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How many DDD restaurants have you eaten in


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and yep, I like Guy and think he's a good guy.  When his sister died, he adopted his nephew and changed his last name.  He did a lot for small restaurant owners during COVID.  Have heard he can be a pre Madonna, but I don't know that for a fact.

 

Back on subject, how many DDD restaurants have you eaten at and are there any that you recommend or are wanting to go to?  I dined at a few of the places he recommended  by when I lived in Denver.

Highland Tavern  - was about as good as advertised.  Elevated bar food.  Got the loaded tots I think.

Prohibition  - Had the braised short rib burger.  It was definitely as good as advertised.

Dae Gee - Unlimited Korean BBQ.  Not bad but nothing special

Denver Biscuit Company - great biscuits.  However, did order the fried chicken skins.  Sounded great, but they were ice cold, and no flavor at all.  Have had better. 

 

 

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Well, I imagine I've eaten at most of the Austin joints.  Beyond that, I doubt many, save perhaps some in Santa Fe or St. Louis.

He did an episode in Georgetown with McConaughey at Monument Cafe, I don't think I've eaten there.

OneTaco, Counter Cafe, Noble Sandwich, SLAB BBQ, Green Mesquite, Home Slice, Maria's, Casino El Camino, Pieous, Magnolia . . . all were good to great save Green Mesquite, which is just not a very good Q joint.

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14 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Well, I imagine I've eaten at most of the Austin joints.  Beyond that, I doubt many, save perhaps some in Santa Fe or St. Louis.

He did an episode in Georgetown with McConaughey at Monument Cafe, I don't think I've eaten there.

OneTaco, Counter Cafe, Noble Sandwich, SLAB BBQ, Green Mesquite, Home Slice, Maria's, Casino El Camino, Pieous, Magnolia . . . all were good to great save Green Mesquite, which is just not a very good Q joint.

Casinos burgers are excellent

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I'm on the Leo's BBQ episode in OKC. Season 1. Guy was actually really cool.

Cattlemen's in OKC (tourist trap similar to the Big Texan)

Nic's Grill in OKC.  Best onion burger on the planet

Saucee Sicilian in OKC - very good Neapolitan pizza

Ingrid's in OKC - good german place that the owner's retired and closed

Eischen's in Okarche, OK - good to great fried chicken and okra

Magnolia Cafe in Austin

Twisted Root, Carne Rosso, Maple and Motor - Dallas

The Fold in Little Rock - upscale mexican

Tune Up Cafe  in Santa Fe

Rizzo's in Memphis

Pie Town Tacos in Nashville

 

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1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

Well, I imagine I've eaten at most of the Austin joints.  Beyond that, I doubt many, save perhaps some in Santa Fe or St. Louis.

He did an episode in Georgetown with McConaughey at Monument Cafe, I don't think I've eaten there.

OneTaco, Counter Cafe, Noble Sandwich, SLAB BBQ, Green Mesquite, Home Slice, Maria's, Casino El Camino, Pieous, Magnolia . . . all were good to great save Green Mesquite, which is just not a very good Q joint.

I live in Georgetown and Monument is definitley legit, especially for breakfast.

Great biscuits and homade preserves.

Pancakes are incredible too.

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I was chillin' in a Tampa hotel room years ago, flipping channels, and saw him hanging out with an old buddy of his at his buddy's new Ramen joint.  

"Gee, I wonder where this is?"

Turns out it was in downtown St. Pete.  Hit it the next night.  Met the owner, told him his episode aired again last night, got a tour of the kitchen, drank some high-end whiskey cocktails.  Had an amazing time.  Will be there again in a few months when I'm back in Tampa.

Name of the place was Buya Ramen, by the way.  

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I don't have the time to wade through the hundreds of places Guy's visited on DDD.  But I need to do a better job of checking his site before I take a trip somewhere to see if there's something worth catching.  My 12-year-old son likes Guy and we used to watch DDD more regularly, and I often dig the places he features.

But for the Austin places listed in his site, I've been to Foreign & Domestic, Magnolia, Slab, Green Mesquite, Home Slice, Noble, Casino El Camino, and Taco Xpres.,

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Austin: Magnolia
San Antonio: Tip Top Cafe
Houston: Niko Nikos, Marini's Empanada House, The Original Irma's, Cuchara, Toasted Coconut, Pit Room, Be More Pacific
Denver: Steuben's, Sam's No. 3, Denver Biscuit Company, Blue Pan

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I do some research before I travel.  I have hit quite a few.  There have been hits & misses and meh in there.

Top of my list would  be the Red Iguana in Salt Lake City.  There big claim is mole'.  Probably been there more than 5 times but less than 10 on our trips from West Coast.

 

We had an amazing experience at Street in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  Waiter was very knowledgeable about beer.  Thai Beef Ribs were the headliner and we had two other dishes that were great as well.

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I’ve eaten in quite a few. X indicates if I would go back

Oklahoma
Nic’s Grill OKC. X
Cattlemen’s OKC
Rock Cafe Stroud. X
Eischen’s. Okarche. XX
The Diner. Norman
Leo’s. OKC

Texas
Chop House Burgers. Arlington
Louis Mueller bbq. Taylor
Louie’s. Dallas. X
Chef Point Cafe. Watauga XX
Twisted Root Dallas
Fred’s Texas Cafe. Ft worth X
Lankford Grocery. Houston XXX!
Prince Lebanese. Arlington. XX
Maple & Motor. Dallas.
Monument Georgetown X
Cane Rosso Dallas X
Pecan Lodge Dallas X
Taste of Europe. Arlington. Yuck
Original Irma’s
Crushcraft Dallas X
Valentina’s. Austin. XX
Jamaica Gates. Arlington. Yuck

Mac and Ernie’s in Tarpley is the one I always wanted to get to and haven’t.

Tennessee
Cozy Corner. Memphis
Leonard’s. Memphis
Marlowes. Memphis. X

Cali
Hanks creek side. Santa Rosa X
Hodads. San Diego. X

Georgia
Fox bros bbq Atlanta. X

Oregon
Byways cafe Portland
Otto’s sausage Portland X
Pine state biscuits Portland

Colorado
Foolish Craig’s Boulder
Sams no3 Denver. X
The Sink Boulder

Mississippi
The Shed. Ocean Springs
Memphis barbecue company horn lake. X

Louisiana
Casamentos. New Orleans. X

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5 minutes ago, Texzilla58 said:

I’ve eaten in quite a few. X indicates if I would go back

Oklahoma
Nic’s Grill OKC. X
Cattlemen’s OKC
Rock Cafe Stroud. X
Eischen’s. Okarche. XX
The Diner. Norman
Leo’s. OKC

Texas
Chop House Burgers. Arlington
Louis Mueller bbq. Taylor
Louie’s. Dallas. X
Chef Point Cafe. Watauga XX
Twisted Root Dallas
Fred’s Texas Cafe. Ft worth X
Lankford Grocery. Houston XXX!
Prince Lebanese. Arlington. XX
Maple & Motor. Dallas.
Monument Georgetown X
Cane Rosso Dallas X
Pecan Lodge Dallas X
Taste of Europe. Arlington. Yuck
Original Irma’s
Crushcraft Dallas X
Valentina’s. Austin. XX
Jamaica Gates. Arlington. Yuck

Mac and Ernie’s in Tarpley is the one I always wanted to get to and haven’t.

Tennessee
Cozy Corner. Memphis
Leonard’s. Memphis
Marlowes. Memphis. X

Cali
Hanks creek side. Santa Rosa X
Hodads. San Diego. X

Georgia
Fox bros bbq Atlanta. X

Oregon
Byways cafe Portland
Otto’s sausage Portland X
Pine state biscuits Portland

Colorado
Foolish Craig’s Boulder
Sams no3 Denver. X
The Sink Boulder

Mississippi
The Shed. Ocean Springs
Memphis barbecue company horn lake. X

Louisiana
Casamentos. New Orleans. X

Exotic ethnic stuff can be hit or miss.

Here's the one I wanted to goto but it's closed apparently:

 

https://www.dinersdriveinsdives.com/BIG-and-littles-Chicago-IL

 

 

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6 minutes ago, Texzilla58 said:

I’ve eaten in quite a few. X indicates if I would go back

Oklahoma
Nic’s Grill OKC. X
Cattlemen’s OKC
Rock Cafe Stroud. X
Eischen’s. Okarche. XX
The Diner. Norman
Leo’s. OKC

Texas
Chop House Burgers. Arlington
Louis Mueller bbq. Taylor
Louie’s. Dallas. X
Chef Point Cafe. Watauga XX
Twisted Root Dallas
Fred’s Texas Cafe. Ft worth X
Lankford Grocery. Houston XXX!
Prince Lebanese. Arlington. XX
Maple & Motor. Dallas.
Monument Georgetown X
Cane Rosso Dallas X
Pecan Lodge Dallas X
Taste of Europe. Arlington. Yuck
Original Irma’s
Crushcraft Dallas X
Valentina’s. Austin. XX
Jamaica Gates. Arlington. Yuck

Mac and Ernie’s in Tarpley is the one I always wanted to get to and haven’t.

Tennessee
Cozy Corner. Memphis
Leonard’s. Memphis
Marlowes. Memphis. X

Cali
Hanks creek side. Santa Rosa X
Hodads. San Diego. X

Georgia
Fox bros bbq Atlanta. X

Oregon
Byways cafe Portland
Otto’s sausage Portland X
Pine state biscuits Portland

Colorado
Foolish Craig’s Boulder
Sams no3 Denver. X
The Sink Boulder

Mississippi
The Shed. Ocean Springs
Memphis barbecue company horn lake. X

Louisiana
Casamentos. New Orleans. X

Big Thumbs Up for Otto's in Portland.  The wife and I eat there, but I remember it more for picking up various proteins to take home and cook myself.

 

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19 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

Over 100. Most have been really good. A few stinkers but all from the early eps where he was actually visiting dives. 

Agree with most of stinkers are from early episodes.  Some of the BBQ related joints have been disappointing--but there are other online sources to consult for bbq recommendations.  That is one of the things that brought me to surly world.

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Big Thumbs Up for Otto's in Portland.  The wife and I eat there, but I remember it more for picking up various proteins to take home and cook myself.
 

Yep. We went to Otto’s mostly as a meat market and bought sausages to take home but they have some great sandwiches. A great Reuben and meat loaf sandwich. Those writers are killer.
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16 hours ago, MonkeyDoughnut said:

Cool Running Jamaican Grill - Houston... loved it

That might be the only DDD restaurant I’ve eaten at. It was fine. There’s something about jerk chicken in the Lower 48 that they just can’t get quite right. Once you’ve eaten it in the Caribbean, you can’t go backwards. 

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I generally don’t seek out a ddd restaurant except in north Texas or okc. Most of my list was eaten at before his show from various travels. Unless it’s my boss and he likes seeking them out. He is in San Diego and doesn’t get our distances. “Hey this bbq place is on ddd. Let’s go there!” Uhh that’s in Taylor. A bit of a drive. I’ll tell him it’s 8 hours away even if it’s an hour away. “Well fuck I wanted to go there”

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Texas - Magnolia Cafe, Home Slice, Lankford, Magnolia Pancake Haus, and Casino

Colorado - The Sink, Sams No 3, The Roost, The Post, Beau Jo's Pizza, Samples Bistro; Blue Pan Pizza, Hops & Pie, The Feisty Pint, Audrey Jane's Pizza Garage, Taco Party

Kentucky - Parkette Drive-in

Edited by CO Horn
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On 7/20/2023 at 5:03 PM, Underdog said:

Quite a few, we'll try and hit one up if in an area he's visited.  My favorite is/was/will be Nic's Grill in OKC love that burger and joint.  

Borderline at best. 

Last time i was at Nic’s, a guy ordered a triple. That’s probably 2 pounds of meat. Maybe more. Nic says “you eat another one and fries and it’s all free”. Dude plows that and asked for a third. I left before he finished the third 

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4 hours ago, CO Horn said:

Kentucky - Parkette Drive-in

RIP 

48 minutes ago, ocugolf said:

Last time i was at Nic’s, a guy ordered a triple. That’s probably 2 pounds of meat. Maybe more. Nic says “you eat another one and fries and it’s all free”. Dude plows that and asked for a third. I left before he finished the third 

Damn!  My fatass barely choked down a double. IIRC, that episode mentioned fried chicken but I think it was only once a week, would've loved to try it. 

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On 7/20/2023 at 2:21 PM, MNLonghornFUKM said:

3 that I know of

Casino El Camino

Northern Waters Smokehaus in Duluth MN

Psycho Suzis in Minneapolis

I have 5 in my town I haven’t been to lol

Well, I've been to at least one.

Upon some internet review

-Smokey D's, Des Moines

-Flying Mango, Des Moines

-George the Chili King, Des Moines

-Al's, Minneapolis

-Casper & Runyon's Nook, St Paul

-Blue Door, St Paul

-Smack Shack/1029 Bar, Minneapolis

 

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I've done a 180 on Guy. Yes, he can be a clown but I heard great things about what he did for fellow food-service industry folks during COVID and that's pretty fucking cool. I also generally enjoy DDD for the most part. It's a great landing spot when not much else is on. Everything about him is absurd and I doubt I'll ever patronize one of his concepts.

I've inadvertently to been to some places he's been to.

TEXAS

CrushCraft Thai (Dallas)

One90 Smoked Meats (Dallas)

Tacos Mariachi (Dallas)

La Panaderia?? (San Antonio)

Smoke Shack (San Antonio)

Valentina's (Austin)

Tip Top Cafe (San Antonio)

Maple & Motor (Dallas)

Magnolia Cafe (Austin)

Louie's (Dallas)

Fred's Texas Cafe (Fort Worth)

Avila's (Dallas)

Louie Mueller's Barbecue (Taylor)

Green Mesquite (Austin)

Magnolia Pancake Haus (San Antonio)

Pecan Lodge (Dallas)

Cane Rosso (Dallas)

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7 minutes ago, C-Man said:

I've done a 180 on Guy. Yes, he can be a clown but I heard great things about what he did for fellow food-service industry folks during COVID and that's pretty fucking cool. I also generally enjoy DDD for the most part. It's a great landing spot when not much else is on. Everything about him is absurd and I doubt I'll ever patronize one of his concepts.

Agree with all of this except I've ended up at his place in the Cancun airport when it was the only choice. It was horribad, but I wasn't expecting anything amazing in the fucking Cancun airport. Overall, I feel like he's a caricature and he's also in on the joke. He's just a guy living his dream and doing it the way he wants to which just happens to benefit a ton of small business owners.

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Jesus…aren’t there any Ted Lasso fans on this thread?? The “pre-Madonna” is from that. 
 

The only one I know of is Mike’s City Diner in Boston. It was a legit diner which is one of my absolute favorite things in this world. 

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Agree with all of this except I've ended up at his place in the Cancun airport when it was the only choice. It was horribad, but I wasn't expecting anything amazing in the fucking Cancun airport. Overall, I feel like he's a caricature and he's also in on the joke. He's just a guy living his dream and doing it the way he wants to which just happens to benefit a ton of small business owners.

His wife came up with the “Guy” persona before he was on Next F N Star. She said he needed a personality to match his cooking for the show, so she dyed his hair and gave him the wardrobe. It’s amazing how he was initially ridiculed by the likes of Bourdain and now he pals around with Jonathan Waxman, Eric Ripert, and Nancy Silverton.

Look at him in early DDD. No tats. No persona. He sits these owners down and they prepare them for handling their business when their epp airs which could be many months away. He’s good for business.
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DDD is worth watching to observe kitchen technique, if you can ignore the dad jokes.  I find Guy tolerable, and as others have pointed out, he's done some seriously good things for his industry and his communities.  Lord knows he's gotten rich as shit in the meantime.

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1 hour ago, Hate said:

Jesus…aren’t there any Ted Lasso fans on this thread?? The “pre-Madonna” is from that.

Hmm, pretty sure "pre-Madonna" has been a thing long before Ted Lasso, especially on this site and its predecessor.  Along with "uphauled," "French benefits," and "mind bottling," among others.

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