Trying out some places in the Heartland - Part 1 (DDD in Omaha)

Now that the busy summer travel season had ended I knew I wanted to get back on the road to try some more places.  I still wanted to get to Albuquerque and out to Northern California, but time was limited and flights to Albuquerque didn't look good nor did I have enough time to get to the area of Northern California I wanted to get to so I thought maybe getting out to Des Moines, Iowa and Omaha, Nebraska might work.  I could fly into either place and they are only about an hours drive apart, so that would do.  As the days to the trip got closer the flights were filling up and since I fly stand-by, that's not a good thing!  It looked like if I got there I would not be able to get home, so I had to rethink this and looked at maybe flying into Kansas City, there are nonstop flights form Dulles to KC, but Omaha and Des Moines meant connecting through Chicago and that was a bit dicey so I decided to try KC.  As I researched the KC area for Triple D places there were 9 places I had not been to (I did a DDD trip to KC about 4 years ago, where I visited my 200th place) so I decided to give up the 5 Des Moines locations, for now, and do KC and Omaha on this trip.

In planning I saw that Omaha is about a 2 and a half hour drive from KC and I decided to immediately head to Omaha and get to the 6 places there and then head back to Kansas City.  I caught the morning flight from Dulles to Kansas City and luckily the flight arrived early so I was able to get the car and head north to Omaha.  Contrary to what many think, this part of the Midwest is not flat, but rolling hills all the way up Interstate 29 through Missouri, Iowa and into Nebraska.  Thoughts of Professor Harold Hill and the Music Man went through my head and I thought, "Is it pronounced IoWA or IoWAY?" 

I knew I had to make good time as the first place I wanted to try was open from 11a-2p so to make the most of my time I had to get there first.  I had made good time and I was able to get there about 1250p.  "Big Mama's Kitchen" is in an older building at the Nebraska School of the Deaf.  It is on the second floor of an old school building and has the classic school cafeteria two colored tile floor.

Big Mama's in Omaha

Famous Fried Chicken

The place was pretty busy as they had a bus group visiting.  On the Triple D episode they featured two of Big Mama's specialty's;  The Afro Burger is a hot dog shaped beef burger filled with all types of extremely hot African spices;  and the legendary Pig's Ear Sandwich (which has become a classic Triple D episode segment).  Guy really had a hard time trying this and I was going to avoid it myself but I knew that as scared as I was to try it, I knew that I had to, so I reluctantly ordered it!  I remembered on the episode it looked rubbery, but when it came out I was pleasantly surprised, the ear was lightly breaded and came on a nice hard roll.  The roll had yellow (but spicy) mustard on it with two small ramekins, one with picked onions and the other with extremely spicy pepper relish.  I bit into it and it was pretty good, a bit soft and gelatinous but tasty.  I would probably order it again.

Big Mama's Famous Pig Ear Sandwich

After finishing I was able to meet Big Mama, herself.  She is quite the celebrity and now has a show on the Cooking Channel!  I had a few minutes to talk with her and get he to sign my book, she is a very nice lady.  She didn't know that her place is featured in one of Guys Triple D books and brought it back to show her daughter, Miss Gladys, who also signed it.

Big Mama and me

I left and headed to the next place which was on the other side of Omaha.  A unique place for Omaha named  for the street it's on.  "California Tacos and More" features Mexican cuisine and was opened by a guy who missed the tastes of the foods he enjoyed on his trips to Mexico, he had never worked in restaurants prior to opening this place.  I was welcomed in by the manager , who was excited when she saw my book and she reminded me what was featured on their episode and I decided on the Beef Burrito. 

Omaha's California Tacos and More

She then directed me to the salsa area.  There was cold plate area with condiments for customers to add like olives, onions, cilantro, jalapenos and tomatoes.  The coolest ting was the two salsa dispensers, they were Margarita dispensers that kept the salsa cold and fresh, I had never seen anything like it.

California Tacos and More Salsa dispensers

My burrito came out and it was really good.  I am not the biggest fan of Mexican food, but this was great, not all sauced up but really tasty.  Just meat and house made tortillas.  This could make me a huge Mexican fan! 

My Beef Burrito

The manager came over and signed my book, another great Triple D place!  I headed out to check in to my hotel for the night and take a rest break before heading out to try some more places.  Omaha (and it's Iowa sister city, Council Bluffs) is a very industrial area.  I passed a lot of mail order centers and home of the famous Omaha Steaks.  As you pass over the Platte River that divides Nebraska and Iowa there is a huge statue celebrating the importance of railroads to the area, a modern diesel  Union Pacific engine sits along side an older steam engine.

I headed out to my next stop which was in what seemed like an old Big Boy Restaurant but had been transformed into a sports pub.  "Brewburgers" features hamburgers and pub grub.  They specialize in stuffed burgers.  The place is filled with TV's showing all types of sport themed programing.

I decided to try one of their specialty burgers, The Brewburger burger is a stuffed burger with Cheddar Cheese and bacon.  As it arrived it looked like a perfect burger and the server brought me mayonnaise on the side.  I poked a knife in the burger and the cheese oozed out. 

Brewburger burger

All the cheese oozing out!

Delicious stuffed burger

This burger was delicious and it needed nothing else, no ketchup, no mayo, nothing!  As I was finishing up I asked the server if I could get my book signed and the owner came out and we chatted for a minute or two as he signed.  If you like a good burger then Brewburger is the place for you!

I drove to my next stop, which was located in a very industrial part of Omaha, "Joe Tess' Place" is a fish market and restaurant.  Seafood and fish in Omaha?  I know, not really near any ocean, but this place is pretty legendary in Omaha.  The prices are great and as I was seated in the open restaurant, at the bar "Diners Drive-ins and Dives" was being shown!  They serve all types of fish but specialize in fresh water carp.  I decided to try the single fish sandwich.

Joe Tess Place - Fresh Fish in Omaha

You'd think that single fish sandwich would be a small fish patty, something like you might get at a fast food place.  The price, $4.50, would make you think so.  Wrong! The single fish sandwich is a whole fried carp on a slice of bread.  You can get single, double or triple, which means one, two or three whole fried Carp!

Joe Tess Single Fish Sandwich

The breading was very light and the fish meat just fell off the bone.  No tartar sauce was presented or needed, it was great just as it was!  Normally I don't like fighting with the bones in fish but no problems here!

The most unreal thing was that all that food for less than 5 bucks!  We need Joe to come to DC!  I headed to my last place of the day in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  In the downtown area is a very eclectic place called "Dixie Quicks".  Dixie Quicks has been around for 20 years and has been in Council Bluffs for about 5 years.  The new place is larger than the other locations in the past and they have a small art gallery attached.

I decided to try something small and being a fan of Crab Cakes, I thought I would try it and see how it compared to the cakes I love from the Chesapeake Bay.  This was not the cake I was used to, but was large and had a different kind of stuffing than what I'm used to.  The cake was loaded with chunks of lump crab meat and that's always a good thing! 

Dixie Quicks Crab Cake appetizer

The only thing I was not a huge fan of was the tomato butter sauce, it was a bit on the sweet side for me, but the amount crab in the cake far made up for it.  My server was excellent, attentive and caring.  I asked her if there was someone that would sign my book and she went and got the owner, Rob, to come out and sign and he sat down and we talked for a good 20 minutes about the show, the restaurant, Renee, his partner and chef of the place.  It was just like we were buddies for life!  Rob later that night joined the Triple D Facebook page that I am an admin for.  I really enjoyed Dixie Quicks and would go back in a heart beat!

The next morning I got up and had one more place in Omaha to try before heading back to Kansas City.  I headed out to a very plain looking place that belied the good stuff that the kitchen was producing.  "Amato's Café" is a breakfast an lunch place that really sells it's Italian heritage. 

Amato's Café - A legendary Omaha Breakfast joint

I arrived and there was just one car I the parking lot, by the time I left the lot and he restaurant were full.  Amato's is a legend in the Omaha diner scene.  I decided on the classic Biscuits and Gravy.  It was awesome, very mild tasting sausage gravy covering a flaky biscuit.  As I was finishing up, Mr. Amato arrived and he was great, telling me funny stories of the filming and making me and the others feel at home.

Biscuits and Gravy at Amato's - Yes, there is a biscuit under that

I really enjoyed Amato's and would go back, not only for the food but to visit more with Mr. Amato!  I got back in the car for the 2 and half hour drive back to Kansas City.  After my Omaha visit my DDD count was 425!

What happens in Vegas is TASTY!

I was told by my manager at work that there was going to be a meeting that everyone in our office would be attending in Las Vegas the first week of October.  As it got closer and the dates and agenda was set I thought it would be great to see a friend that I worked with about 18 years ago before he transferred there.  We would be in Vegas for about 48 hours travelling out on a Tuesday morning and back home on Thursday morning.  The agenda showed one of the nights free, so I contacted my friend and we made a plan to meet at the hotel I was staying at and go to one of the 8 or 9 Las Vegas places that Guy visited on the show. 

I arrived into Vegas and looked at the agenda for the meetings and they had changed, they scheduled a team building Vegas-style scavenger hunt of silly items on the Vegas strip.  After talking to my manager we did some of the items and then he let me off to go and do some Triple D things.  I called my friend, Bob Bricker, and arranged for him to come to the hotel and pick me up and head to dinner.  The place I chose was "Forte European Bistro and Tapas Bar" which features Bulgarian cuisine.  This is the one place in Vegas that I wanted to go to as it was the place that Guy's crew pulled the biggest prank on Guy in the history of the show. 

I can't do justice to the prank by trying to explain it but it is a Triple D classic and the crew along with owner Nina Manchev and her father Stephan pulled one over on Guy that has become a classic!

Forte is in a strip mall and by seeing it you would have no idea that you in the Gambling Capital of Las Vegas.  As you enter you see a lot of Bulgarian and Eastern European paintings and decorations.  Like a number of places featured on Triple D they have a section of the menu where they feature the items presented on the show.  We decided to try one of their unique Bulgarian appetizers and then share the two Triple D main dishes.  First they brought over some bread along with olive oil and mix of spices and Bulgarian paprika for dipping, and was very tasty.  Our appetizer was the Marcona Almond stuffed dates which were wrapped in bacon and drizzled with a Jerez Sherry reduction.  I must tell you that I was very surprised, this was delicious. 

Marcona Almond stuffed Date appetizer

Just as we were finishing the dates they brought out the first of the entrees.  We had ordered the Bulgarian Mixed Grill and the Thracian Clay Pot.  The pot takes an extra amount of time so for us it became like a 3 course meal.  The Bulgarian Mixed Grill featured three in-house made Bulgarian style sausages called Kiutte, Kebabche and Loukaniko served with Bulgarian Bean Relish, European Bean Slaw and Liutenzia, which is tomato and red pepper mixture.  This was delicious the sausages, one was burger shaped and the others were links. All were great and had various degrees of spice.  The sides added to the flavors of the sausages. 

Bulgarian Mixed Grill

Then the Thracian Clay Pot came out and I was surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did.  Inside the traditional Bulgarian Clay Pot was Charcuterie meats with tomatoes, onions, feta and topped with an egg.  The egg came out poached and the whole thing was awesome.

Thracian Clay Pot

As we were finishing up, I noticed sitting at the bar was the father of the owner, who I remembered from the episode and I knew I wanted to get him to sign my book and if Nina, the owner was there I wanted to meet her, too.  I introduced myself to Stephan and told him about my travels and he happily signed my book and told me that Nina was out having dinner on the patio with a friend so we went out and get her to sign the book and we took a couple of pictures.

There I am with Nina and Stephan

As we were taking care of the bill (very inexpensive!) Stephan asked it we would like a drink and although both of us are not big drinkers we said yes and asked him to send something that is traditional to Bulgaria and he sent over a Watermelon smash and we toasted to goo times!  The drink was Russian Vodka based with fresh mint, lime and watermelon infused and it was very refreshing.  This would be the perfect drink on a hot day, This must be very popular to the patrons of Forte in the heat of Las Vegas!

Watermelon Smash courtesy of Stephan Manchev  Upper Picture is the cup in English the bottom is the cup in Cyrillic

After saying goodbye to Nina and Stephan we headed out and reminisced about old times working together and it was a great time with an old friend!

Our meeting agenda showed that we would be having a team dinner the next night but because of the logistics of getting around Las Vegas they cancelled that and told us we would be on our own.  Woo Hoo!  There were a few places I still wanted to try.  I saw that one of the admins of the Triple D Facebook sites was going to be in Vegas so we arranged to meet at a Triple D place for dinner.  After the days meeting ended I decided that I would try a couple of places before meeting Shelley and her husband.  I got a cab from the hotel and headed to the next places that were next to each other.  "Naked City Pizza" and "Moon Doggies Bar" are interconnected so I tried Naked City Pizza first.

Naked City is a pretty bare bones place.  You order at the counter and they bring the pizza to you.  I ordered a slice of pepperoni pizza and had some water along with it.  The pizza was presented in a take home box.  The pizza was good, thick sliced tasty.  The pepperoni was small but spicy.  The place is a family style place with 4 or 5 Xbox screens for the kids to play.

Naked City Pepperoni Pizza Slice

I headed next door to Moon Doggies.  It was a dark smoky place with video poker and slot machines at the bar.  The place was packed and seemed to be a place the locals go.

I sat and the far end of the bar and decided to get a beer and as I was talking with the bar tender I told here why I was there and she got excited and went to get the owner. 

Blue Moon at Moon Doggies

The owner is a Buffalo, New York transplant so there is a lot of Buffalo sports memorabilia adorning the bar and Buffalo snacks and wings are available.  He signed my book and also gave me a t-shirt!  As I was there I got a message that Shelley and her husband had been delayed and would not be able to meet me.  I really didn't want to go to where we were going to meet, not because I didn't want to try it, I did, but their specialty is Stromboli and They served us Pizza for lunch and I had just had another slice, so I was just about pizza'd out!  I got on my phone and used the Food Network app to see which other Triple D location was nearby.  The app is excellent and shows how far the places are from your current location.  I decided to get a cab and head to "Lola's - A Louisiana Kitchen",  The cab driver told me he had never been there but had seen it on the Food Network, the only channels he watches are The Food Network and Velocity, alright a Triple D fan!

This place is all Louisiana and decorated with memorabilia of New Orleans, sports stuff from the Saints and the LSU Tigers. 

I was seated at a small table and I asked the waitress what was featured on their episode, she showed me the items and I decided on a Po Boy named for New Orleans Saints Quarterback Drew Brees, the D'brees Roast Beef Po Boy.  I also ordered a side of Lola's grits.  As I awaited the meal, the waitress brought me some char grilled bread.  Lola came by and signed my book and we talked about the show and the filming process, she is a really nice lady!  They also brought me some extra items to try.  Two char-grilled Oysters and a small plate of New Orleans style sausage.  The Sausage and sauce was delicious but a bit spicy.  The Oysters were awesome!  Some of the best I have ever had!

Char Grilled Oyster and Bread

The sandwich came and Lola told me it would be messy and "get into it"!  The sandwich was really good and the side of grits were unreal!  I can say that they were by far he best grits I had ever eaten!   What a great meal and a great place!

D'brees Roast Beef Po Boy

Lola's Creamy Grits

An interesting side note is that Lola's is in a former bread factory.  Holsum Bread was baked in this building until about 2008 and the coolest thing is that they pay homage to the legacy with cool neon signs.

Lola paying homage to it's past

I headed back to the hotel and for me I went to Vegas and didn't see the inside of a casino, but who cares!  What happened in Vegas for me was delicious!  My Triple D count stands at 419!

Getting Away

In July 2015 my dad passed away and it was and still is a huge loss for me.  I lost my mom in 2005 and really depended on my dad's guidance and wisdom for help on decisions and other things.  I will miss him terribly. 

I was given some time off from work and instead of just sitting around home I decided to just get away from the area for a while and just try to get my head back on straight.  I had wanted to get to the Charlotte area to try some more Triple D places so I thought that this would be a good time to do both.  Charlotte is only about a 6 to 7 hour drive so after dad's memorial service was over I headed south to North Carolina. 

After an overnight stop in the High Point area I headed south into Charlotte.  There were 6 places to try and I wanted to get them done over a day, maybe two.  I arrived in the area and headed to a west side neighborhood to my first stop.  "300 East" is a nice café style restaurant that is in an huge turn of the 20th Century home.  It get's it's name from the address 300 East Boulevard.  Inside it is very quaint.  I was seated in a small booth that was built into the curvature of the room.

300 East in Charlotte

I looked over the menu and there were a lot of old style southern meals available, some were a bit more expensive than I would have liked so I decided on one of the quintessential southern sandwiches, a grilled pimento cheese sandwich and kettle chips. 

My 300 East Pimento Cheese sandwich

The sandwich was tasty and not too spicy, which sometimes these sandwiches can be.  As I finished he chef came out to sign my book.  This was a good way to start my Triple D journey in Charlotte. 

I headed out to my next stop.  I knew this would be a very unique stop.  In one of he early seasons of Triple D (they are on season 22, as I write this) they visited a place in Charlotte called The Penguin Drive In.  It was a very cool and fun place but a few years ago the Penguin closed and the co-owner and chef decided to open a new place just a few miles away and purchased an old auto body shop and renovated it into a very eclectic restaurant which he called "Pinky's Westside".  All the fun energy from The Penguin is now at Pinky's and the place was very busy for a Tuesday lunch.  I was seated at a small bar style seat. 

The place was originally called Triple G Automotive and was a body shop that specialized in Volkswagen cars.  Their are two decorated VWs on site, one in the parking lot and one on the roof.  When Guy made his visit he mentioned the Triple G name as one of his Food Network shows is Guy's Grocery Games or Triple G.

Kept the original sign

Pinky's Westside

I decided to try two small items that were featured on the show.  I tried the Viking Dog, which is a fair style Corn Dog and the Crab Puppies, which are hush puppies with crab meat infused.  Both were excellent.  The Crab Puppies were served with a tartar sauce that had a very nice creamy flavor.  I got to talk to a few of the employees who came over to see my book.  The owner was really great and he told me about building the place and his friendship with Guy. 

Inside Pinky's

Viking Dog and Crab Puppies

Crab Puppies

Viking Dog

It was a great visit and if you want to try a real fun, funky joint then Pinky's Westside in Charlotte is the place to try.  I headed off to my next stop just a few miles away.  "Krazy Fish" is built in an old Pizza Hut building and joins Pinky's as a pretty funky joint.  I was warmly greeted by the server who was very enthusiastic and engaging.  I was pretty full from my other stops so I now that I would like to try something  light.  The menu was very eclectic as was the décor.  As I looked over the menu they featured foods and cuisine that was form all over the place, it was, as they put it pretty "krazy"!  There were items from just about every continent.  The menu had a lot of seafood, hence the name, but there were items to satisfy the non-seafood eater, too! 

I chose the Shrimp Gazpacho, which was served in an ice cream sundae glass bowl and featured 6 huge shrimp in a mildly spicy tomato sauce-soup.  I am not a big fan of spice so the mild spice really enhanced the shrimp.  I go tot talk with both the server and the owner and the eclectic décor was mostly given to the owners by guests.  They told a story that they had a 5 foot stuffed Yeti, but it was stolen by a group that had rented the place for a private party.  I think they were more surprised that someone would steal a 5 foot stuffed Yeti right in front of them as being upset that they had lost it!

Shrimp Gazpacho at Krazy Fish

After getting my book signed I headed out to get a place for the night and rest for a bit.  A few hours later I headed back out.  My next stop would be a first for me, a food truck that was featured on the show.  I was off to a truck called "The Tin Kitchen Food Truck".  I had to check their website to see where they would be.  They would be parked at a small brewery called Birdsong Brewery.   I arrived and there it was parked at the edge of the places parking lot.

I decided on two small items, the beef bulgogi slider and the pork belly taco.  The server and chef were great!  Very friendly and I got to chat a but with the server as I awaited my food.  After getting it I went inside to get a drink and tried Birdsong's Peach Ale, a very strong peach based ale.  The two food items were delicious, if you are in Charlotte and see the Tin Kitchen it is a must try!

Where the Tin Kitchen was parked

My Tin Kitchen/Birdsong meal

Pork Bely Taco and Bulgogi Slider

Birdsong Peach Ale

From there I headed out to a place that had a very interesting cuisine combination.  "Intermezzo Pizzeria and Café" fuses Italian and Serbian cuisines.  Now I have had Italian food all my life so I had to try something from the Serbian side of the menu. 

Intermezzo Pizzeria and Café

I chose a traditional Serbian savory pastry meal sort of like an English Pastie that was filled with ground beef and spices.  It was very tasty and served with a green salad with a very tasty balsamic sauce.  I thought the Pastie was little over cooked but I really did enjoy it.  I got my book signed but the staff really seemed a bit confused on what I was doing. 

My Intermezzo meal

I headed off to my last place in Charlotte and this would be the most unique place on my entire Triple D journey!  In the northern area of Charlotte is a place called Victory Lane Carts and inside is a small café called "Pit Road Bar and Grill".  On the episode Guy and NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer visited to drive go karts and Guy tried out the small café, pretty much a large snack bar and I thought this would be good to try a dessert.  The menu is pretty crazy, right up Guy's alley!  One of the items is hamburger slider that incorporates the sweet treat Moon Pies!

I decided on the Hazelnut Nutella Brownie that was topped with Vanilla Ice Cream.  It was very sweet an pretty good and a good way to end the trip.  In the area there were a number of pictures of Guy and they day he was here filming.  He signed a checkered flag that was on display.  Although the food seemed pretty good,  y thought is that they went there so Guy and Clint could drive some karts!

Pit Road's Hazelnut Nutella Brownie

The next day I headed north to visit with some neighborhood friends that had moved to the Greensboro area.  I grew up with Anne and we went though school together and visited with her parents who were unable to get to dad's service, it was a great afternoon of talking about dad and reliving great memories.  From there I headed the small town of Mt. Airy, which is the boyhood home of Andy Griffith and is the basis for the town of Mayberry on The Andy Griffith Show (TAGS).

I visited the Andy Griffith Museum which are on the grounds of the Andy Griffith Playhouse.  The museum is filled with memorabilia form Andy's professional career focusing on both TAGS and Matlock, there are also posters and pictures from his many movies.  One note if you have never seen Andy's movie from 1957 called "A Face in the Crowd" it is a must see and it is NOT a comedy but a great drama directed by Elia Kazan.

Barney's Sidecar

Andy and Opie Fishin' Hole Statue erected by TV Land

From there I headed onto Main Street which is very much an homage to small town America.  Numerous shops sell TAGS shirts and memorabilia.  A stop in Mt. Airy requires a stop at a place that was mentioned on the show once and was a place that Andy ate at growing up, the Snappy Lunch.  It is a small café that has the "must eat" sandwich on any visit and has been called by North Carolina Magazine as the one sandwich that you must try while in North Carolina, the Snappy Lunch Pork Chop Sandwich, which is a boneless pork chop topped with Cole Slaw, chili tomato and a squirt of mustard, it is heavy and delicious.  I enjoyed it along with a Tenderloin Buscuit.

Downtown Mt. Airy

A Mayberry Must - The Snappy Lunch

Snappy's Tenderloin Buscuit

Snappy's World Famous Pork Chop Sandwich

I headed back home with my Triple D count at 415, but with a heavy heart, it was great to get away to clear my head for a few days, but I will really miss my dad, he will always be in my heart and I can honestly say that all the good that I have is due to him!