“More Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” by Guy Fieri is a must-read for fans of the Food Network show, and a good bet for anyone who likes middle-brow food.
No foie gras here — only lots of burgers, hot dogs, chili and all the usual suspects along with lesser-known treats such as haluski (a Pittsburgh favorite via Poland, featuring cabbage and noodles) and scrapple (basically, cornmeal and pork).
At least this scrapple recipe doesn’t include liver. Good thing, because apparently Guy doesn’t eat liver. He doesn’t like eggs, either, so he’s not big on most breakfasts and they get pretty short shrift in the book.
The first part of the book consists of a Q-and-A with Guy, a section by producer David Page about how the show is put together and a section on the road crew. Then we get started with the main ingredient: Restaurants and recipes.
The book is divided into four regions: Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, South, Midwest, and West and Southwest. Each restaurant gets a summary, generally including some of its history and information about the folks who own or run them, what kind of food it serves and what its specialties are. If you’ve seen the show, you know that there are a lot of interesting characters in these joints.
Each restaurant features a recipe or two. Sometimes it’s the restaurant’s recipe, sometimes an adaptation from Guy.
Most of the recipes sound doable for the home cook, but there are a couple that are a bit involved. Suffice it to say, you won’t find me making a turducken anytime soon. But whether you cook or not, it all makes for interesting reading.
I will mention that the tone of the book is very “Guy”, so it reads pretty much like he speaks. If you find him annoying, you’ll find the book annoying as well. If you like his verbal stylings, you’ll enjoy the book all the more.
If reading the book whets your appetite, within driving range (depending on how far you feel it’s reasonable to drive for food) are The BBQ Shack in Paola, Kan., Bobo Drive-In in Topeka and Café on the Route in Baxter Springs.
There are no Missouri restaurants in the book, although there were two Kansas City restaurants and one St. Louis restaurant in the previous compilation, “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” (which the library also owns). All the restaurants that have appeared on the show are listed in the back, so if you saw one on the show and didn’t get all the info, you can find it here.
While we’re on the subject, if you missed the Travel Channel’s Food Wars episode “Fried Chicken War” about Chicken Annie’s and Chicken Mary’s by Pittsburg, it will air again at 9:30 p.m. on April 20.
This is not the first time, by the way, that the “chicken wars” have received national attention. Calvin Trillin wrote about them in his “U.S. Journal” series for the New Yorker back in 1982.
If you’d like to know what he said about Annie’s and Mary’s, check out our copy of “The Tummy Trilogy.” There are about forty of Trillin’s pieces on food included and, in addition to being about food (obviously one of my favorite subjects), Trillin is a fine and funny writer. We also have his later book “Feeding a Yen: Savoring Local Specialties from Kansas City to Cuzco.” Check it out!
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April 9, 2010
Linda Cannon: Fieri book brings TV show to printed page
- Weekend
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Linda Cannon: Fieri book brings TV show to printed page
“More Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” by Guy Fieri is a must-read for fans of the Food Network show, and a good bet for anyone who likes middle-brow food. No foie gras here — only lots of burgers, hot dogs, chili and all the usual suspects along with lesser-known treats such as haluski (a Pittsburgh favorite via Poland, featuring cabbage and noodles) and scrapple (basically, cornmeal and pork).
- Frankie Meyer: Tribal activities important to history When learning of the recent death of the great leader Wilma Mankiller, former principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, I was reminded of the critical importance of tribal activities in the family histories of Native Americans. A history of such families cannot be adequately researched and compiled without a thorough understanding of the history of the Indian nation, its clans and its tribal leaders.
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Mike Pound: No such thing as marriage expert
When it comes to arguments, all the marriage experts agree that the best thing for married couples to do after having a conflict is to take a breath, then sit down and calmly and rationally discuss the roots of the dispute like reasonable adults.
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Chairmen of the board: Ramp company's employees skate regularly
They affectionately call it “Skater Wednesday.” For an hour or two each week, sales team members from the Joplin-based American Ramp Co. will head outdoors, skateboards in hand, with the intentions of blowing off steam. Sometimes they’ll tackle the half-pipe at Schifferdecker Park. Other times, they’ll motor over to Autumn Ramp Park to assault the ramps and bowls, the ledges and the wedges, the hips and the gaps.
- Church briefs
- Terry Mattingly: Latest ‘God film’ shows promise of succeeding Hollywood bean counters have started calling them “God films.” The typical faith-based indie has a tiny budget and most of the actors are amateurs or second stringers from television. It doesn’t take much money to promote one because churches are eager to hold pre-release screenings that fire up clergy and volunteers to spread the word — on foot and online.
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Bridge shares faith, values with teens
Dan Mitchell wheeled around from his desk at The Bridge, ready for an interview, with a headline already in mind. “The headline for our ministry in 2009 is we have found ourselves,” Mitchell said, founder and president of a teen-ministry complex that has seen noticeable growth since relocating at 3405 S. Hammons Blvd. four years ago.
- Library plans events for ReadMOre program Selection for this year is collection of Mark Twain stories.
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Benji Tunnell: Hasty 3-D addition leaves ‘Clash’ a mess
Hollywood unleashed “Clash of the Titans,” a slapdash remake of the mediocre original, hastily and amateurishly converted to 3-D to try to capitalize on the dollars that propelled “Avatar” to such dizzying box office heights. Just as quickly as “Avatar” breathed new life into what could have been a fad, “Titans” does everything that it can to kill any momentum generated and to alienate the public to what is still a fledgling technology.
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Dave Woods, Booze Beat: Lounge celebrates 40 years in business
Judy Petty has lived the better part of her life behind the bar at Frank’s Lounge. At almost 70, she’s poured more beers and mixed more drinks than most of us will ever consume.
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