<p>Two years ago, I found myself alone in a hospital room recovering from neck surgery. My daughter had knee surgery the same day (long story, don’t ask), so I insisted my DH stay with her and not worry about me. My Mom was homebound, so stepdad couldn’t come. My grandmother was in the hospital, so Dad and Stepmom couldn’t come. MIL had eye surgery and couldn’t drive. FIL was my support. I sent him home pretty quick and was content to recover solo with great nursing care.</p>
<p>So I found myself watching a marathon of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on the Food Channel. I’d never watched Food Channel before, so this was my introduction.</p>
<p>I loved it!</p>
<p>Do you find yourself both repulsed and at the same time salivating at the dishes shown on this program? OMG, if I could eat some of these meals with no consequences, I’d be in heaven! Other times, it’s hard to believe anyone could stomach them! The host never says anything other than “Fantastic!” “Great!” “Awesome!” Surely he’s had a few dishes that had him gagging, right?</p>
<p>I’ve never seen it but I would watch too if my FIL was hanging around! He’s quite a foodie so he would be appalled and either flee in terror, or hang around longer to criticize the cooking. I’m glad you found some comfort in your hospital stay.</p>
<p>H and I like some of the Food Network shows, but he won’t watch Triple-D, but I do once in a while. It is amazing what some people eat! And once in a while I learn something, like that there’s a machine that folds and seals pierogies!</p>
<p>I not only watch it, but make sure to visit several of the places that are nearby. I have had burgers the size of my head, Cuban sandwiches, barbeque and Belizean food. </p>
<p>If you really can’t believe what people eat, try Man vs Food. I get ill watching that. </p>
<p>The one place that I won’t visit are Restaurant Impossible destinations if they were unclean. I am too nervous about people falling back into bad habits.</p>
<p>We’ve eaten at a couple of places Guy has been to and the food was as good as he said it was. Most of the places were recommended by customers. My S has gone to another and said it was great too. He has also been to my hometown back east and the iconic diner he visited has always been THE place for diner food. </p>
<p>I’m sure it’s not all amazing, but so far he’s been on point.</p>
<p>I haven’t been to any of the Seattle places featured, although during a recent visit Colin Farrell said that Slims last Chance was one of his favorite places on earth!
Since it is a popular music venue, Im sure Ill be there soon.
But funny choices, I love diners & dives and the only one I would have made the list was Mikes chili parlor, it is an icon. (Gene Hackman used to go there when he made a movie in the neighborhood - for the movie)</p>
<p>Watched a couple of episodes last night. I love food and especially love local places so I love the concept. Not all the food is junk food - much of it is really taking pure ingredients and making something simple but delicious!</p>
<p>We too have made a point to visit a few places that have been featured on the show. It’s kind of fun to be in a place that you clearly remember from the show. The first two that come to mind that we ate at are Pine State Biscuits in Portland and Blimpy Burger in Ann Arbor. </p>
<p>Guy admits to some things he just doesn’t like. I believe he hates eggs and chicken wings???</p>
<p>I like to find little neighborhood places that have incredible food, and only a couple of tables or stools. I have a few gems here in NYC, not involving fried greasy everything.</p>
<p>If you want a good laugh, check out Pete Wells’ review in the NYTimes of Guy’s Times Square restaurant. I think the review created more buzz than the restaurant did.</p>
<p>Of course there are some things Guy doesn’t like. They just don’t make it onto the show. His advance team checks out the places, and they know whether it’s worth filming there.</p>
<p>Lito’s in Santa Barbara was featured on the show where they make carnitas in a big copper (I think) kettle. It’s delicious. But they’ve been making that for years and years and years.</p>
<p>I developed a love for bbq when I was a kid. We would go over to a friends house routinely after Sunday church for a family bbq. Mr R could rock that grill. He grew up in Tennessee, so I guess that influenced his tastes. My family never grilled, so I stuffed myself on those afternoons. There were always a ton of people there. I can remember how he had a plastic kiddy pool where he floated the corn on the cob prior to grilling it; it kept the moisture in. Man, it was good!</p>
<p>The first time I watched DDD I was hooked on bbq again. When I travel I use the app to check out places in the area. That really makes the trip fun. </p>
<p>Since watching the show, I’ve taken on smoking at home. It is easy and so tasty. I’ve also started to collect bbq sauces and rubs from my travels. The added benefit of bbqing at home is that I’ve recreated the original family fun; we’re doing a big mess bbq for Thanksgiving. I showed my son at college how to do drumettes/wings and rubbed corn. You can get a huge pack for $7 and they’re super simple to cook. What guy doesn’t love hot wings?</p>
<p>Enjoy the show and the star. Have been to several of the places and all were OK–several excellent. If I were driving cross-country I would download list of all DDD places by state and hit at least some of them. Better than just leaving to chance. Visit by DDD probably worth 4 to 6 figures in new sales to owners.</p>
<p>I wish FoodTV had a sort of interactive map with all the places their shows have visited and some sort of quick links to see the segments. I’d have loved that on my various cross country drives.</p>
<p>We like DDD and watch it often. We have gone to several of the featured restaurants here in So. Calif. and our son has gone to a couple in Denver. All were above average and fun. We have a DDD cook book that was a gift, but I can’t bring myself to make anything from it as it is all pretty unhealthy. </p>
<p>My husband and I and our 2 D’s went to the filming of Rachel vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-off, Food Truck episode last season. Each had a food truck staffed with various celebrities, and all of us got to go to each celebrity and try their food. We had to vote on our favorites and get interviewed about our reasons. We got to chat with Guy and Rachel. Guy is exactly the same in person as he is on his show- very friendly, funny, and extremely nice. Rachel acted put-out and like she’d did not want to bother with us- definitely not very nice!</p>
<p>emeraldkity, thank you for that link! I actually wrote to them a few years ago asking for that exact feature, and they replied back saying they would think about it.</p>