Rocky Mountain High - DDD returns to Denver

Well the time has come to start my vacation for the beginning of December 2012.  The last couple of years I have taken cruises and combined them with DDD visits.  This year I decided to do a DDD visit vacation.  In mid October after returning from my Jersey Diner Tour I started to plan where I wanted to take this extended DDD trip.  Some of the places I was looking at were Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Memphis.  As it got closer a few new places came into play and eventually were the  cities I decided upon.  I would start my travels in Denver and then move to Oklahoma City and then St. Louis and end with a more non-DDD stop (but would still get to a few) in the Los Angeles area.  It would be a busy and tasty 10 days!

After working the night before I flew out to Denver on a 930a nonstop.  After getting the car and checking into my hotel for the overnight I headed northwest towards the home of the University of Colorado, Boulder.  Boulder is a very cool and quaint place.  The town seems to be nestled into the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.  I headed for my first stop, a very popular ands well known restaurant bar called 'The Sink".  This place is a hang out for CU students and locals, alike.  As you walk in you see the open kitchen where burgers, sandwiches and pizzas are the favorite meals.  Walking past the kitchen and into the seating area and bar, he ceiling drops to about 7 feet tall.  The walls are adorn with all kinds or funny paintings and cartoons.  The ceilings are filled with signatures of visitors and employees.  It is said that a young Robert Redford worked at The Sink during his days at CU. 

The menu is filled with great sandwiches and burgers and it was hard to make a decision.  I decided upon the "Cowboy Reuben", a Reuben style sandwich but with Brisket and cole slaw and a sauce with a real spice kick to it.  It came with a side of slaw and some sliced cucumbers in spicy dill juice. 

The Sinks Cowboy Reuben

 I really enjoyed it and was able to get one of the chef's to sign my book.  If I am back kin Boulder I will definitely come back and get a pizza at The Sink.

I moved on to a nearby place in Boulder.  Just about 4 miles away is a place that specializes in Crepes, so I figured lunch at The Sink and dessert at my next stop.  The place is called "Foolish Craig's Cafe" and does both sweet and savory crepes.  When Guy was here they made a cake-like dessert made totally from crepes so I decided on their crepe cake of the day.

My Dessert Crepe Cake

The dessert was called Caramel Butter Cream Crepe Cake.  The topping was delicious, the crepes were a bit dry for my liking.  I think that if there were about half the number of layers it would have been perfect.  Don't get me wrong it was delicious, but just a bit too much (an that is something that you won't hear from me often!).  The staff there was great and very friendly.   I headed out to take a break and then go on to dinner at my last stop of the day.

I headed into Denver to a very unique place for me.  I have never been to a Native American Indian restaurant.  My stop was at "Tocabe".  I had pictured this place as a posh sit down place, it is not.  You order at the line and they make your order in front of you.  I was greeted by one of the owners and he explained about all the different items and sauces and toppings.  They even have a separate "Guy Menu" for the items made on the show.  I knew that the Bison Chops with the Blueberry Sauce was going to be too big a meal for me so I chose the Indian Chicken Taco.  This is not your typical taco.  The"taco shell" is more like a fired dough bread and it is loaded with 5 items all  fresh and tasty.  The taco shell just compliments the entire meal.

Tocabe - Native American Eatery

Indian Chicken Taco

During my visit I got to talk at length with both of the owners and we talked about my travels and the history of their restaurant.  The best thing about these guys is they took the time to chat with all the patrons and really made everyone feel at home.

My second and last day in Denver started with an early morning drive into the center of Denver to a place that reminded me of a 60's Coffee Shop.  "Sam's  Number 3" has been around since 1927 and is in the heart of Denver.  It has the classic coffee shop fixtures, a long and curvy counter with the classic stools and booth seating.  I remember when Guy came that Sam's specializes in Green Chile toppings and traditional diner/coffee shop food.  I decided on the Huevos Rancheros which came with Refried beans, Eggs, Green Chile topping and two flour tortillas. 

Huevos Rancheros at Sam's Number 3 

I enjoyed the meal, although I am not a big egg eater.  The Green Chile sauce had a huge kick too them, lucky I had the tortillas to beat down the heat!  I was there at 6am and they were doing a pretty brisk business at that early hour.  I have to give alot of praise to the cashier, she was friendly to everyone as soon as they walked in the door, a hard thing to do that early!

After going back to the hotel to check out I headed north east of the Denver Airport to the town of Brighton and what now is one of my favorite DDD visits.  "Lauer Krauts" is a small cafe that features German sandwiches and burgers.  The twist is they they are totally encased in the roll.  I was greeted by the owner Robin and she and her staff couldn't have been nicer.

I ordered the Kraut Burger, which is shredded ground beef mixed with cooked cabbage and onions in the roll.  On the tables there were different types of sauces, mustard's and ketchup.  I tried Lauer Krauts home made honey mustard and it was the perfect compliment to the delicious sandwich.

Lauer Krauts Kraut Burger

This what makes it great!  The filling!

I can't describe how much I not only enjoyed the  meal  but the staff, that made me feel like part of the family.  I recommend this place to anyone who is in the Denver area, it is fantastic.  All of the sudden just as I was finishing up Robin asked me what kind of dessert I wanted and I told her "Surprise me!".  They brought me a huge piece of Rhubarb Cake.



Dessert at Lauer Krauts


It was unbelievably delisious and they didn't even cahrge me for it!  This was a great way to end a wonderful but all too quick visit to the Mile High City!  The count is now 281!

Back to the Tidewater (and the big 5-0)!

I had wanted to get to the last 3 places in my home state of Virginia for some time.  The 3 are in the Tidewater area of the state near Norfolk and Virginia Beach, which for those of you not familiar with the Commonwealth of Virginia is about 4 to 5 hours drive for me.  I had a few days off so I decided to make an overnight trip to get to them.

Before I get into the trip I have to make a detour in the story.  About a week before the trip, I was lucky enough to have a dinner to celebrate my 50th Birthday.  I normally have a birthday dinner with some family and friends, actually been doing it for abut 20 years but with the big 5-0 upon me this turned out to be bigger than usual.  The place  I wanted at first to hold it did not have a room available the night we wanted so at the suggestion of my sister-in-law Elaine I looked at a Triple D location (the original place not being available became a real blessing in disguise!).  There are really only 2 in the DC area that can handle a larger size group.  I decided to call the "Metro 29 Diner" in Arlington.  The Metro 29 was featured on DDD a few years back and I have been there several times, it was actually the 104th DDD visit that I made.  After talking with the night manager, Nick, we decided upon the day and away we went. 

The Birthday Boy (that would be me!)

I have to say that I am so blessed to have a really great family and group of friends.  My dad, step mom, sister and brothers as well as their families came along with some of my best friends from work, high school and cruising buddies, 37 in all!  The food was excellent and we had just a great time.  The Metro 29 made a huge and delicious birthday cake and my family made a video tribute for me.  I am not usually one to be the center of attention, so it was a bit strange for me, but it was a night I will always cherish and never forget!

The Cake!

My Family

A few days later I set out for southern Virginia to get to the 3 last DDD places in the state.  I knew I could get to all of them in the afternoon.  I use the places websites and Google maps to plan my trips so away I went.  After checking in to the hotel I was staying at in Williamsburg (about an hour from the Norfolk area, in normal traffic, which is never normal in this area) I headed for my adventure.

My first stop was in Norfolk at a inside a farmers market area.  The market is called 5 Points Community Farmers Market.  As I entered I had to explore the building and there in the corner was a small lunch stand looking place called "Get Fresh Cafe".

The Get Fresh Stand

I was helped by the owner, Mike, he cooked with Guy on their episode.  Get Fresh serves all organic and locally grown vegetables.  The menu is not too big, but everything on it looked delicious.  I choose the Patty Melt burger on Rye Bread. 

The sandwich was excellent!  A burger with Havarti Cheese and an apple slice on the side.  This place is a real find.  The prices were very reasonable, friendly service and very tasty.  Mike signed my book and I was really glad to have gone there!

From there I headed into Virginia Beach to a place very near the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.  The "Leaping Lizard Cafe" is a group of buildings that include the cafe and a gift shop of funky eclectic items.  Now as I wrote I use the places websites to plan  my trips.  The Leaping Lizards site showed that they were open UNTIL 5p and I arrived there at 3p,  I walked up and saw that they closed at 3p and would reopen at 5p.  While I was deciding what to do another vehicle with Connecticut plates came up and were also disappointed!  I just can't understand my a place can't update their website, he web can really help the success of a business but I guess this place doesn't need it!

I decided to head out to my last stop which was still in Virginia Beach, but took about 30 minutes to get to.  I pulled into a new strip mall and stopped at "Rigoletto's Italian Bakery and Cafe".  This small cafe seats about 25 and has a huge display case of desserts and pastries.  They also sell dry pastas and wines in a small Italian store area of the cafe. 

I decided upon the Spaghetti and Stuffed Meatball meal.  They had all kinds of great choices from raviolis and paninis and sandwiches.  I chose this meal because on the show the owner made the Stuffed Meatballs with Guy. 

Spaghetti and Stuffed Meatballs

The Stuffed Meatballs

The sauce was pretty good but the meatballs were excellent!  The stuffing was pork, spices, herbs and cheese and was incredibly tasty.  I think the staff knew from my clean plate that I really enjoyed it!
I talked with the owner and she gladly signed my book and told me about the filming at the cafe.  I really appreciate it when I get to talk with the owners and hear their stories.  I headed back home and the elusive 300th visit is getting closer, my count is now 276!

Thanks for the Great Food and Stuff!

This will be a bit of a different blog post than the the 47 others in the past.  First of all I want to tell all of you reading that less than one week after my last DDD trip which was a diner tour of New Jersey the terrible Hurricane turned Mega Storm Sandy hit the same area I had just been to.  I hope and pray that the places that I visited are all doing well.  the one I really am worried about is the 10th Avenue Burrito Company in Belmar.  That area was hit hard and I hope that they fared well.

This blog entry will not be a review of any new places that I have visited but a letter of thanks for all the good food I have been able to try and also for the great gifts that the various owners have given to me.  As it is just weeks before Thanksgiving 2012 these are things that I am thankful for when it comes to my DDD travels

This continuing journey has been a great joy to me.  I have been able to travel all over the USA including Hawaii and meet some really great people and taste alot of great food, some of which I would have never tasted had I not seen it on the show or visited the restaurants.  Many of you that know me, know that I love to travel and this is just an extension of that.  I truly believe that the show "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives" is a great interesting show, one that is a cooking show sort of disguised as a travel show and my favorite show.  Guy Fieri is probably the reason that I (and many others) love the show so much.  His presentation is fun and entertaining.

My first DDD stop was on Memorial Day 2008 at the Village Inn in Richmond, VA and as I write this I have been to 273 places!  In November of 2008 the first of two DDD companion books was published and I had to get it as soon as it came out.  In February of 2009, the night before embarking on a cruise in Miami, a friend of mine and I had dinner at a DDD place called "Scully's Tavern" south of Miami International Airport.  I had been to Scully's the previous summer and really enjoyed it and really liked the owner, Chris, so on this visit I just spur of the moment asked him to sign his little section of my DDD book and from there I now have both DDD books and they are filled with signatures of owners, chefs and restaurant employees of the places featured on the show.

My 4 DDD books

I even had Guy sign two of the books!

I cherish each signature!

I am not sure if I am unique in getting the books signed but it has been a great way to meet alot of great people, restaurant employees or just other fans of the show that are doing the same DDD travels that I am.  I remember in 2009 when I was out in Guy's hometown of Santa Rosa, California at a breakfast place called "Hank's Creekside" my cousin Ralph and I ran into a couple there and later that night when we went to Guy's restaurant called "Johnny Garlic's" we ran into the same couple there!  The owners in most cases have been excellent and they usually ask me about my travels and I always ask about the time spent with Guy and the filming.  One of the most memorable visits I had with an owner was at "Hillbilly Hot Dogs" outside of Huntington, WV.  Sherrie, the owner, sang a tribute song to me, that was very cool.  As she signed my book I was able to sign their wall!  At the "Metro 29 Diner" in Arlington, VA I was able to go back into the kitchen and get the chef to sign my book.  At "Mumuchos Mondo Mex" in Cleveland, the hostess saw me enter with the book and sat me and my buddy Joe at what I can only descibe as the Chef's seat at their open kitchen.  We were able to talk with the chef and we also got some special samples.  I didn't even realize until we were leaving that the hostess sat us there because she saw us with the book, I didn't even mention it!  There are so many neat stories with the book, too many to write about.  In November 2009 I attended the "Guy Fieri Roadshow" in Norfolk, VA and met Guy and had him sign the two books that I had at than time.  I have since had to get an extra copy of each book as the originals are full of signatures.  I do hope that a 3rd volume comes out soon and I also hope to get Guy to sign the other books sometime soon.

This blog began as a suggestion of one of my high school friends, that I reconnected with on Facebook after nearly 30 years.  When I did my DDD stops in Seattle I was able to meet up with Kim and her friend Jeanelle and we went to the "Southern Kitchen" in Tacoma, WA.  She asked me why I didn't write a blog about my travels and after telling her I had no idea how to start a blog, she sent me the info and you are reading the blog!  Kim has been a great encouragement to me in this endeavour and I am so grateful for all of her (and everyones) great comments and suggestions for this blog!

One of the other things that I have gotten on this adventure is gifts.  I am so grateful for all of them.  Some of them are free food or samples.  I have received shirts and pens and other souvenirs and it is a real treat to receive these things.  The first place was at the "Texas Root Burger Company" in Dallas.  The General Manager there thought I needed to try a dessert since I had travelled so far to get to his place and I got one of their signature dessert milk shakes.  At "Keegans" in Indian Rocks Beach, FL they sent me a soup sampler.  The owner of "Mikes City Diner" in Boston personally made a special Breakfast Hash plate for me.   I got to meet the entire staff and they really treated me like royalty!  In New Orleans I went to a real funky bar called "Parasols" and when I went to pay the bar man told me to "Get Out!", now free is very cool!  At the "Bagel Diner" in Denver the owner gave me a takeout brownie, which I used as my in flight meal for my flight from Denver t Honolulu.  All of these food gifts have been wonderful and so appreciated.  A few places have given me pens and those are wonderful, too.

Kramarczuks in Minneapolis



Triple X Burgers in West Lafayette, IN near Purdue University

T-shirts have been the gifts that I have received the most and I really do like and appreciate each one of them.  The first was when I went to "Hodads" in Pacific Beach, CA just outside San Diego.  I was there with my buddy Rich and we were talking with the manager about the filming.  We were seated at the front bar and the conversation started when I asked him to sign the book.  Well one thing led to another and he asked us if we'd like a t-shirt?  The answer to that came in a nano second - YES! 



After that I knew I had to get a Guy Fieri shirt to wear on some of my visits.  Now Guy is "Rock'n Roll" fan and I think he likes the harder rock so his line of shirts have that type of theme.  I hope that one day he will make a line of the bowling style shirts he wears on many of the episodes but I did buy one of the Guy shirts.

My Guy Fieri shirt with the phrase "Love, Peace and Taco Grease"

When I went on my DDD travels in Indiana, I made a side trip to the Cincinnati area to visit a few places.  Now Cincinnati is know for their chili and I visited a wonderful place called Blue Ash Chili which is in the small suburb of Blue Ash!  I was able to meet the owner and she had the chef sign a can coolie.

Then she asked me if I would like one of their new t-shirts and of course I would!  They wouldn't be out for a few more weeks but she asked me for my address and that I would get it in the mail.  Now being cynical I thought that well, may be it might come but not to expect it as they have alot of things on their plate than to send a t-shirt to Leesburg, VA.  About a month later in the mail is a package fro Blue Ash, OH.  Inside is a dark blue t-shirt from Blue Ash Chili.  I love that shirt!

Guy's Way has Deep Fried Jalapenos!

On my trip to Honolulu I visited a very busy drive in called "The Rainbow Drive In".  It isn't a Drive In, in the classic drive in style.  There are no car hops or really alot of parking.  It is a take out sort of place and if you aren't taking it away there are alot of picnic tables set up for you to enjoy your boxed "plate lunch".  The typical plate lunch in Hawaii seems to be a main course with a side of rice and macaroni salad.  Now many people want gravy on the meal and the phrase "Gravy All Over" is one of the Rainbow's trademark phrases.  I was able to meet and chat with Jim, the owner and we talked about the filming and also my travels.  Through that conversation I found out that not only is Jim the owner but also is a retiree from United!  What a coincidence!  He presented me with a really nice t-shirt that he selected with the phrase that fit me!

I think this says it all!

Jim introduced me to a young lady, who is a local food blogger named Cat.  She is aeally cool and I want to encourage you to check out her blog called Cat Travels.  It is a really great blog.  Thanks to you, Catherine Toth!

On a recent trip to Boston (really a port stop on a cruise) I rented a car and drove to a few places, one was in the town of Attleboro.  "Morins Diner" is a landmark there and although it is a new building, the diner celebrated its 100th Anniversary in 2011 and has been owned by the same family for it's entire history!  I met and got to speak to the owner Bill Morin for a good while.  He spoke of the history of the diner and the fun the entire staff had when Guy filmed there as well as their DDD Party they had on the night the episode was first shown.  Bill Morin presented me with a 100th Anniversary shirt, which was the same shirt that the wait staff wears.  What a great honor to receive that!

Just recently I made the aforementioned New Jersey Diner Tour.  One of the places I went to was in the Jersey Shore town of Belmar.  The "10ath Avenue Burrito Company" reminded more of a biker bar than a burrito joint.  The wait staff and owner were excellent hosts and presented me with a t shirt, I was floored, they were excited that I visited them!  I can't express how much I enjoyed their hospitality and with the Storm Sandy hitting so close to them I really hope that all is well there.

I cherish and appreciate all the gifts, food and stories that I have been able to receive through out this journey.  I do write about all of these but I wanted to share them with you.  I also want to thank all of my friends who have joined me at some of the places, those visits with you have really made this even more special.  Thanks so much and I hope that you enjoy the journey as it continues!