Hey, I'm Guy Fieri. And you know what I need?
I need you riding shotgun. I'm on my way to Flavortown!
This is "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives."
This trip...
I feel like I walked into a fiesta.
That's because we're cruising the states
for some south of the border.
My mouth is watering.
From Florida to California...
Authentic, baby.
...Southwest to Midwest...
That's money.
...we've got tacos and tamales...
If there was a county in Flavortown named tamale,
that would be it.
...al pastor and posole...
You're gonna love this.
...all the favorites...
But I've got to tell you, chef, it is delicious.
...plus some new discoveries.
Never seen it. I've been eating Mexican food all my life.
So get ready for this full hour of Mexican to the max.
Oh, that's fantastic.
That's all right here,
right now on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives."
♪♪
So I'm here in Richfield, Minnesota,
about 10 minutes from downtown Minneapolis.
Now, this is a great place to come to.
One, a bunch of my "Triple D" crew lives here.
Two, they have got an eclectic mix of restaurants.
But I got to be honest with you, when my crew tells me
they've got a real-deal Mexican joint in Minnesota,
you know I got to check it out.
This is Andale.
You can't get this kind of authentic Mexican
anywhere in the Twin Cities.
RANGEL: Sopa de mariscos.
It's like walking into a little cafe in Mexico.
FIERI: And much more because when Fernando Mellado
and Jorge Rangel opened in 2011,
they went for, pardon the expression,
the whole enchilada.
One side is full-blown restaurant...
-Right. -...and, I mean, huge menu.
The other side is market. You got a butcher shop.
You have a bakery. -Right, right.
We get a lot of people coming in here for the restaurant
and then come and explore the market.
So that's a big deal.
MAN: You can come every meal
and go right next door and get some groceries,
go home and try and re-create your own meal.
RANGEL: Three tacos pastor.
The al pastor tacos are like getting street tacos.
They're super fresh with the nice cilantro taste
and the crispy onions.
What are we into now?
We're gonna make the al pastor sauce for the tacos.
Got it.
We're gonna start with a guajillo pepper,
orange juice, lime juice, cumin,
black pepper, bay leaves, oregano.
Mexican oregano is nice, big, super-bold flavor.
Achiote.
This is the annatto seed that's made into a paste,
but there's also flavors in this.
Okay.
Garlic, onions, salt, white vinegar.
And then, we use the big blender right here.
Don't get this on me.
I only have one Spiritual Gangster shirt.
Okay. So we take the sliced pork.
We put it in there, and how long will it marinate?
-For 24 hours. -Next up?
We're gonna do the salsa verde right here.
We have the boiled jalapeños,
garlic, the onions, the salt,
avocados and use the immersion blender.
Go ahead and start pouring the oil. Slow.
How is that?
That's fantastic.
Next thing we're gonna do, we're gonna make our tacos.
On the flat top, a little bit of oil,
dropped some onions.
-And a little bit of bacon. -A little bit of bacon, too.
Yeah, and pineapple.
All gonna cook together.
We do, like, a double tortilla.
How many do I get, 12?
-Three. Three. -Three.
-Three works for me. -Okay.
So we got the al pastor tacos.
Okay.
Cilantro, onions...
a little lime juice. -Okay.
Here is the avocado salsa that we made.
♪♪
Let's see what you think.
♪♪
There is no way we're in Minnesota,
no way.
The meat, perfectly marinated.
It's got a nice crisp to it, right amount of onion.
Tortillas are charred.
The salsa is outstanding.
-You're making me hungry. -I'm gonna tell you what.
The way you cook, the discipline, scratch-made...
I mean, they scratch-make just everything.
Outstanding, Chef. -Thank you.
-Nice job, buddy. -Thank you.
-Wow. -The pork had lots of flavor.
It's really tender and juicy.
The salsa verde had a lot of kick to it
from the jalapeños.
MAN #2: Everything they make here is fresh.
I mean, they have their own butcher here.
They process their own meat. -Torta ranchera.
MAN #3: Well, there's obviously some very knowledgeable people
who prepare this food because it's done very well.
FIERI: So well that my Minnesota-based crew
gives it huge props.
We get off the plane in Minneapolis
and head straight here
because it's the taste of home for us.
It's just like the tacos
we had when we were all down in Mexico together.
The al pastor, off the hook,
and now we're making... -The carnitas.
We're making carnitas for tamales,
and the hood is on because this is smoking.
This is hot, and you've got to have this cauldron
to make this happen.
We're gonna start with curing the meat.
And what kind of fat are we using?
-Lard. -We're using lard.
So now we've seared it all off.
Cola.
You got to do a little cola, you know why?
Color.
Cinnamon, oranges and salt.
We're gonna put the pork stomachs in there.
Boy, I hope they're not out of pork stomach today,
when I go to Andale.
We're gonna cover it with the pork skin.
-More lard. -Yeah.
Yeah, this is awesome.
A hot tub of pig. -Okay.
And we're gonna let it cook for 6 hours.
How often do you make this much carnitas?
-We make every day. -Every day, this much?
Every day, this much, yes.
The carnitas are ready.
Now we're gonna pull them and shred them.
We've got the masa.
And what is the red in the masa?
-Guajillo pepper sauce. -The masa is hot.
It's almost cooked. -Halfway.
Is that how it's made where you're from in Mexico?
-That's the way we do it. -You do it hot.
Yeah.
I'm telling you, I learn something new every day.
I had to come to Minnesota to learn about
cooking masa halfway.
Wet a corn husk with salty water,
then masa, some of the pork.
-That's a big tamale, boss. -It is, yeah.
How many of these do you make a week?
-Maybe, like, 1,000. -How many people work here?
How long are they gonna steam?
One hour.
Okay.
Look at that.
This isn't my birthday.
All right. I'll try to eat all of them.
And do we serve anything on it or just as you see?
No, just like that.
That's probably one of the most,
if not the most, flavorful tamale I've ever had.
I'm savoring every bite.
Most of the time, the masa has no flavor.
You're waiting to get to the center of the tamale
to get the meat, to get the filling.
Yeah, we give the flavor to the masa and also the meat.
I'm converted.
If there was a county in Flavortown named tamale,
that would be it, man. That is it.
WOMAN: They're moist, very flavorful.
They have the best tamales in the Twin Cities.
The tamales have a very good consistency,
especially the masa.
This is where the "Triple D" crew eats
when they're not shooting "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives."
This is how often we come here.
We've all filled out these cards probably three or four times.
We have our punch cards.
What do you think makes it so great?
We've been to so many restaurants with you that,
when you find the real deal, you recognize it.
Authentic Mexican food that you don't need a passport for.
This is a great place. It's cheap and fast,
and it's just great food.
-This is just perfect. -You love what you do.
I do, yeah. We have a lot of passion
for what we do, yeah.
Good dude. You got to come down and meet these cats.
We've had a lot of funky joints,
but this right here [whistles] up top.
FIERI: Coming up, a tucked-away spot in Los Angeles...
Oh, my gosh.
...with dishes so legit...
Off the hook.
...it's like being right there in the Yucatan.
You learn something new every day, baby.
♪♪
I'm here in Los Angeles, just a few blocks from USC,
to check out a funky little joint
that's housed here in the Mercado La Paloma.
It's an economic development building.
Now, they've got a family in here
from the Yucatan that is serving up legit,
real-deal Mexican food
that you probably haven't seen before.
This is Chichén Itzá.
CETINA JR.: Order up, cochinita pibil, table four.
Chichén Itzá's food is amazing.
-For you, sir. -Out of control, man.
-Outrageous. -Full-on flavor explosion.
We've got an order up for table six.
They have taken the Yucatan
and brought the food,
the spices, the taste, the texture here.
FIERI: That's exactly the tradition
Chef Gilberto Cetina Jr. wanted to preserve.
This is the food that I grew up with.
This is what my grandma used to cook.
This is what my mom used to cook growing up in Yucatan.
I love it, man.
And so do his customers
ever since his dad opened the joint in 2001.
This is very labor-intensive food.
You can taste it. -Longaniza asada.
So the longaniza is like a chorizo sausage link.
It's full of flavor.
What are we gonna make?
-The longaniza asada. -Longaniza asada.
Very traditional Yucatan style.
We're gonna start with pork shoulder,
ground fat and ground beef. -Next?
Oregano, garlic powder, clove...
onion, and we're gonna add some vinegar.
Salt and...
-Cumin. -Got it.
Mix this all by hand.
And then we're gonna add the achiote paste.
Oh, oh, oh, hey.
Not going light with that, huh? -About 4 ounces.
This is what gives the great color
to a lot of Latin food.
All right. So the casing goes on.
Natural sheep casing.
Anchor down. -Oh, nice and thin.
Yep.
♪ Oh-ee-oh, oh-oh ♪
Perfect. Now we're going to link 'em.
Now, how are we gonna smoke them?
We're gonna hang them on a stainless-steel dowel...
-Okay. -...over embers.
They're gonna sit there overnight.
Little bit of heat, little bit of smoke.
Then we're gonna grill these,
so here's the sausage after being smoked and grilled,
serve it with some tortillas, fire-roasted onions
and then fire-roasted salsa.
So everything on here was cooked on that same grill.
There is nothing about that I don't love.
♪♪
It's a Yucatan hot dog.
Little bit of salt, touch of spice,
great meat-to-fat ratio,
definitely get the wood and the smoke.
That's fantastic. -Thank you.
Longaniza asada.
This is excellent.
Just intense flavor, something different
like I've never had before. -Panuchos.
Super authentic, really authentic.
-We're half-Hispanic. -Yeah.
So this tastes just like my grandma makes.
I love it.
This is also a great community space.
There's other small, locally owned businesses.
FIERI: All centered around a main eating and hang-out space.
MAN: I come here to be able to spend my dollar
with really awesome mom-and-pop shops,
a lot of really indigenous recipes.
So what's the next dish?
-Panucho. -Panuchos.
It's one of my favorites, and I always order them.
It's kind of like a tostada,
but it's infused with black-bean paste.
And it's delicious.
All right. What are we doing with this turkey?
We're gonna boil the legs,
and we're gonna sous-vide the breasts.
Because that's what you see every day
at a little kiosk Yucatan joint, here in Los Angeles.
To cook the legs in a stock pot,
we put water, salt, garlic, oregano.
Okay.
Bay leaf, black pepper, cilantro,
wings, legs and thighs.
-Like a little court bouillon. -Exactly.
Now we're gonna prepare the turkey breast...
-Okay. -...for its sous-vide cooking.
Let's get into this.
Kosher salt, both sides.
Take a sous-vide bag,
a little bit of cilantro in there.
And this is it for the seasoning?
-That's it. -We're gonna vacuum this?
-We are. -Okay.
-150 degrees. -Yeah.
-How long? -Two and a half hours.
Got it. This is not boiling.
This is simmering, but it's precise,
and the beauty about sous-vide
is you can go for long periods of time,
and we're talking days, to where it's so tender that,
when you open it out of the bag, it'll just fall apart.
Okay. -So we're gonna make
the tortillas now for the panuchos.
Tortillas!
So we're going to make little balls of masa.
In it goes.
♪♪
So why is this going to puff up open?
Mine don't often puff up.
Once both layers are cooked evenly,
you press down the tortilla, and generally,
the steam in it puffs up, and there it is.
You learn something new every day, baby.
Okay. -Open it up.
Some black beans ready. -Okay.
Cover the whole, and spread it out.
-Love it. -Now we're gonna fry them.
Double-cooked tortilla.
-All right. Here we are, Chef. -All right.
So we're gonna make the achiote,
marinate it to paint our turkeys...
-Paint our turkeys. -...and put them on the grill.
-All right.
So we're gonna start with some achiote paste
and then fresh sour oranges.
-I love it. -Some salt.
Now we're gonna paint the turkey.
Some beautiful color going in here,
and they're gonna go on the grill.
Yeah.
Then, we're gonna shred the meat off of the turkey.
-Right. -Which part is the panucho?
-This is the panucho. -That's the panucho.
This is the traditional panucho.
This is what you would get if you go eat
at a market or mercado in Yucatan.
Little bit of lettuce, some of the shredded leg
and sous-vide breast,
some pickled red onions,
tomato and a slice of avocado.
-And that's all she wrote. -That is the panucho.
♪♪
Man.
It's so tender, delicious.
♪♪
Really simple but done correctly.
I've had a lot of tacos.
I really appreciate Mexican food.
It's subtle. It's authentic.
That's a nostalgic dish.
Oh, my gosh.
Panuchos.
This is a very delightful and complex dish.
What is your favorite thing about those tacos?
Well, I really like how it's crunchy,
but the avocado gives it a wet texture
at the same time.
♪♪
Order up, table four.
WOMAN: I know I will never be disappointed.
I love their food.
Authentic, baby.
Real deal. -Thank you.
Off the hook!
FIERI: Up next, things are on fire in Phoenix...
Those are hot. -These are really hot.
FIERI: ...where five sisters are rocking the tacos.
That's up there with some of the best I've ever had.
And in Santa Barbara...
-See the halo? -Yeah.
FIERI: ...a joint putting out an A-plus posole.
Passed the test? You wrote the curriculum, my friend.
Look at that.
I'm here in Phoenix, Arizona,
about 4 hours north of the Mexican border.
Now, ask anybody who goes down to Mexico a bunch
what kind of food they really like down there,
and they're probably gonna say, "Those little tacos
that you buy on the street."
So in the '80s, the Ochoa family started selling
those little tacos out of a taco truck.
Well, fast forward 20 years later,
and the five daughters are still selling those great tacos here,
at Los Taquitos.
They're little street tacos. One taco, you try it,
and that's how you're hooked.
Excellent, best tacos in town.
FIERI: Because they're still made mom's way...
-You're the mom. -I learned from my mother.
FIERI: ...by head chef Vickie Ochoa...
Fish tacos, they're ready.
...and the rest of the family.
Fives sisters all working together.
-Yeah. -Do you get along?
-Not all the time. -And there's a brother.
There's a brother in there.
-Are those almost done, bro? -Almost.
FIERI: And together, they're cranking out
more than 3,000 tacos a week...
Pick it up.
...and the rest of the family cookbook.
-Flautas are cooked just right. -The menudo, it's got some zip.
Garlic shrimp.
Chili relleno, it's just excellent.
FIERI: But it's those little tacos...
Big hands on a little taco here.
...that started it all.
The fresh ingredients, you can taste the meat.
Carne asada, chicken.
FIERI: Or a spiced, pulled pork called...
-Carnitas. -We're making our carnitas.
So that's a pork shoulder, Boston butt.
Trim a little bit of the fat off the top.
-Not a lot. -Little bit of fat is flavor.
Yes. I think that's enough. We leave our bone,
just give it a little slice, and we're good to go.
We're gonna add our two cinnamon sticks,
garlic, salt.
-Do it to taste. -Our condensed milk.
Some condensed milk, really?
-Mm-hmm. -I've never seen it.
-Cola. -Some soda.
Water.
Put them in our stove and cover it.
Two hours until it just falls apart.
After we take them out, we shred them.
How is the flavor so great, and there's no oil?
The condensed milk.
-And the soda. -Okay. Let's make a taco.
VICKIE: Here's our pork over here.
-Killer. -Get our tortillas.
You have to spank them, make sure they're well done.
-Bad little tortilla. -Carnitas.
-A little cilantro. -And red onion.
And then our salsa. There you go.
-Mm. -Good?
-No, they're not good. -They're awesome?
I have some favorite foods in my life,
and tacos are one of them.
That's up there with some of the best I've ever had.
The salsa, the onions, the cilantro.
You have to have it exactly like that.
That's the taste of a taco.
Wow, that's good.
I absolutely love it.
It reminds me of home, more traditional.
-It's so delicious. -It's all home-made food.
FIERI: And home-made salsas.
Large pico de gallo to go.
-I love the green sauce. -That's the red sauce.
FIERI: Made with roasted red chilis...
Whoa.
...and an even hotter one called bombero.
Bombero is fireman in Spanish.
-It's hot. -What are you enjoying?
-A bombero burrito. -Say that five times fast.
Bombero burrito. Bombero burrito. Bombero burrito.
-What are we gonna make first? -The bombero sauce.
We're gonna start with our tomato.
FIERI: Okay.
Red onion, water, roast chilis.
-Those are hot. -These are really hot.
-That's it? -That's it.
And let it boil. They sit there and steep
for about an hour, let it cool down,
and now we're going to make it into the salsa.
-Salsa. -Salsa.
Yep. We're gonna put the whole mixture
to the blender, and then we add some...
Little chipotle with andobo sauce.
Uh-huh. Black pepper, cumino.
-Or cumin. -Mm-hmm.
A bit of garlic salt, clove of garlic,
ketchup.
It has that sweet and spicy flavor.
No, I got you.
You're gonna throw the throttle on that, aren't ya?
Wah!
VICKIE: Dump it in our pot.
And how long does that cook down for?
45 minutes to an hour.
While that's going on, are we gonna cook the chicken?
We're gonna work on our grilled chicken.
-Okay. -Cut it into fajitas style.
-You're like a surgeon. -Learned since I was 14.
Then, what are we gonna put on it?
-Some of our seasoning salt. -A little cumin.
Garlic powder, and then we'll add some vinegar.
Just mix it up.
And then, we'll put it on our grill,
grill it until it gets that crispy brown,
at least 10 minutes.
It's really spicy. -Bombero man.
You're gonna need the fireman.
-I am? -Very spicy.
We'll get our tortilla and put it on our grill.
Got our tortilla, chicken ready, pico de gallo,
put rice on here, wrap it up.
-And where does the sauce go? -I'll get to that part.
-Don't rush it, huh? -Yeah.
Walk him to our sauce.
My mouth is watering.
Bombero sauce, some cheese,
and, Guy, you're good to go.
Bombero burrito.
Careful. It's hot.
Wow. There's a little bit of kick to that.
The chicken has got a little crunch
and a little crust on it,
but the sauce with the ketchup,
little cool pico de gallo, you get a little bit of...
A little bit of the freshness.
Excellent.
It's a hot, spicy taste. It's very good.
Very savory. It's got, like, a nice, salty punch.
-Down-home cooking. -I had a mission in life
to find the best taco in the world.
I've found it.
-What's your busiest day? -Every day.
That's a good week.
FIERI: So in our search for south of the border,
there's definitely one city I don't want to miss.
So here I am in Santa Barbara, California.
Now, there's a few things you can count on
for sure when you get here.
That's great weather, avocado trees galore
and great Mexican food.
The only question is, how do you tell the difference
between all the Mexican restaurants?
For me, it's all about quality and authenticity,
and from what I hear, the joint to check out
is this place, Lito's Mexican Food.
♪♪
Okay, guys. We need a con platter relleno.
Carnitas dinner is ready.
It's the greatest Mexican food, I'm telling you,
in, like, the world.
Real Mexican food, like going to Mexico.
This is, like, a family operation.
Your dad started this?
Pop said, "We're gonna open up a place on Haley Street,"
and I said, "Okay. Let's go."
FIERI: That was more than 30 years ago,
and now second generation Ernie Jimenez...
-Echilada dinner le pollo. -...runs the joint.
So you've seen a lot of changes,
but you guys have stayed the same.
Lot of changes. Yeah.
We have to stay the same, got to be consistent.
Got to be consistent, got to have quality,
and you got to be authentic.
Home cooking. It's like going to mom's house.
FIERI: But even mom ain't rocking the traditional
pork stew, posole, like these guys.
You can usually get it on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
But here, you can get it every day if you want.
See? See the halo?
-Yeah. See? -Oh, it's the light.
Here we go to posole land.
You're gonna love this.
And we have our cubed-up pork meat here.
So this is the tri-tip of the pig.
Right.
So we're just gonna cook this down with some water.
We got our onions, dry oregano,
cumin and our garlic and blend it together.
We'll stew it for about an hour or so, 45 minutes.
Until the pork is all cooked, nice little simmer.
Now what? -We add our hominy.
Okay. You see that corn? Mmm.
Guajillo chili that we blended already.
Guajillo chili is not really spicy.
It's got a little bit of a bite to it,
really rich in flavor, one of my favorites.
Okay. So now, we cook this down.
How much longer is this gonna go?
About another half an hour. We're ready to go.
You're gonna love this.
♪♪
Serve it up, boss. Let's do this.
All right.
I feel like I'm an expectant father.
And then the nice little platter
with some cabbage and some radish. Radishes.
I do cilantro, onions, bunch of the cabbage.
Mmm. There is nothing that is as satisfying
in the soup world as posole.
Big, tender, juicy pieces of pork.
You get a little bit of the crunch
because the cabbage can survive,
and that guajillo pepper in the broth, mmm.
There's the hominy right there,
soaked up all that awesome flavor.
That's mom. Awesome.
-Passed the test. -Passed the test?
You wrote the curriculum, my friend.
Look at that, mmm. -Thanks.
In the lifetime that you've had posole,
how does that rate? -Number one.
Every weekend, got to have it.
Lito's is the staple.
Everybody knows everybody. It's a great place.
I love it, man. Nice place.
Nice to see that the family is still running it.
-It's the only way to go. -You got it.
FIERI: Coming up on this full hour of major Mexican...
This is gnarly.
...killer tostadas and tortas...
You can't make this sandwich fast enough.
...cooked up in something
you're just not seeing every day.
That's one of the biggest taco trucks I've ever seen.
♪♪
You know, there's just something about "Triple D"
and finding great food in unexpected places,
like vehicles.
So here we are in Tampa, Florida,
to check out some righteous Mexican food in a school bus.
This is Taco Bus.
Welcome to Taco Bus. What can I get you?
MAN: The bus is fun. You feel like
you're in this little corner of Mexico.
-Two chicharron taco. -Very authentic Mexican food.
-The tacos are awesome. -Two tacos coming up.
Chicken burrito, I have a little bit of an addiction for it.
-The steak tostada. -This is my favorite food.
That's one of the biggest taco trucks I've ever seen.
How big is that school bus? -It's about 35 feet.
FIERI: But when Rene Valenzuela opened this joint in '91...
First, we looked at cargo vans,
some little vans, some little trailers.
We needed a bigger kitchen.
Order up.
FIERI: So they got a bus.
Carne asada burrito coming up.
And since '99,
Rene is using it to crank out the classics
he grew up cooking in Mexico...
Fish tacos.
We wanted to do food that's very authentic,
very deep in Mexico.
...from fried pork rinds with salsa verde...
It's spicy. It's really good.
FIERI: ...to the Mayan standard cochinita pibil...
The meat is just tender and just goes down like water.
FIERI: ...and this regional specialty with pulled pork
and ancho pepper sauce.
-Chilorio torta. -Never seen it.
I've been eating Mexican food all my life.
To make chilorio, first, we're gonna make carnitas.
We got a Boston butt right here.
We're gonna take the fat out.
FIERI: Okay. So cut it into small pieces.
Right. Put a little bit of salt.
And now we're gonna put it into the hot pork lard.
-It builds a little crust. -Right.
Put some Mexican bay leaves.
Allspice, interesting, I like that.
And orange. Here you go.
-Everybody in the pool. -Simmer, so it's frying slowly.
-How many hours? -About a couple hours.
All right. So it's all cooled down now.
We shred it? -That's right.
Mmm. I like that spice with the allspice in there.
We'll shred it, make the salsa,
then make the torta. -That's right.
-Got it. -Anchos.
-Love anchos. -Oh, yeah.
Oh. And pasillas.
Pasillas. We got a hot griddle.
We're gonna put them in there.
It's gonna help awaken the flavors.
And then we're gonna steep them in hot water?
-Right. -Okay. So we keep the lid on it,
so it keeps the peppers submerged.
Nice. So what are you doing with the seeds?
We're just opening them up here? -Right.
You can't make the sauce with the seeds
and then strain the seeds out. They become too bitter.
-That's right. -We take all these.
Now we're gonna grind these up.
-Yes, for the chilorio sauce. -I know this routine.
Put in the red peppers in the blender.
I'm gonna put a little bit of the water.
-Okay. -I take some oregano.
It's different. -One of my favorite.
Vinegar.
And then garlic cloves and salt.
After we put it through the blender,
we're gonna strain it.
♪♪
Then we're gonna put the sauce.
We're gonna fry it.
With a little bit of the lard that we put the pork in.
-That's right. -This is gnarly.
That's what you got to do right there.
You got to cook off a little bit of that bitterness.
We put the carnitas, already shredded.
And we're just gonna sit there and cook this up,
let it coat. -Right.
And then we're going to make the torta. That's right.
You can't make this sandwich fast enough.
So this is homemade bread.
Yeah. Refried beans on the bottom.
So now we put the chilorio on top.
Refried beans almost work like the mayonnaise.
-That's right. -Okay, a little queso.
Little queso on top, jalapeños,
then tomatoes, white onions,
marinated onions. -Cabbage.
Don't be stingy with the cabbage.
Okay. And cilantro.
Here you go. -Look at that.
Mmm. That is out of bounds, dude.
All right.
The freshness of the bread, right off the bat.
Then, you get this hot, little bit spicy of the meat.
Then, you get the crunch of the onion.
And a little snap from the jalapeño. Mmm.
This has got to be one of the best tortas I've ever had.
-All right. -I mean, one of the best, dude.
That sandwich rocks.
I like Mexican pork, and this is the porkiest pork.
MAN: The tenderness of the meat and the crunchiness
of the vegetables in there, just like you're in Mexico.
Two tacos chicharron y speciale, rice and beans.
MAN #2: The Taco Bus, there's really nothing else like it.
This one was here before food trucks were cool.
The nice thing is we don't move it around.
People can find it.
FIERI: Anytime, day or night.
If you come here at 4:00 a.m., you're hungry.
They're all part of Taco Bus Nation.
Wait. Wait. Wait. How late are they open?
They're open 24/7.
-No. -Yeah.
For me, it's the healthy food was what sold me.
FIERI: Because they're serving up Mexican classics
with a little vegetarian spin.
VALENZUELA: Grilled tofu tacos.
I'm having the veggie burrito right now, and it's amazing.
My new favorite is the butternut squash tostada.
FIERI: Yeah. He's putting butternut squash on a tostada.
VALENZUELA: It's still Mexican. It's not well known,
and that's something unique that brings you to Mexico.
-This is delicious. -The squash.
You wait until you try it. It's famous here.
Okay.
First, start with butternut squash, fresh.
Just gonna cut it into large pieces.
-And where is this recipe from? -Yucatan.
So that's it, boil it with the seeds and everything in it?
-Right. -Down in the water?
-That's right. -How long?
Once it boils, about two or three minutes.
It's got to be tender but not too much
because, otherwise, it gets all mushy.
Don't want to get it mushy. All right.
So now it's boiled and cooled a little bit.
Now we're gonna take the seeds out?
Right. We also got to take the skin out.
-We're gonna chop it up? -Right.
And what's the next step?
We're gonna put a little bit of oil, onions.
-Red bell pepper. -Tomatoes, habanero peppers.
[ Whistles ]
I'm gonna put just a little bit before
I add the butternut squash.
-Squash. -Now, the butternut squash
is gonna get a little softer here.
We're gonna just cook it down
so it's a little bit more tender? That's right.
-We ready? -We're ready.
So we're gonna top our tostada with it.
Looks like he's putting a fruit cocktail on there.
Now put tomatoes, onions, cilantro and cheese.
There you go. -That's a lot.
You can do it. There you go.
It's got good texture. Tostada is nice and crunchy,
and the squash is not fall-apart soft.
The mixture of the red bell pepper and the onions
and that little bit of the habanero
was really done the right way.
I'd order it again in a heartbeat.
-All right. -It's really nice.
-Thank you. -Butternut squash tostada.
It's crispy, very light.
Great flavor you can't find in a lot of places.
Cochinita pibil.
It's the best Mexican food in West Florida.
Two steak tacos.
Anybody that's into this kind of food knows about Taco Bus?
-Yeah. -Oh, absolutely.
-Can I get a torta chilorio? -I can go home now, dude.
We'll wrap up the torta for lunch later, for lunching.
Do me a favor and wrap up the bus
and take it to my casa.
-All right. -The bomb.
FIERI: Up next, seafood in Salt Lake...
I got nothing but happy on that.
...and enjoy making some big bad burritos...
Awesome.
...then, green chili as real as it gets...
I've had a lot of chili verde.
This is fantastic.
...right in the middle of Missouri.
-I think it's a good thing. -I think it's a great thing.
Usually, on "Triple D,"
you see me cruising the convertible '67,
but when I find a joint that's got a car this sick,
well, I just got to stop and check it out.
And it's not just the car that's unique here
at the Lone Star Taqueria in Salt Lake City.
They're doing Mexican food the real-deal way.
Another chicken puerre, no cilantro.
-It's delicious. -Salsa, everybody is fine?
-Orders up, please. -Casual and funky.
The car and the boots really stuck out.
There's no other place like it.
Lone quesadillas, solamente.
-Is it always this chaotic? -Yeah.
I feel like I walked into a fiesta.
-Two tacos. -The food is fabulous.
-Pretty much awesomeness. -Enjoy the fish taco?
Yes. It's money.
Everybody is happy?
FIERI: Because this ain't Susan Harry's first rodeo.
It's all I've done since I was the age of 13.
Taco de pescado.
FIERI: After running all kinds of restaurants,
she wanted to open a Mexican place.
-Carne adovada. -Right here.
FIERI: So she brought in an old friend,
Manuel Valdez... -Shellfish taco up.
-...and his brother... -Chicken burrito.
FIERI: ...to do the food they grew up with.
-Appreciate it. Have a good day. -I mean, it's like family.
-It's awesome. -Where I came for tacos.
Big, big burritos.
FIERI: And some of the biggest favorites here...
Fish taco combo up.
-...are seafood... -Nothing better.
FIERI: ...in Utah.
Is it easy to get fresh seafood here?
-Oh, yes. It is. -Really?
-Every day. -Queso pescada ahita.
Fresh ahi. -I'm having a salmon taco.
Sometimes, it's cod. Sometimes, it's sole.
-Sea bass. -It's kind of like roulette.
You don't know what you're gonna get that day.
I got the shark taco.
-Mahi mahi, red snapper. -Okay.
I'm running out of fingers. -They have everything.
-Camarones. -Camarones.
Shrimp burrito.
FIERI: This one is on the menu every day.
I have to have these at least regularly.
You make separate vegetables
for the shrimp taco and the shrimp burritos.
VALDEZ: We use bell peppers and red onions.
-Julienne? -Julienne. Perfect.
They're not to be beautiful. They're just to get done.
Yes. Exactamente.
So now, what we're gonna do is we're gonna add
all the ingredients.
Mm-hmm. Garlic, cayenne, black pepper.
We're gonna put it all in?
California chili. Little salt.
New Mexico chili.
And then a little bit of the soybean oil.
-Soybean oil? -Soybean.
Wow. How Rive Gauche of you. -Mm-hmm.
So sauté that up. Takes what, 2 hours?
Maybe less but, you know, around there.
Wow. Look how much that cooked down.
♪♪
Wow. That's great flavor.
[ Whistles ] Little bit of heat on that.
Little bit of oil, whole-tail shrimp.
Just gonna throw a little bit of garlic in there.
Now, we go fast with these, right?
Yep. Now, we have our peppers.
We've got juice already in there, too.
Warm up our tortilla.
That's a big tortilla right there.
-Look at that. -We've got our rice.
We've got some of our beans.
FIERI: In those frijoles,
we got manteca in that, or what do we got?
No, vegetable oil, cumin, garlic and salt.
-Okay. -And you're done.
Just a little bit of cheese.
-Now the camarones. -Just put a little.
-Don't forget that guy. -Oh, that guy right there.
Cilantro. We got a little bit of onions,
the fresh onions, tomatoes.
Little bit of lettuce. -Looks good.
Little bit of sour cream here.
No, no, no, no. Go all the way over.
That way, you bring this back. -Then you bring that one back.
-And then roll over. -It's like the taquito method.
That's what I'm talking about.
I have to be able to see it.
Mmm.
What's that called, Killer Burrito?
Really good.
You definitely get the distinct flavor of the peppers.
I got nothing but happy on that.
Seriously, awesome. Awesome!
Nice and spicy, lots of interesting peppers.
-It's got a kick to it. -I love it.
Burritos good?
You eat the food, and you're hooked.
Taco asada combo.
Normally, in Mexico, I'd be eating this on a street.
You just have to keep coming back.
Best taco joint in Utah, for sure.
Is that your car?
No.
The Camaro and the station wagon, even swap?
Oh, absolutely not.
Okay. I'll give you 500 bucks.
FIERI: Now we're headed directly east
for some more good food and a great story.
You got to dig restaurant romances.
You know, boy meets girl,
but he's from a foreign country.
They hit it off, well, then they get married.
They move back to her hometown,
and they open a restaurant.
I mean, it's, like, made for a TV movie
except, here, it's real. I'm in Chesterfield,
about 30 miles west of downtown St. Louis, Missouri,
to check out this joint,
Espino's Mexican Bar and Grill.
Pick up the carnitas, guys. Let's go.
The flavors are powerful.
The food here is incredible.
Mr. Espino, he is the best chef.
FIERI: That's Mr. Artemio Espino,
originally from Michoacán, Mexico.
Here's enchiladas, guys. Pick up.
FIERI: In '04, he opened the joint with his wife,
Roseanne... -Hi, Carrie. How are you?
FIERI: ...you know, the hometown girl I was talking about,
and the hometown, straight-up barbecue country.
Their ribs are to die for.
FIERI: So are the family recipes,
like a mole passed down through the generations
and a pork chili verde that is off the hook.
The pork chili verde. Pick up.
FIERI: What are we gonna make first?
The green salsa for the pork chili verde.
First, we're going to get garlic.
-The serranos? -Jalapeños and serranos.
Now you got your onions,
and then you put your tomatillos.
You hear them sizzling?
See? Now we put the water.
And we're gonna let it go for at least a half hour.
And while that cooks, in this container right here...
-Okay. -...we're gonna add onions.
-Cilantro. -Cilantro, salt, white pepper.
Okay. So when that's cooked, we drop it in here?
Yeah.
Then, we mix it.
Now we're gonna do the pork.
Olive oil, the chopped garlic.
Turn it fast, or you'll burn the garlic.
The whole pan, you got your pork.
So you brown the meat.
-Black pepper. -Oregano.
Dry oregano, your lemon pepper.
I've never seen lemon pepper in Mexico.
That one is a new thing up here, I guess.
Now, you add your cumino. -Cumin.
Put your salt on it.
Now, you add your onions to give more body to the sauce.
Diced green chilis.
Then, I got pork base... -Okay.
...to add more flavor to it.
I like the bottom- of-the-spoon move.
Okay. And then, we're gonna put this sauce.
This is the sauce, the one I make.
See? Right to the end, you put your cilantro.
Stir it.
Cover it and lower the heat.
In one hour, you have the pork chili verde.
There you are. -Nice.
Nice and tender, ready to eat.
♪♪
This is one of my favorite Mexican dishes.
♪♪
Killer.
Perfect amount of spice. Look at that.
You just push on the pork,
and it just falls apart,
a little jalapeño,
a little garlic,
the acidity of the tomatillos.
But I got to tell you, Chef, it is delicious.
I've had a lot of chili verde.
This is fantastic. -Thanks.
We have the puerco con chili verde.
It's a little sweet, a little tangy.
It's unbelievably tender.
For a guy that came from Mexico on his 18th birthday
to look what you've done for yourself,
making this kind of food and offering it
to these folks here in Chesterfield, what a life.
-I think it's a good thing. -I think it's a great thing.
♪♪
FIERI: Coming up, it's Mexican madness in Omaha...
Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
...from classic enchiladas and chimichangas...
Bye-bye, let's fry.
...to puff the magic tortilla.
Mm, that's killer!
This one is a great family story.
Here I am in Omaha, Nebraska.
In 1914, a Belgian immigrant
put up this building and opened up a pharmacy.
He later passed it on to his son.
Well, decades later, his son retires,
and it looks like the Bogard family legacy
is gonna end on this corner.
Well, that is until the grandson stepped up
and said, "I'll take a shot,"
moved back from Miami
and reopened the place his way as a taqueria...
Two beef hard shells.
...serving all the classics.
Chicken chimichanga, it's great.
-Beef enchilada. -Great food.
-FIERI: But the heavy hitter... -One more beef.
...is something Brad Bogard calls
the California taco... -Here we go.
FIERI: ...even though he discovered it
on a trip to the Caribbean...
It's that puffy-shell taco.
...that he brought to Omaha...
No lettuce.
...when he decided to settle down
and open this joint in the old family building.
Beef taco coming up.
Just one hitch.
Never worked at a restaurant before in my life.
Never worked at one.
Went down to the Mexican grocery store, "Pollo?
Chicken?" -They started giving you ideas.
Yeah, and they, like, pointed at what to use.
Oh, there's the tortilla recipe.
And that's how you started making tortillas.
-Yeah. -Give me the rundown.
You start with wheat flour, then sea salt, baking soda.
So that's gonna give it some of the leavening.
Vegetable shortening.
Then some hot water. Crank this baby up.
So once the dough works, do you knead it?
You got to knead that dough.
Now, who taught you how to do this?
-Nobody. -Really?
Throw my dough down,
then we put it in the bun divider.
Look at that. What is that, circa 1840?
-Patent 1931. -Wow.
Into the slot, confinement ring.
Because you will stay in there.
Pull it down, then we hit the button.
Nice drop down.
Activate.
-Really? -Pull it up.
Wow. Look at those little biscuits of friendship.
Now, you go ahead and roll these out by hand.
Exactly. Power it up.
And we don't do it until we get your order.
Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
You can make them ahead of time and just wax paper them.
Could. Don't.
I want their tacos tasting like I want my tacos.
So that's it.
Now we can stuff it with whatever we want.
Steak, chicken, beef.
Now, this is what we're going to use to make the carne asada?
The steak, exactly. You take it over to the slicer,
put the spices together,
a little black pepper, sea salt,
onion salt, cayenne pepper,
the oregano, which I like.
I like the seasoning mix on that.
And then, we grill it? -Open flame.
FIERI: Medium rare on both sides, so it doesn't dry out.
You got it. And after it cools, then, we slice it.
If you slice it right away... -It'll lose all the juice.
Exactly.
That's some pretty good carne.
These get popped inside of here.
Right. That's a healthy little portion.
And that's it. Bye-bye, let's fry.
-Let's do it. -After it's done cooking,
you let it drain a little bit of the oil.
About 3 minutes. Should we see what she looks like?
That takes a little something. -Look at that.
Lettuce. We shred our own cheese.
Queso. Look at that.
That's outstanding.
Mmm. The meat has got great flavor, crunchy.
Look at all the juice in there.
Mmm, that's killer.
Do I look like I just took a bath in that or what?
Wow, that's good. Nice job, man.
-Appreciate that. -Good texture.
It's got a great taste to it. -Tasted homemade.
My mom didn't make them this good.
That's kind of like the seal of approval.
We got to make that tu-tung sound.
Tu-tung.
It's quick. It's easy, and it's great food.
It tastes really fresh.
I want everything cooked that day.
This salsa is great.
FIERI: Two kinds -- the red...
Tastes like somebody just chopped up a tomato
and put it in a bottle.
FIERI: ...and the green, made with fresh jalapeños.
Look at that. -That's good.
That's money. -That's money.
All the way down.
FIERI: And Brad keeps serving up all the favorites.
-Three hard-shell tacos. -There we go. Burrito.
The nachos supreme, really good.
FIERI: And when he heads back to the fryer...
-Chicken chimi. -Let's make a chimichanga.
Big deep-fried burrito.
-Exactly. -80-20 ground beef.
Add the seasonings right after we get the meat in there.
-Ancho? -Ancho chili pepper.
-The chipotle. -Sea salt.
-Okay. -And onion salt.
-Add a little water. -Everybody is in the pool.
You're gonna let it sit here and cook for, what, 2 hours?
-Right at it. -So that's cooked down.
I mean, that is, like, beef sauce.
[ Whistles ] And this is the method, huh?
The spices help separate that oil from the meat.
That's precise.
So let these cool down, and then what goes down?
Pinto beans, we sort every one by hand, looking for rocks.
The thing I love is that, when you were hanging down
at the Mexican market,
you got some really particular information,
something like, sorting beans, which is quite an art,
very seldom done.
And then you cook the beans,
mix the beans into the ground beef.
Just a few. Flour tortilla.
Put a little steam on it so it's pliable.
Exactly, make it pliable, so you can fold it up.
-So it doesn't crack. -A little refried beans,
good amount of meat, onions.
You know how I like cheese.
-Cheesy. -Like that.
Are we gonna wedge that in there again?
Then over to the fryer. -You got it.
-There we go. -Plate it really quick.
Lettuce on there. Cheese. Couple olives.
So let's take a gander at that bad boy.
Crispy outside. Creamy, cheesy on the inside.
Mmm.
That's awesome, man. You know my favorite part?
Little bit of onion you put in there.
Well done, brother. -Thanks, man.
Look at that.
MAN: It's got homemade flavors
you don't find just anywhere else.
All the meat and cheese, it's just good.
FIERI: And Brad just keeps on frying.
Chicken enchilada, it definitely tastes fresh and homemade.
So we're gonna make the shredded chicken.
Chicken down, little sea salt in there.
Water, just enough to cover it.
Simmer it for an hour and a half,
let it break down.
It almost starts to shred for you.
How much does that make for you for a day?
-Half a day. -Really?
And then, you'll do it again.
Yeah. Just keep going. Keep going.
So the chicken gets shredded up.
We just want to add a little pungent flavor.
This mixture of cumin, cayenne and paprika.
Then you roll it around.
That's what I'm talking about.
That's killer. That's some really nice flavor.
We need the sauce for the enchiladas.
Start with the tomato sauce.
We've got the chili powder, ancho.
Well, the ancho chili farmers here in Nebraska are
doing really well with all your use.
Then, we roll in... -Chipotle.
Onion salt. The sea salt.
A little garlic. A little agua.
You let that warm up.
This is one of the things about Mexican food
people don't know is a lot of it is preparation.
It's the low and slow idea. -Let that warm up.
We take some canola oil. -Sauce is hot.
Dip, fry. Fry. Out.
Put it in this enchilada sauce.
Heat the tortilla with that salsa in the oil.
It really makes that enchilada sauce...
-Just soak right into it. -...soak right into it.
And that tortilla holds the sauce.
Dip. Fry, out.
I like the concept.
Cook that right into it.
You look like Edward Scissorhands with those.
-We're doing the enchiladas. -Look at that chicken.
Little bit of cheese inside also.
Then, it has to go through the steamer.
I think we're ready. -Nice.
Roll it up here. Top it with some more cheese.
Okay. Look at that.
Now, I always dress it in lettuce,
couple of my homemade flour tortilla chips.
Mmm.
Good, man. I got to tell you something, dude.
That tortilla, fantastic flavor, mm.
That is really good, man. -Thank you.
The chicken is really juicy.
The melted cheese makes it really good.
-The California Taco? -It's fast, easy and unique.
-How we doing? -Congratulations, man.
Got a great joint.
Was that a road trip or what? But don't worry.
There's plenty more joints all over this great country.
I'll be looking for you next time on "Triple D."
Here, I got something for you, man.
Seriously? You carved this by hand?
All out of a watermelon?
-A watermelon, yeah. -You're crazy.
You're like a surgeon.