13 Best Holiday Dishes from Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

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Holiday Bread Pudding — Big Daddy's BBQ and Banquet (Fairbanks, Alaska)

Packed with raisins and pears and topped with a bourbon cream sauce, this bread pudding is sure to make even Santa's belly rumble.

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Brisket — Big Daddy's BBQ and Banquet (Fairbanks, Alaska)

Chef Harold Groetsema, who smokes nearly 10 tons of brisket a year, coats his certified Angus beef brisket with a dry rub made from sugar, granulated garlic, mustard, chili, paprika, brown sugar, salt and black pepper. He then smokes it for 12 to 14 hours, until it is juicy and competition-ready.

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Old-Fashioned Chicken Noodle Matzo Ball Soup — Miller's East Coast Deli (San Francisco)

The recipe for this soup has been in Chef Robby Morgenstein's family for generations. Morgenstein uses a mixture of eggs, white pepper, matzo meal and schmaltz to form the soup's matzo balls, which Guy dubbed some of the most "tender, delicious and flavorful matzo balls" he has ever had.

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Brisket Knishes — The Bagel Delicatessen and Restaurant (Denver)

These knishes stuff two separate meals into one. Chef Rhoda Kaplan, who borrowed this recipe from her bubbe (grandmother), uses a buffalo chopper to grind up the brisket and give it a crumbly texture. She then adds the meat to small squares of dough, folding and flattening to form a rounded, delicious patty.

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Smoked Turkey Sandwich — Big Daddy's BBQ and Banquet (Fairbanks, Alaska)

"If that doesn't say holiday in a sandwich, I don't know what does," Guy said after taking a bite of this sandwich. Brined with a mixture of brown sugar, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, black pepper, granulated garlic and honey, and smoked for two hours, this sandwich is stacked high with layers of smoky flavor.

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Potato Knish — Flakowitz of Boynton Bakery and Deli Restaurant (Boynton Beach, Fla.)

Light, flaky and packed with potatoes, these knishes are one of Flakowitz's most popular items. Head baker Angelo Pirozzi keeps the potato skins on when making the mixture found inside the knishes, for a healthier consistency.

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Pork Chops with Apple and Bread Stuffing — At Last Cafe (Long Beach, Calif.)

Located in Guy's former stomping ground, At Last Cafe is where gourmet cooking meets affordable prices. For example, pork chops like these cost only $10.25! Price aside, the mastery here shows in this dish's gravy, which is made from roasted chicken bones and a succulent tomato sauce.

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Stuffed Cabbage — Flakowitz of Boynton Bakery and Deli Restaurant (Boynton Beach, Fla.)

Don't let the Florida location fool you; this cabbage dish is stuffed with classic New York City deli flavors. Filled with crumbly ground beef and white rice, and topped with a sugar and tomato sauce, these cabbages are a tasty blend of sweet and sour.

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Potato Latke Delight — Miller's East Coast Deli (San Francisco)

Chef Robby Morgenstein browns his potato latkes on a griddle before deep-frying them for additional color. He then drapes the latkes with juicy, cut-to-order pickled corn beef and pastrami, and adds a dollop of sour cream and applesauce on the side for dipping.

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Matzo Ball Soup — The Bagel Delicatessen and Restaurant (Denver)

Every day Chef Rhoda Kaplan spoons out 15 to 20 gallons of this soup, which she has been making since she was just 3 years old. Another one of Bubbe's classics, the soup calls for an ingredient that you usually don't find in matzo ball recipes: ginger!

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Kishka — The Bagel Delicatessen and Restaurant (Denver)

"Where's this big Jewish dumpling been all my life?" Guy joked when he tasted this kishka. Made from ground carrots, onions, eggs and matzo meal, and formed by hand into a log shape, this dish is as unique as its name suggests!

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Sugar-Glazed Smoked Ham — Center Point Pit Barbecue (Nashville)

Owner and pitmaster Robert Duke brines his ham for four days before putting it in the smoker, where it sits for six hours. Once it's smoked, Duke coats the ham with a brown sugar, cinnamon and black pepper glaze. The ham is then torched, resulting in a crispy outer shell that Guy called "ham brittle."

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Holiday Tamale — Mas Tacos por Favor (Nashville)

Available on Wednesdays and holidays only, these authentic Mexican tamales are one of a kind. To make the masa portion of the tamale's filling, Chef Teresa Mason whips chicken fat in a stand mixer, adding it to ground cornmeal and lime-infused chicken broth for a light and airy texture.

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Best Holiday Dishes from Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

Holiday Bread Pudding — Big Daddy's BBQ and Banquet (Fairbanks, Alaska)

Brisket — Big Daddy's BBQ and Banquet (Fairbanks, Alaska)

Old-Fashioned Chicken Noodle Matzo Ball Soup — Miller's East Coast Deli (San Francisco)

Brisket Knishes — The Bagel Delicatessen and Restaurant (Denver)

Smoked Turkey Sandwich — Big Daddy's BBQ and Banquet (Fairbanks, Alaska)

Potato Knish — Flakowitz of Boynton Bakery and Deli Restaurant (Boynton Beach, Fla.)

Pork Chops with Apple and Bread Stuffing — At Last Cafe (Long Beach, Calif.)

Stuffed Cabbage — Flakowitz of Boynton Bakery and Deli Restaurant (Boynton Beach, Fla.)

Potato Latke Delight — Miller's East Coast Deli (San Francisco)

Matzo Ball Soup — The Bagel Delicatessen and Restaurant (Denver)

Kishka — The Bagel Delicatessen and Restaurant (Denver)

Sugar-Glazed Smoked Ham — Center Point Pit Barbecue (Nashville)

Holiday Tamale — Mas Tacos por Favor (Nashville)

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