In 1987, Gus Glava gave his daughter Donna and son-in-law Bob a pit beef stand as a wedding gift. It was a 12-by-15-foot shack in a parking lot on the east side of Baltimore, and Bob loved to cook, so the logic held. What Gus could not have predicted is that the wedding gift would
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Baltimore, Barbecue, Maryland, Restaurants, Season 3The Rivershack Tavern sits on River Road in Jefferson, a few miles upriver from New Orleans, with a patio that looks out toward the Mississippi and a kitchen that takes Cajun pub food seriously enough to build a reputation well beyond the neighborhood. It appeared in Season 3, Episode 11 of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,
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Gastropub, Louisiana, Restaurants, Season 3Studio Diner in San Diego’s Kearny Mesa neighborhood was not built to be a restaurant. It was built in the summer of 2003 as a film set next door to the 20-acre Stu Segall Productions facility — the same lot that hosted productions like Veronica Mars and Bring It On. At some point someone realized
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American, Califonia, Restaurants, Season 2Ralph Pesqueira Sr. started El Indio in 1940 as a tortilla factory at the corner of India and Grape Streets in San Diego. He made them by hand. Fresh corn tortillas, supplied to local restaurants. He also coined the word “taquito” for his rolled tacos, which is a detail that belongs in the record books.
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Califonia, Mexican, Restaurants, Season 2Matthews Cafeteria in Tucker, Georgia has been feeding DeKalb County since 1955, operating as a classic Southern cafeteria where you slide your tray down the line and fill your plate with fried chicken, mac and cheese, butter beans, cornbread, and whatever else the steam table is offering that day. It appeared in Season 3, Episode
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Georgia, Restaurants, Season 3Monte Carlo Steak House sits on Central Avenue SW in Albuquerque, which means it sits on Historic Route 66 in a city that has been a crossroads stop for travelers since the highway was commissioned. The restaurant has been a neighborhood institution serving steaks and burgers to a loyal local following for decades, built on
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Albuquerque, Burgers, New Mexico, Restaurants, Season 3, SteakhouseCentral City Café in Huntington, West Virginia has been a neighborhood gathering place serving American comfort food to a loyal community of regulars who know what they want and keep coming back for it. It appeared in Season 3, Episode 10 of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, “Comfort Food,” which aired June 15, 2008, as a
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American, Comfort Food, Restaurants, Season 3, West VirginiaMarlowe’s Ribs sits on Elvis Presley Boulevard in Memphis, which means it occupies a stretch of road that carries the weight of the city’s most famous son. The restaurant has been a neighborhood institution for years, serving Memphis-style ribs and BBQ to locals and the Graceland tourist crowd alike, with the quality earning a loyal
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Barbecue, Memphis, Restaurants, Season 3, TennesseeCharlie’s Diner in Spencer, Massachusetts has been running on three generations of the same Turner family for over 60 years. It appeared in Season 2, Episode 9 of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives — “Family Owned,” aired November 23, 2007 — and that episode title was as accurate as it gets. The diner itself started in
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Diner, Massachusetts, Restaurants, Season 2Paradise Pup has been doing Chicago-style fast food the right way since 1985 from a small roadside shack on South River Road in Des Plaines, Illinois. It appeared in Season 2, Episode 9 of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives — “Family Owned,” aired November 23, 2007 — and Guy Fieri called the Char Cheddar Burger the
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Burgers, Illinois, Restaurants, Season 2