Documentary / Reality
Host Guy Fieri takes a cross-country road trip to visit some of America's classic "greasy spoon" restaurants — diners, drive-ins and dives — that have been doing it right for decades.
Mac & Ernie's (Tarpley, Tex.) • Brint's Diner (Wichita, Kan.) • Mad Greek's Diner (Baker, Calif.) Guy Fieri hits the road for his first road trip, startin' with a secret burger recipe in rural Texas, perfect over-easy eggs in a Wichita diner, and Mediterranean cuisine at a hot spot in the middle of nowhere between L.A. and Vegas.
Pizza Palace (Knoxville, Tenn.) • Hullabaloo's Diner (Wellborn, Tex.) • Four Kegs Sports Pub (Las Vegas, Nev.) This week Guy sets out to find great Italian food in places you'd never expect: pizza, pasta and meat sauce at a Knoxville drive-in; a Texas diner servin' up Italian sausage-pepper-and-onion hoagies, Philly cheesesteaks, and from-scratch biscuits and gravy; and a Vegas bar that serves the best Stromboli Guy has ever had.
Patrick's Roadhouse (Santa Monica, Calif.) • Frosted Mug (Alsip, Ill.) • The Penguin (Charlotte, N.C.) Guy goes coast to coast this week in search of some amazing specials. There's the former railroad station dishin' out overstuffed breakfast sandwiches and "The Governator's Special" in Santa Monica. On the South Side of Chicago, one of the few remaining traditional drive-ins rollin' out great Italian beef sandwiches and root beer floats. And in Charlotte, the circa-1954 burger joint cookin' up fried pickles and homemade corn dogs.
Franks Diner (Kenosha, Wis.) • Gaffey Street Diner (San Pedro, Calif.) • The Coffee Cup Café (Boulder City, Nev.), Join Guy this week, as he focuses on the most important meal of the day, Breakfast. Dig into the "Garbage Plate" and cinnamon roll French toast at a local landmark hangout in Wisconsin; indulge in eggs Benedict and a hangover cure fit for "The Duke" in San Pedro; and check out killer omelets and huevos rancheros smothered in chile verde at a 75-year-old Nevada spot.
Baby Blues BBQ (Venice, Calif.) • Louie Mueller Barbeque (Taylor, Tex.) • Bar-B-Q King (Charlotte, N.C.) Guy travels the country this week in search of the best barbecue in America. In sunny California, a spot where buddies are smokin' up unique SoCal barbecue ribs, pulled pork, and homemade sauces. Down in small-town central Texas, it's a joint folks have been linin' up outside since 1949 for legendary brisket, scratch-made sausage, and anything else they cook in their pit. And in Charlotte, a visit to the drive-in bringin' Carolina barbecue car-side since 1959, including vinegar-sauced pulled pork and chicken.
Eveready Diner (Hyde Park, N.Y.) • Leo's BBQ (Oklahoma City, Okla.) • A1 Diner (Gardiner, Maine) The emphasis of the show shifts slightly when Guy investigates the love and attention aimed at three culinary icons beloved by their clientele.
Squeeze Inn (Sacramento, Calif.) • Triple X Restaurant (West Lafayette, Ind.) • Hackney's on Harms (Glenview, Ill.) Guy chases down some of the best burgers in America. First, in Sacramento, an outrageous burger made with as much cheese as meat - all surrounded by a crispy cheese skirt. Then, in Glenview, Illinois, it's a spot in a residential neighborhood that's been grillin' their inside-out burger stuffed with cheddar since the 1920s. And the Indiana joint that's a rite of passage for Purdue University students, servin' up "steak burgers" and nostalgic XXX Root Beer for more than 75 years.
Voula's Offshore Café (Seattle, Wash.) • Red Arrow Diner (Manchester, N.H.) • Hank's Creekside (Santa Rosa, Calif.) This trip, Guy stops in for some one-of-a-kind specials: in Manchester. in Seattle, a spot makin' their signature "Hobo scramble" breakfast. In Guy's hometown of Santa Rosa they're servin' every kind of "Benedict" imaginable. And in Manchester, they've been bakin' homemade Twinkies and 20 kinds of pie since 1922.
Byways Café (Portland, Ore.) • Southside Soda Shop and Diner (Goshen, Ind.) • Taylor's Automatic Refresher (St. Helena, Calif.) This trip, Guy rolls out to some legendary joints that'll take you back in time. In Portland, red vinyl booths and checkered floors keep it feelin' like the '50s as they crank out corned beef hash and key lime pie. Then on to Indiana, it's a total '60s experience, where the special is home-made chili over spaghetti in a parfait glass. And in California Wine Country, an original '40s take-out only burger joint, where nothing has changed -- except the list of burgers now includes Ahi Tuna.
Big Star Diner (Bainbridge Island, WA), Mo Gridders BBQ (Bronx, NY), Harold's Café (Gaffney, SC) Guy visits three places this week that, as the title states, are definitely worth the trip. Ribs in the Bronx, a choriso scramble with salmon hash in Washington state, and pinto beans fried in fatback in South Carolina
Kelly's Diner (Somerville, MA), Bay Way Diner (Linden, NJ), Beacon Drive-In (Spartanburg, SC) Lobster rolls, Philly cheesesteaks, and a meal covered in French Frys. How can you go wrong?
Rosie's Diner (Rockford, Mich.) • The Russian River Pub (Forestville, Calif.) • Al's Breakfast (Minneapolis, Minn.) • Dari-ette Drive-In (St. Paul, Minn.) This trip, Guy's enjoyin' good ole American cookin' at places that are time-tested and community-driven.
Self - Host
Cooking School Stories takes you beyond the classroom and inside the personal lives of nine culinary students at The Art Institute of California - Los Angeles. From orientation to graduation, we'll travel alongside the students as they tackle an intense class load, balance their complicated personal lives and cope with day-to-day stress. Find out if they have what it takes to fulfill their dreams and become America's future chefs.
Join Amy Thielen, native Midwesterner, chef and connoisseur of all things authentically Midwestern, in her charming cabin kitchen as she cooks some of the heartland’s most-delicious and often-surprising dishes. She will also take us to meet the locals at their rural homes or restaurants, lakeside kitchens and working farms.
