Eat your cheeseburger with a spoon - cheeseburger soup, that is - at this funky joint run by a mother-daughter duo. With a menu full of hearty comfort foods, you won't leave hungry, especially if you order the 12-ounce Bruiser Burger with blue cheese.
With a name like Pizzalchik (a union of pizza, salad and chicken), you can expect that this place will serve mighty creative fusion pies. Go whole hog with the two-in-one barbecue chicken-topped Effin Good Pie, which also corrals pineapple, bacon and green onions. Or try Guy’s fave, the Wild Forest Mist, studded with freshly ground elk sausage and wild mushrooms, which he called “the perfect combo.”
You can't get more Honky Tonk than the Memphis in May award-winning pulled pork that's served at this Chicago championship-BBQ eatery. From St. Louis spares to baby backs to the big beef short ribs, they're serving up real-deal slow cooked barbecue with three signature sauces.
The heavy Oregon rain doesn't keep Chef Andy Rickers from cooking up some of his favorite dishes he brought home from his travels across Asia. Guy was all smiles as he ate the grilled boar with chile-lime garlic sauce and the spicy Vietnamese chicken wings topped with fried garlic.
At Niko Niko's, Guy calls the flavor-packed leg of lamb with potatoes "one of the most lemon-forward lamb shanks" he's ever had. Other favorite dishes include the classic moussaka and hearty gyros. Be sure to try the pita bread, as this little joint's cranking out 12,000 pitas a day.
Get drunken salmon gravlax made with aquavit and other new twists on traditional Nordic food at Tre Kronor. Try the classic Swedish Meatballs with mashed potatoes and lingonberry sauce and the Danish Aebleskivers made with apples to satisfy your sweet tooth before heading out.
In their hometown of Santa Rosa, Calif., Guy and his son Hunter have been longtime fans of La Texanita. Owner Alma Mendez's carne asada taco is served on handmade tortillas, and one of Guy's favorites is the posole — an authentic Mexican pork stew.
The Cookie Jar started with just sweets back in 1986. Today their bag full of tricks has way more than gingersnaps, snickerdoodles and snowballs (oh, my!). Tender Prime Rib Au Jus had Guy melting in his chair - the perfect spot to settle in with one of their glazed holiday Cinnamon Roll Wreaths.
Join Guy at the Silver Gulch Brewery in Fox, AK, the Northernmost brewery in the country. The restaurant serves everything from sandwiches to salads to pizzas in a friendly, casual atmosphere. Try the Porter Beer Cheese Soup.
This tiny burger joint is short on space, but customers pack in for favorites like the Squeezeburger with Cheese. A 1/3-pound patty is heaped with so much cheese (more than half a pound) that the topping forms a crisp skirt of sorts after a turn on the flat top. “That thing is money,” said Guy of the cheese-blanketed burger, which comes topped with dill pickles, tomatoes, mustard and mayonnaise.
This small-town cafe doesn't know the meaning of small. Guy learned that all the dishes at Ramona's are standout winners, handmade by owner Sonja Vanderveen. He loved the deep-fried cordon bleu with melted Swiss. To top it off, Sonja's giant pecan cinnamon rolls could barely fit in his mouth.
On Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Guy and Duff stop by one of Baltimore's finest. From beef to turkey, Chaps Pit Beef infuses each bite with a hint of smoky charcoal goodness. Either way you cut it — rare, medium rare or well done — Chaps knows mouthwatering pit beef.
Down by the Mississippi you'll find a sizable "shed" that houses a loyal community of barbecue lovers and live blues music. The house specialty is baby back ribs, which Guy calls "as tender as you can get." They also serve up some righteous chicken "wangs" and brisket in massive quantities.
On Triple D, Guy described The Village Cafe as "part dive, part bar, but all neighborhood joint." Since 1956 they've been churning out a little of all three with "crunchy crunch" ale-battered onion rings and Italian classics like stromboli stuffed with ham, salami, mozzarella and green peppers.
Guy Fieri visits one of America's greatest breakfast joints, Mama's 39th Street, in Kansas City, MO, for some outrageous homemade hash and 60 different omelets on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
Make restaurant favorites at home with copycat recipes from FN Magazine.
Let Guy take you on a coast-to-coast tour Friday at 9|8c.