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.
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| My 4 DDD books |
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| I even had Guy sign two of the books! |
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| 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.
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| Kramarczuks in Minneapolis |
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| 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!
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| 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!
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