Everything is better with a side of fries! On this episode of Meat & Potatoes, fries take center stage as Rahm Fama scours the country for delicious meaty meals and the unique fries that come with them. Rahm's first stop is Tucson, Arizona at Zinburger, where the chef's topping his gourmet burger with fine wine and serving it up with decadently sinful Double-Truffle Fries! Then in Las Vegas at KGB in Harrah's casino, Rahm spies some meaty fries so good they should be a government secret. No doubt about it – everyone's a winner with Chef Kerry Simon's indulgent and fun Short-Rib, Sloppy-Joe Waffle Fry Nachos. Lastly, Rahm visits La Laiterie at Farmstead in Providence, Rhode Island where New England's "Prince of Pork" is cooking up beer-braised pork belly sandwiches served alongside crispy, handmade, golden Polenta Fries.
We're firing up like an inferno and hitting a variety of dishes across the United States that have all the flame in their game! In Santa Monica, California, a burger joint is putting heat to their meat with a sauce made from guava and habanero peppers. A Charleston, South Carolina, barbecue pit turns low-and-slow brisket into a fiesta of flavors and a restaurant in Los Angeles torches everything they touch. There's a fire burning in a globe-trotting spot in Washington, DC, and a San Diego pizza joint makes waves with its wood-burning oven. We check out a spot in Nashville's red-hot restaurant scene and try a flaming dessert served in New York City. Finally, a San Diego restaurant flame-grills dreamy meats from their 22-ounce bone-in ribeye to their 14-ounce dry-aged pork chop.
The Hungry Detective, Chris Cognac, hits the streets of The Big Apple to crack the case of the best off-the-beaten-path slice of New York pizza at Bleecker Street Pizza, which is owned and operated by a former New York Police Department officer. During his investigation he also uncovers a meaty combo plate slathered with savory sauce at West Harlem’s Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, an unbelievable three-course steak dinner at an affordable price at the Upper Westside’s Fairway Market Café and Steakhouse, a mouth watering mixed-berry pancake breakfast at the Uptown Kitchenette—a hidden gem of a breakfast joint that caters to hungry students from nearby Columbia University—and some of the best burgers and shakes in town, after a trip to a locals-in-the-know stand called Shake Shack in Madison Square Park.
It's nothing but hot, hot heat for Noah Cappe, who makes stops in some of the country's most sweltering states. First, Noah checks out the Florida State Fair's Temperamental Hog -- a spicy and savory funnel cake-- plus Philly Pizza Curls that dress ribbon fries with a mashup of pepperoni pizza and Philly cheesesteak. In the deserts of Tucson, Arizona, at the Pima County Fair, Noah makes a pitstop for the Truck Stop Burger piled high with roasted peanuts, bacon jam and a pink snowball cake, served with the Strawberry Shake-Up -- a sweet strawberry boba milkshake with a toaster pastry surprise. Things really heat up when Noah comes face-to-face with the Loco Elote Ramen and its spicy cheese puff dust atop grilled corn ramen. Then, there's more to munch on at Rodeo Austin with the Cajun flavors of the seafood-stuffed Swamp P'Boy and The Sunday Special that packs all the comforts of a roast dinner stuffed into a turkey leg.
Chef Cliff Crooks connects with three chefs in need of help, starting with Carlos in New London, Conn. He came to the U.S. from Ecuador and achieved the American dream while working in kitchens, but as the head chef at Hot Rods Cafe, he must learn some tricks beyond cooking wings and burgers to help his best friend and the restaurant's owner bring in new customers to pay for a costly renovation. In Essex Junction, Vt., cooking saved the life of former addict Cody, but he needs help getting past his self-doubt to successfully run the kitchen at El Gato Cantina. Finally, Chef Cliff meets Kelly, a self-taught chef who transformed her health-food meal prep business into Fit Foodie Express in Long Beach, N.Y. She and her husband put their savings into the business, but her lack of cooking and restaurant experience could mean the end of not only their business but also their marriage.