All-American Food
“I could put this on a flip-flop and it would taste good,” quips food aficionado Guy Fieri, as he chows down on yet another delectable dish.
The California dude with the spiked, bleached blond hair hosts three popular shows on the Food Network channel, but only Triple D (Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives) has spawned its own book with recipes included.
A New York Times best seller, the paper back highlights regional
eating establishments often rich is history with diverse menus and strict adherence to family recipes.
Sporting his trademark shades and driving a red convertible, Guy cruises into small towns across the US to investigate retro cuisine in each of four regions.
North East and Mid-Atlantic
Established in 1996, the Blue Moon Café specializes in breakfast comfort food, while their Cap’n Crunch French Toast remains a one-of-a-kind creation.
After being dipped in a mixture of cream, eggs, sugar and vanilla, the bread slices are pressed into the crushed cereal crumbs before being fried until both sides are caramelized. (6-8 minutes)
Baltimore Chef Sarah Simington finishes off the dish with fresh whipped cream, blueberries and more crunch. (This recipe can be found on pages 12 and 13.)
South
Down in Richmond, Chef Jimmy Tsamouras serves familiar dishes with his own personal twist at Dot’s Back Inn. To purchase this 16-year-old business, the Culinary Institute of America grad vowed not to change one tiny bit of the small, nondescript joint.
“You can’t knock the wurst,” jokes the Food Network Star, as he bites into the Sailor, a grilled sandwich of knockwurst, pastrami, and Swiss cheese on rye with Dijon mustard.
Chef Jimmy shares his recipe for Chunky Monkey Pancakes on pages 108-9. A whole banana is sprinkled with cinnamon and sauteed in butter over medium heat before being wrapped in a chocolate chip, walnut pancake and garnished with whipped cream and confectioner’s sugar.
The Midwest
In Guido’s honor, the Triple D Burger (pages 136-7) has been added to the deep fried menu at Joe’s Gizzard City in Potterville, Michigan.
Two ground chuck patties are cooked medium rare and placed between two slices of America cheese, chopped white onion, tomato and pickle slices. The bun’s contents are smashed together tightly, dipped into pancake batter and fried until golden brown and crispy.
At Gizzard City, founded in 1960 with Grandma Bristol’s recipe for super tender, garlic fried chicken, Chef Joe will toss nearly anything into bubbling hot oil: hot dogs, burgers, fish, fries, even Oreos and Frinkies (fried Twinkies).
West and Southwest
Originally a 24-hour joint named El Patio, the Ramona Café boasts yet another deep fried delight, Chicken Cordon Bleu, topped with fresh Hollandaise.
In this small California eatery, cinnamon roll wizard, Sonja Vanderveen, produces football-sized rolls on a daily basis. “You need a rubber spatula to get it off the roof of your mouth,” laughs Guy. Her Blue-Ribbon Cinnamon Rolls can be found on pages 200-201.
Pictures, pictures, and more pictures create an appealing backdrop for the story of each establishment, the local chefs, the food and of course, the big ham bone himself.
For easy reference to the distinctive food of small town America, a recipe index is included. Sadly, only 60 of the 122 restaurants featured on the Monday night Food Network Show could be included in the 250-page book.
Looking for unusual regional food on your next road trip, take along a copy of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, An All American Road Trip with Recipes, co-authored by Ann Volkwein and this restaurateur with plenty of bling.
