky.
It's funky, freaky, fry.
It is delicious and really done right. Right on, man.
[Erich] Bacon-Wrapped Tots, pickup.
I love that they are crunchy on the outside
and as soon as I bite in, it's moist, and steamy, and yummy.
This is exceptional, exceptional food.
I've got the Cubano.
This is a really great bar, but one of the things
that is really special about this neighborhood
is that the Christmas Story hous is right across the street.
I got to tell you something, I am like a little kid at Christmas,
and, uh, we're gonna go check it out.
-I have the leg lamp in my office. -Really?
-You're a big fan. -No, I'm a huge fan.
[Brittany Knafler] Everythin that we have in the museum is authentic to the movie.
[Guy] I got to call my kids
Okay, no, I'm really serious the Christmas Story house.
So I'm trippin', okay?
[man on phone] Wait, you're inside?
I'm inside the house.
This is awesome.
[laughs heartily]
These are my cousins, by the way.
What weirdos.
-You found us. -Oh, my gosh.
Ah, Dad, you're gonna kill Ralphie.
And this museum is just one of the things that stands out
in the westside of Cleveland
It's my Aunt Polly, my Cousin Tanya, and my Cousin Heidi.
So we have a very big population of Slovenians, and Polish,
and they all make their authentic dishes here
-[Guy] Right. -Especially the pierogis.
Loco Moski ready for pickup.
The Loco Moski is their version of a really nice Hawaiian dish,
but we put a little bit of a Cleveland spin on it with the pierogis in it.
-And how is it? -Excellent, excellent.
-What's next? The what? -Our Loco Moski.
The Loco Moski, it's our take on the Loco Moco.
[Guy] The Hawaiian favorite
About as far away from Cleveland as you possibly could ever be.
Absolutely.
-What is the Moski part in there? -The pierogis.
-Let's make the gravy for the Moco Loski... Okay. -Loco Moski, man. Yep.
Butter, flour, make a roux,
black pepper, salt, onion powder, garlic powder
even out those seasonings, put chicken base, then our beef base.
-[Guy] Water in. -[Erich] We add our corn starch slurry
when you got a nice aggressive boil.
-What do we do next? -Prep our onion mix for our burger patty.
So we got green peppers first, then our red peppers,
red onions, garlic.
So this is gonna get mixed with the ground beef 80-20?
Yep, blend in Cajun seasoning.
-How many ounce patty? -8 ounce.
[Guy] What do we do next?
We're gonna toss our four cheese pierogis on.
[Guy] Do you make the pierogis?
[Erich] We get 'em from The Pierogi Lady,
makes them here locally.
-How do they come in? -[Erich] Blanched and frozen.
Let 'em, kind of, steam all together.
[Guy] And then eggs, any way you want it?
They generally come over easy, but, you know.
You know how I like mine to come?
Uh, on a separate plate.
Yeah, the man.
[Erich] Get our pierogis, our burger patty.
So this is typically what normal people would put eggs on.
-Yeah. -Yeah, I mean, you know.
Brown pepper gravy, we made earlier,
fried red onions, Frazzles right on top.
Frazzles, who gave it the name?
I have no idea. I probably have to google that.
You look like you know the answer, huh?
[all laughing]
[Guy] 'Cause this is not the meal plan the doctor recommended.
Nice crust on the patty,
nice little crunchy from the frizzle, mcnizzles.
The pierogi
has got great dough texture to it, nice chew.
But the black pepper gravy..
...takes it to another level.
Dude, it is lights out.
Loco Moski.
The pierogis are like butter,
the meat has a little bit of spice.
Aunt Polly, have you ever been to this place?
-Not-- -You don't go to punch palaces?
I do when you're in town.
You got a medium Popper Burger add cheese sticks.
Cleveland loves it comfort food,
but Jon, when he took it ove
-definitely took things up a notch. -I think, more than a notch.
You just can't beat it.
What appears to be just a simple, little funky bar, you go next level.
-Really impressed. This guy's dangerous. -Thank you.
[Guy] Up next, a bakery, pizza powerhouse in Laramie, Wyoming...
Wow.
...firing up the Bob barbecue pizza...
It really goes on that thick?
...and shut the front door sandwiches.
This is really artisan level food and you're crushing it.
So I'm here in Laramie, Wyoming and this is a crazy story.
All right, in 1953,
they have this drive-up liquor store with three lanes.
Anyhow, this husband and wife team decided in 2019
that they're gonna stop the drive-up liquor store
and they're gonna put in a wood fired pizzeria
and artisan bakery.
Oh, and you got to love the name, this is Alibi.
Comin' your way with some sandwiches.
Everything is to die for here.
[male diner] Cream cheese bacon wrapped jalapenos.
Just, you know, a cool local place.
Ethan's owned it for 30 years,
Kerri came into the mix.
Then all of a sudden, they're gonna build
a wood fired pizzeria and bakery.
Ethan gets these ideas and he goes for them.
[Guy] But it takes two to tango,
and Ethan and Kerri Smith were tired
of the same old song and dance.
We wanted to do something more with our lives,
than serve pints out the window.
And we make it into a pizza joint.
[Kerri Smith] We wanted to do sandwiches
and we're like, "Oh, let's make breads in our wood oven."
There was a little education.
[Guy] All right, so what are we making today
[Kerri] A Cowboy Brisket piz which has house smoked brisket
on our sourdough pizza dough.
I have the Cowboy Beef Brisket.
[female diner] The Cowboy pizza is my favorite.
It's just a great flavor combo that they're bringing together.
The handmade crust is delicious.
-Okay, what are we making first? Okay. -Poolish.
We're gonna add high gluten pizza flour to water, yeast.
-How long are we gonna let this rest? -Overnight.
Next step is the levain.
We start with water, all-purpose flour,
-whole wheat-- Flavor. -Why the whole wheat?
And then all of our Mother.
[Guy] It's keeping that strain of bacteria
and keeping that flavor profile.
-Do you have a name for it? -Mother.
I thought you'd have something really cool, like, Agnes.
-So this is gonna proof. -[Kerri] You're now ready to make pizza dough.
High gluten pizza flour,
we're gonna add our poolish levain water mixture.
-How long are we gonna mix? -[Kerri] Two minutes.
Then it rests to let the gluten bonds combine, and add our salt,
mix for another two minutes, then it rests for about two and a half hours
and then we shape pizza ball
-All right. I like it. -Brisket, we use a salt and pepper rub.
-Are we gonna let this set up? -Yep, overnight.
How long are we gonna smoke it and what do we smoke it with?
[Kerri] Hickory for 14 hours
Between 225 and 250 and if you go higher you mess it up.
Wow, it seems like someone's heard that preached to them before.
[Kerri] We're gonna make our horseradish cream sauce
that will go on top of our pizza.
House made crème fraiche, deli mustard,
-horseradish, salt. -[Guy] Lemon.
Crème fraiche is what makes it, that little bit of sweetness.
I punch down my edge.
We call it the steering wheel 'cause you're driving the bus.
-You're on your way to flavor town. There you go. -Yeah.
-Bechamel sauce down. -[Guy] What's in bechamel?
Butter, garlic, onions, flou
-make a nice little roux... -Traditional.
...milk, parmesan, salt and pepper,
-oregano, red onion. -All right.
-Fresh mozz. Whoa, whoa. -Thick brisket.
It really goes on that thick? [mimics explosion]
-Cheddar. -Well done. How long is this gonna cook?
30 seconds, 90 seconds, 400
-[Guy] Gorgeous. -Horseradish cream, honey,
olive oil on the wheel to bring out the colors of the crust.
[Guy] That crust is out-of-bounds.
That might be some of the lightest, crispiest...
...and delicious.
Great brisket, love that you put it on ther with the fat.
It's not over sauced. That is legit.
I have a buddy named, Robert he's got this pizza school
in New York called Keste.
He would flip out. I'm calling Roberto.
What's up, my brotha?
How are you?
-Hi. -I'm in Laramie, Wyoming.
You got to see this place.
It's all the principles that we love
in Neapolitan pizzeria and with barbeque.
Look at this.
[Roberto Caporuscio on phone] It looks very good.
This is kind of, like, getting blessed by the Godfather.
-Hold those briskets. -Swinging.
You get the wood fire flavor and texture.
The horseradish cream sauce, it makes the pizza.
The smoked brisket, is on fire. It's so good.
[female diner] That's one at the tippity-top.
-The tippity-top? -It's above the top.
I'm gonna put that in my vocabulary.
Tukey Apple, Hot Italian, and two Ruben.
Alibi, has a little bit of everything.
You can hang out and have a drink,
appetizers, lunch, dinner, and it's all good.
I can't wait for what's next. What are you doing next?
Shh, don't tell anybody. We'll see you in a little bit. All right, you want half?
I'm doing everything I can to not eat this whole thing right now.
I do not want to be asleep in the back of the car in your parking lot.
Okay? I'll probably get towed.
Welcome back, hanging out in Laramie, Wyoming at Alibi
which was a drive-through liquor store
-but now believe it or not it's a... -It's a pizza joint.
[Guy] It's more than just a pizza joint.
I promise you, they are spending so much ti and so much energy
making artisan bread.
You have the smell of the fresh bread
and pastries that they're making.
Croissants, the muffins.
But they also have everything you want for lunch and dinner.
Ruben bar 4.
The Ruben is a phenomenal sandwich.
Piled high with so much meat, and melted cheese, with the Russian dressing,
and that rye that they make here...
-Rye bread. -Learn me.
So we're gonna build the rye levain.
-Some dark rye flour... -Okay.
-[Kerri] ...and then rye Mother. -[Guy] There's a rye Mother?
[Kerri] She sits in the dry storage overnight.
That's a lot of overnight around here.
We are going to mill our rye wheat berries into fresh flour.
[Guy] Love this.
It's like that white noise thing to sleep with.
Or a nightmare with, like...
Put our rye levain water in the mixing bowl,
our fresh milled rye flour,
rye flour, carraway seed, and salt
and let it mix for two minutes.
Throw it in the walk-in and bring it out the next da to shape and proof.
I thought we cook it first before I ate it, but...
-You are brave. -It's awesome.
[Kerri] Just wet the top, throw some caraway on it.
-This will proof for... -[Guy] Proof?
...about two and a half, three hours...
...and then we'll score the top and throw it in the oven.
-[Guy] What temp? -[Kerri] 475, 45 minutes.
We're gonna make the Russian dressing for the--
-Slow down when you do it though. -Okay.
-Rushing, slow down. -Russian.
Is this thing on? No?
[Kerri] So sundried tomatoes...
Reconstituted in oil, pepperoncinis.
[Kerri] Pickles, red onion.
This is Russian dressing gone wild by the way.
-Puree? -For chunky...
-Some crème fraiche... -Which you make here.
...chili powder, black pepper, mustard powder,
white pepper, apple cider vinegar...
This is a very elaborate Russian dressing.
...red wine vinegar, stand back.
[Guy] And immersion blender.
Oh, that's delicious. Can I just have that as a dip?
-Yeah. -That with some rye bread.
Corned beef chunks, top it with Swiss, bake it up in a dish.
It's called a Christmas.
[all laughing]
Now, there's the deli rye.
[sniffs] I wish you could smell it.
A ton of caraway seed on it.
Let's slice this up.
This, you're at Grandma's home eating this one.
Good chew, really nice crumb, me likey.
Do you want a sandwich?
Oh, yeah, let's have a sandwich too.
[Kerri] Instead of butter, we use mayo, our Russian.
[Guy] You make the sauerkraut in the house?
-Yes, I do. It's the crunch. -Oh, night and day crunch.
Oh, the mayo is to cook the outside.
[Kerri] The corned beef, get a little burn on the sauerkraut.
-[Guy] Uh-huh. -[Kerri] You put your cheese down, good to go
-Ruben. -[Guy] This ain't your franchise sandwich shop.
It's delicious. Russian dressing should be bottled and sold.
Sauerkraut gives enough crunch and texture,
the mayo crust
gives you the chance to have that crust
on the bread without it being oily.
The meat is sliced super thin.
Everything has to do with this rye.
It is rye-teous.
Right here, right now.
That's all I have.
[Kerri] I got two Rubens coming your way.
That rye bread just absolutely makes it.
The Russian dressing is fire. It's a really good sandwich.
Italian Cubano.
The Alibi is someplace you can't get anywhere else.
This is really artisan level food and you're crushing it.
-Well done. Impressive, wow. -Thank you.
[Guy] Coming up, Vietnamese cuisine in Anchorage, Alaska...
This is the gold right here.
...starting with an incredible story...
Gives you goosebumps.
...and ending up with blockbuster recipes.
There's sometimes you be jealous of what I do.
-This is one of those times right now. -Yeah.
Now on triple D, it's all about the location,
it's about the story, it's about the character, and it's about the food.
We're here in Anchorage, Alaska
and, man, do I have a doozy for you.
From what I'm told this is all about tribute,
about dreams coming true, and making Vietnamese food their way.
This is Ray's Place.
Sautéed vegetable ready.
You can't get food like this anywhere else in Anchorage.
Vietnamese shrimp salad.
Anything you get here is gonna be delicious.
Beef sautéed noodles.
Not just going to a restaurant you're visiting family.
[Guy] And for Curtis and Joanne Yim,
family has always been front and center.
Even down to the restaurant's namesake,
Joanne's GI stepfather, Ray Seetomoma.
So he married your mom in Vietnam?
Yes, he bring us from Vietnam during the war
and give us a good life.
-Six of us. -Really?
One of the last commercial flights out of Saigon.
Gives you goosebumps.
We came here straight from Vietnam to Alaska, so cold.
[Guy] When did the decision come to open the restaurant?
My mom said, "Oh, there's no Vietnamese restaurant here.
You should open one because you love to cook."
She brings a little piece of Vietnam to everything.
Vietnamese crepe up.
Today I had the crepe, it's really good.
The filling was vegetables and there was shrimp in there.
Kind of eat it like a fresh roll.
This is a Vietnamese crepe and it's kind of crunchy...
My mouth is watering right now even talking about it.
So, what are we making first, chef?
-Nuoc Mam Cham. -The traditional sauce...
[Joanne Yim] Sugar, water, fish sauce, vinegar.
[Guy] Pureed garlic in wate and then sambal.
[Joanne] And then you just mix it.
-We don't heat it up? Delicious. -No.
-Now we make the crepe. -Yes.
-Water, rice flour... -Rice flour.
[Joanne] ...turmeric and curry powder...
[Guy] So a little bit of the color.
-...coconut cream. The pan have to be very hot. -[Guy] Really hot.
And just a little vegetable oil.
[Joanne] Coat the whole pan.
[Guy] So kind of like a crep swirling it around
letting all the moisture cook out.
[Joanne] Put the cabbage in,
carrots, chicken, white tiger shrimp.
Beautiful.
-Okay, some of the... -Here we go.
My mouth is watering right now I'm like almost drowning.
-Lettuce, mint. -Some of the cilantro.
Take a piece of this off in here and roll it up in there.
There's sometimes you'd be jealous of what I do.
-This is one of those times, right now. -Yeah.
[Guy] This is my jam right here.
It's so delicious
with the crunchy vegetables, the crispiness of the crepe.
The pancake is so light, but crunchy.
-Thank you. -Thank you.
With that sauce it's not super sweet,
it's tangy, little bit of spice to it.
-Do you bottle this sauce? -Yes.
-That's me right there. -Look at that victor.
-[chuckles] -Huh?
I'm ready for the next dish.
[male diner] Is that Vietnamese crepe?
The Vietnamese crepe is delicious, fresh, and light.
[female diner] Crispy on the outside, succulent on the inside.
Have you had this anywhere else?
I have not had this anywhere else.
[Guy] Well, I'm gonna tell y the one you're having
should be the benchmark before you go anywhere else.
It's messy to eat, but it's really good.
Sautéed vegetables.
The family goes to Vietnam
and sometimes brings new recipes back.
-Explosions of so many different flavors. -Explosions?
Found this place, started out with the cashew chicken.
The first four months that's all I ordered.
[Joanne] Spicy Chicken with Cashew.
This is one of my favorite dishes.
It's just the right amount of spice.
The crunch from the cashews gives it that zhuzh.
-Making spicy chicken. -Yeah.
We're gonna make the stock to go on my vegetable.
-[Guy] Toast the spices? -[Joanne] Yeah.
Cinnamon stick, star anise..
-[Guy] Cardamom. -[Joanne] ...clove, fennel, and coriander.
Put it in a bag.
So when we cook it she doesn't have to go through and strain this out a bunch.
-[Joanne] Water in there, beef bone... -[Guy] Chicken backs.
-[Joanne] ...toasted onion, spices. -[Guy] And ginger.
-And then some salt? -Salt, that's it.
-How long are we gonna let this cook? -About 4 hour.
[Guy] And then we'll strain it?
We're gonna make a house sauce.
-Oyster sauce, soy sauce... -[Guy] That's very soy-y.
-Gluten-free soy sauce. -Who you talking to?
Oh, you're talking to Cleveland. Hi, Cleveland.
-Sugar. -Your boy just zoomed in. Hi, guys.
-Hi. -Okay.
We make the vegetable, oil
chopped garlic, onions, squash,
-broccoli... -Very cute carrots, cabbage.
-Some of the special sauce. -[Joanne] The broth that we made.
Now what do we do next?
[Joanne] Take a chicken thigh and butterfly it up,
so it can cook faster.
-Fish sauce... -Ground up lemongrass.
...brown sugar and chili flake.
We let it marinate at least half an hour.
At least half an hour she'll be right back.
Vegetable oil, chicken thighs, vegetable.
-[Guy] Okay. -[Joanne] For the chicken when it's golden brown...
-More seasoning. -Yes, sugar, lemongrass,
-hot pepper, fish sauce... -[whistles]
[Guy] The broth that we made
[Joanne speaking]
Jalapeno, cilantro, cashew.
And then a little corn starch slurry to tighten it up.
So you just give it to 'em whole and they got to figure it out.
Yeah. [chuckles softly]
[Guy] It's delicious, don't let the name scare you
It's not too hot. It's very flavorful.
I'm a complete barbarian.
I'd call this super flavored chicken.
The sauce that goes with the vegetables
I want to pour all over that rice.
This is the gold right here.
Mmm, outstanding.
-Great job, chef. -Thank you.
[waiter] Spicy Chicken with Cashew.
Chicken is tender a little bit of spice to it, it's juicy.
The veggies are so good.
This is the best dish in town.
Lemon chicken.
If I'm just craving something this is my go to place.
I don't know what I like more, the story,
the tribute to your stepfather,
or the Vietnamese fusion that you make.
And to think that I had to come all the way
to Anchorage, Alaska to find you.
-It was worth the trip. Thank you. -It's my dream to see you.
You'll love this girl, got to come try this.
So was that another righteous road trip or what?
But don't you worry we got plenty more joints to find all over this country.
I'll be looking for you next week on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives
Oh, no. There we go.
There's someone... Yeah, there's somebody in New York.
-Oh, say, "Hi." Bakersfield waving in. -Hi.
Schenectady, you're there.
-It's amazing. It's like a tele find. -Yeah.