More Diners, Drive-ins and Dives: A Drop-Top Culinary Cruise Through America's Finest and Funkiest Joints

by Guy Fieri, Ann Volkwein

Join New York Times bestselling author Guy Fieri, host of the hugely popular Food Network show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, as he takes you on a tour of 60 more of the best local restaurants across America, as featured in his very favorite episodes. Bursting with his iconic personality, the book will follow his hot-rod trips around the country, mapping out the best places you′ve never heard of. Wherever he goes, Guy showcases the amazing personalities, the fascinating stories, and most important, the outrageously good food provided by these American treasures. Replete with recipes, photos, and memorabilia, and featuring Guy′s hilarious voice and rampant enthusiasm for these hidden culinary gems, UNTI DINERS #2 is the perfect gift for the his countless fans and for lovers of the American food scene.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Travel, Nonfiction, Food, Foodie, Reference

247 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2009

About the author

Guy Fieri is an American restaurateur, author, television personality, and game show host. He co-owns five restaurants in California and is widely known for his television series on the Food Network.

By mid-2010, the Food Network had made Fieri the "face of the network." In 2010, the New York Times reported that Fieri brought an "element of rowdy, mass-market culture to American food television," and that his "prime-time shows attract more straight male viewers than any others on the network."

Reviews

[Miss Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

A blend of a behind-the-scenes look at Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives mixed with stories of the restaurants they visit and special recipes from these unique eateries!


Beacon Drive-In in South Carolina - Beacon Lightly Breaded Onion Rings

Uncle Lou's Fried Chicken in Tennessee

Salsa Brava in Flagstaff, Arizona - Roasted Pineapple Habanero Salsa

Gorilla Barbeque in California - Gorilla Mac and Cheese*

Pizzeria Luigi in California - Pizzeria Luigi Mona Lisa Pizza

Schooner or Later in California - Schultzie's Mess

Lone Star Taqueria in Utah - carne Adovada Tacos

Studia Diner in Californai - SamSon Steak Sandwich


The time taken to introduce each and every crew member! The details shown of how the show is shot and created; the impact it has on the locations, and the camaraderie and fellowship between everyone involved in this production. It is inspiring to see the heart behind it all and is even better than what appears on the show!

[Bry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Won this book through a Good Reads giveaway. Can't wait to get it!
UPDATE: Got this book less than a week after winning it!

This is a pretty great book. It has a bunch of behind the scenes info like mini biographies on all of the crew that is involved in the shows production, even mentioning their nicknames! It also has Guy's Top 10 List and answers to his most asked questions. The funniest part of the book though was a telling of a bunch of the pranks that the crew pulls on each other, Guy on the crew, and even the crew on Guy. It was pretty entertaining.

The bulk of the book is reviews of a number of eateries throughout the country, and is organized by geography. There is a mini bio on each place, and a couple of recipes created by the places owners/chefs. There was even one of my favorite restaurants included in the book, Magnolia Cafe in Austin, TX! Plus the recipe for their gingerbread pancakes which I love! So I can't wait to try that out!

Also included in the book at the back is a HUGE list of Guys favorite places to go throughout the country. It gives you the address and website when available for each place. It is organized alphabetically, but I wish it had been done geographically instead since I will most likely flip through it to look for somewhere to eat depending on where I am.

My only wish was that the book had had some color pictures, especially for the food shots. The text was in black with red accents, but was printed on regular book paper, when I had expected glossy paper with color photos like a regular cookbook.

This would be a great gift for someone who is a fan of the show, or just someone who loves to cook because the recipes are wonderful! Or just to keep in your own cookbook collection.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

I also won this book via a Goodreads giveaway. Thank you Goodreads! I really enjoy Guy's show so I was excited when this book arrived. If you enjoy the show you will enjoy this book. There is a lot of behind the scenes stuff, not to mention descriptions of more of the places that Guy visits on triple D. Lots of recipes too, but that is not the main focus of this book.

[Hubert]

This one is part cookbook, part culinary adventure, part Americana. Hope someone enjoys it. I didn't read it cover to cover, but I still enjoyed having it on my shelf.

[Jan Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a lot of background stories, recipes and great places to eat. I love the stories and introductions to his crew that go with him and are behind the scenes. They sound like such a fun crowd! I really enjoyed reading the Guy asides that told his personal takes on some of the places.

[Kitten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Popsugar 2020: A book with a map.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had some really good joints and recipes from said places.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good. Like revisiting some of Triple D’s episodes. Sad that many of the restaurants are closed after 2020. 😔

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I watch the show all the time, so I was excited to read this book. I was expecting more "pop"...mainly with color photos of the food and locations.

[Maddie L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many interesting stories about his experience with the restaurants he visited!! Now I wanna go and watch the episodes🤩 such a fun read!

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes I put this on my cook book shelf. That is because of the many recipes Guy sneaks out of these places. Seriously I loved the book. Shout out to my library for the loan. May have to purchase this one.

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you enjoy Guy Fieri's show on the Food Channel, "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives"? Did you get a kick out of his first book exploring the three Ds? If yes to either, you should enjoy this volume, too. If you want a lot of recipes, then this book isn't likely to engage you.

However, I do enjoy the author's televised Odyssey through diners, drive-ins, and dives throughout the country. Here, you get a brief sense of the uniqueness of a variety of joints--as well as an illustrative menu item or two from each. It all makes for a nice diversion. And there are always a few recipes that are a lot of fun to contemplate and to make.

As before, Fieri divides the country into regions--in this instance, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, South, Midwest, and West and Southwest. For each region, he selects a handful of places (between 10 to 18 per region). One of the charms, in the author's own words is (Page 3): I get to shine a light on a real group of people. . . . I get to bring out the kid and adventurer in all of us. . . . We're reminding people to get back to the basics: real food from real people."

Let's take a look at a couple representative D,D,or Ds.

Northeast/Mid-Atlantic: Kelly O's Diner in Pittsburgh. Fieri's visit boosted business quite a bit, according to the owner. The example from the menu: Haluski. Green cabbage, butter, julienned Spanish onions, garlic salt, sliced bacon, egg noodles, black pepper, and grated Romano cheese. Cook cabbage leaves in water; melt butter and add onions and half of the garlic salt stir in cabbage until onions and cabbage begin to caramelize; stir in other ingredients (except cheese) then plate and add cheese to the top of the dish. Down home cooking here!

West and Southwest: Pat's Barbecue in Salt Lake City. Nice, brief description of the place's operation. The dish? Smoked barbecue meatloaf. Ingredients: ground beef, eggs, seasoned bread crumbs, milk, barbecue sauce, dry onion soup mix, and grilled onions. Key to the recipe is smoking the meatloaf mix for 4 hours! Now that's a whole lot different than the way I make my meatloaf.

Once more, if you like the show, you'll probably enjoy the book. If not and if you are interested ikn a more traditional cookbook, this might not do the trick.

[twinfish2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love me some Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Great cookbook. Had easy to follow recipes and also small back stories on the places featured. Some of the recipes are amazing. I mean what the chefs go through to make just one item is crazy. It makes me appreciate what they do even more. This tv show has had an amazing impact on these places. Some doubled or tripled their sales. One even had to enlarge their place. Great job, we need these local places to survive because they are what america is all about. In the back of the book is a listing of all the places featured in this book and the 1st cookbook. If you haven't watched this show do so. Guy Fieri is always a riot and you can tell he loves what he is doing and loves meeting people as passionate about food as he is. OH, I should probably tell you I won this book on goodreads giveaways, it took me awhile to do the review because I wanted to try some of the recipes first. P.S My family knows how crazy I am about the show. On christmas morning my niece gives me one of my gifts, bingo this book. I was heartbroken to tell her I had just won this on goodreads. Oh well we took it back to wal-mart so someone else could find this great cookbook and add it to their collection just as I have to mine.

[Seth Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never seen any of Guy's shows nor read the precursor book when I picked up this volume. The first portion of the book describes the show's production and crew and a few other related sections. Despite my lack of fandom it was still very interesting and fun to read. The remainder (and bulk) of the book features small narratives describing some of the diners, drive-ins, and dives featured on the show along with frequent asides, additional notes, and at least one recipe per location. The narratives are both entertaining and make your mouth salivate with the descriptions of wonderful food. Most of all they tell the local's and people's stories which is the best part of the book. The recipes are very diverse and although I am not likely to tackle many of them myself (e.g. the Turducken and SamSon) there are others I will certainly try. These are grouped into three massive regions: Northeast, Southeast, and the West. Overall, it is a great book and I already know who I will be passing it along to.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Won this book from Goodreads.com. Thank you Goodreads!!!

This is a pretty neat book. Interesting to read up on behind the scenes and all the little pranks they do on each other. Also enjoyed getting to know the crew alittle more. We may not see them on air, but they play a big role out of sight.

I cant wait to try some of the recipes in this book. Theres a yummy sounding Mac n Cheese from Gorilla Barbeque in California. I am a sucker of some Mac n Cheese. What I find interesting is the use of Goldfish Crackers.

My husband is from Baton Rouge and he is always making Gumbo and Jumbalaya. There is a recipe for a Chicken and Andouille Gumbo from Parasol's in Louisiana. I just may have to make this for him sometime.

Over all....book is awesome. I just love watching Guy try new things. He is a very brave soul.

[Shel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the TV show so was excited to win this book in a Goodreads giveaway! I loved the interviews/profiles with the crew members and the little behind-the-scenes tidbits that go along with the profile of each restaurant. There are also one to three recipes included from each of the featured restaurants - some of them seem easy to make, others a little more involved than I generally go for, but all sound DELICIOUS (but be warned: this is NOT health food!).

Four stars instead of five because Guy's personality doesn't come through as well on a written page as it does on television, but still, any fan of his show will want a copy of this book! I will have to keep my eyes open for the first one, which I missed somehow.

[Marti · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS IS A FIRSTREADS REVIEW--PLEASE NOTE, GOODREADS!

having watched a number of the tv shows of the same name, i knew that this was a book that i would enjoy. it was almost like watching a number of those shows, without having to change channels or anything. the beginning of the book introduces the crew of people who make the show possible. theirs is a grueling schedule, so that the pranks they play on each other makes sense--you have to blow off some steam that builds up. readers learn the background of the various eateries and some about the owners. i learned that guy fieri doesn't like eggs--somehow I had missed that before. there are some recipes that i am anxious to try--a few with ingredients i can skip. if you like food, and traveling around, you should like this.

[Farrah Soares Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this a 3 out of 5 because of Guy. I love Guy, my husband is OK with this since I've never met Guy. But every Diner's Drive-In's & Dive episode I watch all you hear me saying is "I love Guy". He's great, he's funny, he can goof on himself and others, he looks like he's the entertainment to a party and knows how to have fun and rock out. He's great. I liked this book more because how Guy talks in it, he's the Captain of Flavor town and he doesn't like EGGS. Hates eggs, will eat them mixed in with baking and cooking but will not eat a cooked egg EVER. He always has me in stitches, thats why I love Guy. Some recipes were ok and I'll have to test some out but I watch this primarily for Guy!!

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book to read, and I wasn't really expecting it to be. The playful spirit of DDD, Guy Fieri, and the production crew shines through in the way each restaurant visit is described. In my opinion the biographical sketches of each member of the crew, and their comments, are the best part of the book. I have never seen the Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives show, but I feel like I have after reading the book. The old-fashioned look of the layout, achieved by using black and white photos and reddish accents, is o.k., but some color photographs might have really added some extra sparkle and pizzaz.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is just plain fun. Although I am hardly a foodie, I had a wonderful time reading about responsibly investigative and yet playful researchers who tell stories about restaurant owners,customers, recipes and stories. Filled with fun details and playful photographs, this is a book to thumb through over and over and over again. It has everything from the Dari-Ette Drive-ins Meataballas to Matt's Chop and Chick to Schooner or Later's Schultize Mess. This book will come off my shelf many a time for a creative cooking night and will definitely be one of my housegifts in the future. It

[Wes Metz · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love road food, comfort food, or good American food of all kinds, you will enjoy this book (especially if you have seen the tv show). Fieri
visits a number of establishments that satisfy our hunger for good, modest food that warms our hearts as it nourishes our bodies. No worries here about salt, fat, carbs, or the other things we love but aren't supposed to eat - Guy embraces it all. Best yet, there are many recipes. Fieri has said that if he doesn't like the food, he will never say he does, so you can be sure that any of the 3Ds herein are worth a stop if you happen to be in the neighborhood.

[Linda C · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book of diner visits by Guy Fieri covering 23 states. There are overlaps on states but not on restaurants; all new places and recipes. This book has an intro by Emeril Lagasse, a Q&A of most asked questions, and a chapter describing how the show is put together; with an intro to the production team. Guy also describes some of the pranks and ongoing jokes pulled on the team or by the team. He then gives instructions on how to take that big bite without getting the food on his shirt (the hunch). The format of the body of the book is the same; a history of the restaurant and the owners, with talk about their specialties; followed by a recipe. Another winner.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so much fun. High-energy and informative, just like the show, which my husband and I love to watch. Living in the Midwest, I would have liked to see more restaurants from that region, but they were all so interesting.

It was fun reading along and remembering some of the episodes in which the restaurants were featured.

My favorite parts were the "Guy Asides" with each restaurant. I loved the little tidbits. I also liked the notes from the owners with some of the restaurants. I know my husband will be trying some of the recipes in this book, too.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Looking forward to this book...just won it and am waiting on it to arrive!
Overall, a book that inspires you to try all the hole-in-the-wall restaurants you see when you're traveling. This is certainly more travelogue than cookbook, but surely worth a read if you are going to visit any of the same areas he decribes.
This book reads like Guy talks...great for the "asides" he includes with each diner's story, but a bit tiring to read for the stories themselves.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for FREE thanks to one of the goodreads giveaways. Filled with the usual zeal, humor, and great food that Guy Fieri always brings to the table, "More Diners..." is a very satisfying read. I laughed, I tried to cook one of the recipes already, and I would recommend it to anybody as both a cookbook and a good read. My only squabble with Guy is I think he might have gotten a bit too fancy with the good old fashioned Pittsburgh haluski recipe.

[Mariah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a lot like the television program, of which I've only seen a couple episodes. Sprinkled throughout the book are autobiographical bits about Fieri, who proves to understand the food industry from the bottom up, and his joi de vivre makes you want to visit the restaurants he describes, always including anecdotal sidebars and recipes. It's a fun book to browse through, especially when thinking of food or travel.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this cookbook is definitely one worth checking out. There are tons of funny anecdotes throughout the book, especially the staff profiles when they ask the crew about their favorite memories of making the show.
There are tons of great sounding recipes to try out, and you end up wanting to visit the places showcased. I will definitely have to check out the first triple D book. Hopefully the crew won't just stop at the two!

[Kristin Brenemen]

Obtained for free thanks to the goodreads.com first reads free book giveaways. I loved watching Guy Fieri's show when I had cable, so it was interesting to see what was pulled together for the book.

While the locations are all interesting (even one in Mississippi!), the recipes are what sells it. I can't wait to try some out.

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy the show and the book is just as much fun. I'm so glad I won this! I wasn't expecting recipes as well. It's loaded with photos and great notes about the places and their chefs. I'm actually going to try some of these recipes and I'll seek out the two diners he's got listed for the Atlanta area.

[Maureen Harris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very excited to get a cook book, especially one from the Food Network. However, Many of the recipes look a little hard to make, and are things I would not necessarily eat. My other complaint was the picture of the dead pigs in the back of the truck. I did like the little stories and the other great pictures.