Diners, Drive-ins and Dives

If you are looking for Julia Child, this is not the show for you. Guy Fieri, the host of the show, visits diners, drive-ins and dives, just like the title says. These places feature down-home cooking, bar food, truck-stop standards, Cajun recipes, Southern dinner table traditions, NJ diner menu items, etc. In short, they feature comfort food. What is comfort food? According to Wikipedia, comfort food is "food which provides a nostalgic or sentimental value to the consumer and is often characterized by its high caloric nature, high carbohydrate level, and simple preparation." In short, the show features food that is comforting as well as delicious. Guy travels from the Atlantic to the Pacific and highlights restaurants that have a reputation for comfort food. He visits the kitchens and a few menu items are prepared in toto with us, the food-loving public, watching.

Guy has a style all his own, but the show's emphasis is on the food, which is usually mouthwatering. As HGTV is to home remodeling and buying, DD&D is to food preparation and consumption.

Watching the restaurant customers chow down on the food is both satisfying and tortuous, because you want to partake yourself. Watching the food preparation gives the viewer a vivid concept of the subtleties of the recipes, and some of them are not simple despite the definition of comfort food.

This is enjoyable viewing for anyone who appreciates finding those hidden treasures of delightful dining that are somewhere in every small town and big city.

If you've ever written an angry letter to a corporation demanding that they remove all trans-fat from their products, this show might not be your cup of tea.

Normal humans, on the other hand, will think that it is mac-daddy money and totally off the hook (which is to say, rather enjoyable).

Host Guy Fieri drives his red 1967 Camero convertible across the country on a never-ending road trip to Flavortown. He stops at locally owned restaurants which generally feature big portions, big flavor, big attitude, and big crowds. Many of the restaurants on this show have been local favorites for decades, some going back 90 years or more.

The restaurants featured on "Triple D" usually have some unusual feature. This includes a restaurant inside of a gas station, a classically trained chef serving meals at a bowling alley, a roving wagon which brings bar-be-que to your neighborhood, a restaurant that is made out of old school buses, a joint that serves a combination of Mexican-Jamaican-Chinese food, and hundreds more.

As a cooking show, I find DDD to be better than most of the shows on Food Network. With most pot and pan shows, the host is trying to impress you with their cleverness. On DDD, you get to watch actual people cook actual food for actual crowds of people spending actual money. You see plenty of innovative techniques and flavor combinations for making and serving great food when time is of the essence.

Many of these techniques and flavor combinations can be applied to lean protein, fruits, vegetables, beans, legumes and whole grains. In other words, you can watch this show and then make a healthy meal for your family that they'll actually eat. Watch this show with a pen and a notepad. You'll be glad you did.

Diners Drive-Ins And Dives showcases America's diversity, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. 500 years from now, historians will study this show to understand American culture in the early 21st century, and to laugh at Guy Fieri's hairstyle.

...Guy Fieri needs a little more finesse.

I mean, I like the show because it does show some excellent culinary wizardry in various locales across the country, but the few things I don't like are Guy's showmanship, the way he wants to stick his nose into wanting to assist where It's not very welcome, also sticking his fingers into things like sauces, batters, unfinished products, and so on (bad hygiene!); but the one thing that sickens me is his "hunch" - good lord, Guy do you have to stuff half a sandwich in your mouth to enjoy it? What if you got a whole mouthful of raw garlic or undercooked chicken? Would you then call it ridonkulous? How many takes does it need to be what you really call edible? I'm sure no restaurant chef or diner cook is going to redo the same plate more than three times to satisfy your pallet!

Other than, it's good to watch, but he could lose the childish behavior and jokes behind. Maybe I am just overcritical here, but like I said, I do enjoy the series.

that are thinking of attending a live event: Went to the Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival sponsored by the Food Network. This was the worst event I ever attended.

With a name like "Guy Fieri's Cheesesteak Battle", I assumed 2 things: (1) It would be a "battle" like iron chef or chopped and (2) Guy Fieri would actually be there...like a host or MC. Neither of which were true.

Event was outside in 90 degree heat, it was muggy and started raining. You had to wait in overcrowded lines for cheese steaks and walk through grass which turned to mud. My wife and her heals didn't appreciate this at all.

We paid $80 a ticket because we thought we were going to a 3 hr event/show, INDOORS, with FOOD NETWORK QUALITY CHEFS...NOPE. Cheesesteaks were from sub-par establishments and chain restaurants. Lee's Hoagies had the best steak and it was a 6 on a scale of 1-10 for anyone who has ever been to Philly.

We left after an hour and a half so maybe Guy eventually showed his face. I don't really care, it was an awful event that took advantage of Guy's fans by attaching his name to it. I had come to expect more from the Food Network brand.

Touring America's restaurants the only way Guy Fiery knows how - by introducing you to the families who prepare it & the cultures that inspired them to do so. Making food fun is what Guy does best.