Customer Reviews

Diners, Drive-ins and Dives: The Complete First Season

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We own all 3 seasons of Guy's Triple D.. we refer to it as our "food porn"! He's a blast to watch and the food is unbelievable. Definitely recommend it!

Guys great entertainment!,this guy is a character, from highway to byway and backwaters too, he portrays the off beat through to the exotic in food providors of the US in glowing down to earth style, never a dull moment, hilarious and thoroughly enjoyable !

Ok, so not only do I dearly love Alton Brown on the foodnetwork, I also have a foodie crush on Guy Fieri as well. And especially in this wonderful show, Diners Drive-ins and Dives. As the type of person who would plan their vacation around a certain place to eat and experience amazing food, this show really fits my personality. Because let's face it, when having the choice between an over-priced filet mignon and a rack of ribs from a dive bar, the ribs would win out for me every time.

Since this is the first season it was kind of introducing the concept of good home cooking to the tv format where it had previously been explored by books (like Roadfood: The Coast-to-Coast Guide to 700 of the Best Barbecue Joints, Lobster Shacks, Ice Cream Parlors, Highway Diners, and Much, Much More (Roadfood: The Coast-To-Coast Guide to the Best Barbecue)by the Sterns) and websites (like urbanspoon). And I like this video format with its quirky host. This particular first season didn't have a plethora of episodes, but it contained some real jewels of places. But first I want to talk about Guy Fieri. When they hired Guy Fieri I don't think they knew what they were getting. He is absolutely amazing when it comes to interacting with people and just enjoying life and food. And he's what makes this series. I can honestly say that if he wasn't the host, I probably wouldn't be watching it. He not only gets in with the cooks and owners on the show but he even talks to the customers there and he puts everyone in a good mood. Its kind of an uplifting show as a result. He also has an interesting way of talking with certain catch phrases that bring a smile to my face when I hear people in regular everyday life use them. I could probably keep going on and on about Guy, but I should head into the actual dynamics of this show.

The episodes are set up in different themes with Guy visiting three places in each episode. The themes could be All American food, Hamburgers, BBQ, etc. He'll showcase the best of the best with the last place usually have a twice the amount of time to feature something extra special like a cooking method or history of the place. In this first season there are 12 episodes on 3 discs. Not a large season for sure but still a good amount of viewing.

Disc 1 contained:
Classics: Where Guy visits a few unique diners (including one with a mad Greek man) and a texas drive up that serves deep fried lamb chops and burgers made out of goat. And it actually made me want to eat goat.

That's Italian: Of course there's a place that makes great pizza. A bar that specializes in stromboli, and more in this episode. I've never been a fan of stromboli but the pizza place really appealed to me and had a pretty special pie.

Blue Plate Special: From a bar that specializes in fried pickles and hummus to a Roadhouse and an ice cream place, Guy visits some restaurants that have their own specialties. And I'm proud to say I actually got the chance to visit one of these places, The Penguin and tried their "Winkie Dinkie Dog". It was just as good as Guy advertised it to be.

Breakfast: Just what you'd think from the name. Good filling breakfast and you get to drool over Guy's favorite; corned beef hash. Which is a dish that I only discovered because of this show and now love and order everywhere I can get it.

Disc 2 contained:
BBQ: Another one of my favorites. He travels the country to find some bbq joints that really specialize in slow cooking food and making customers happy. Yet another episode where I'm proud to say I actually visited one of the places after seeing this show. The BBQ King Drive-in in Charlotte, NC. The bbq chicken was amazing (and looked just like it did in the show) and I plan to go back next time I'm in Charlotte.

Local Legends: Specializing in diners it shows the Everready, a massive diner that bakes everything and sites 300 people, to a smaller diner that has odd specials like duck and stands on stilts. There was also a bbq joint in this one where the main ingredient was love.

Burgers: I will make a pilgrimage to the Squeeze Inn restaurant that is featured in this episode. Their squeeze with cheese sounds like my perfect burger; as much cheese as there is meat. The other two places had good looking burgers as well, but there's just something about that squeeze.

House Specials: This disc will make you want to go to Voula's just to meet Voula as she seems like such a special lady. Not to mention she makes out of this world breakfast dishes. The other places are pretty special too and also feature some nice looking breakfast plates.

Disc Three contains:
Retro: This is the episode of soda shops. But they not only do the old time soda and ice cream drinks that were popular, they're also putting out some great food as well.

Worth The Trip: Ah New York, if I thought I could handle your massive crush of people I would be at Mo Gridder's bbq in an instant. I was drooling on the remote it looked so good. But so did Harold's Cafe, where I will be making a special trip to next time I visit my father. Who am I kidding, every place on this show is somewhere I want to go.

Diners A Plenty: Just what it sounds like, lots and lots of diners putting out traditional food. And yet another place that I have to go visit when I'm in Charlotte. If nothing else it will be worth it just to hear the "ordering system."

American Cookin': A couple places that like to produce good homestyle food like what your grandmother would give you. And this episode actually featured four different places, which is unusual for DDD. And Rosie's was a three in one kind of diner.

The filming of this show is pretty well done. They do nice close ups of the food and even Guy shoving his face full of food is surprisingly not gross but just shows how good the food is. I wish they could make these into longer episodes instead of the short time allotted. I think there's a lot more story to be had from these places. But I'll take what I can get.

Obviously there is a pretty good line up of places to eat and some pretty fantastic food to be had as well. As someone who has had the chance to eat at these places I can say with certainty that its not a bunch of hype. The food really is that good. And the series is interesting and light-hearted. With so many depressing shows anymore its nice to have a breath of fresh air like this where the overall mood is positive and its about finding the best out there. Watch it for the food, but enjoy it for the entertainment Fieri provides and the good mood it puts you in. Fantastic series that I hope to own every season of one day.

Review by M. Reynard 2011

Ever since I stumbled on to this show I have loved it! Guy is funny, informative and tireless in his exchanges between the chefs he encounters, prods and explores. I TiVo all of his shows but fully intend to buy all of his seasons just in case I lose any of the episodes - which has happened already once - drats! I find I pick up ideas frequently when watching how foods are prepared around the country. These chefs in his 3 D's episodes are a dedicated and creative collection of people with vision and an indefatigable pursuit of their dreams....all worth admiration! Great show done with humor and panache!

This first Triple D tells it all. Good food, great places to eat, mouth watering food in Dives and Diners. A honest unbiased look at behind the scenes of Mom and Pop places to eat. A outstanding host and a chef in his own right. This mixes humor, great people, and great places to eat and see in America. As long as we have these kinds of places in America. She will always be free and strong.

I totally enjoyed Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Guy has a way with people and you can tell he totally enjoys messing with people. The places that were highlighted makes me want to pick out some dump of a dive and sample their blue plate for myself. Thanks for the great Season ONE and looking forward to purchasing season TWO.

Well,, the subject is worth the watch, however the host shall we say (leaves allot to be desired) this would have been allot more enjoyable had they not chosen a make believe actor with an idenity and cleanleness problem.