''Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives'' (often nicknamed ''Triple D'' and stylized as ''Diners, Drive-Ins, Dives'') is an American

food reality television Food reality television is a genre of Reality television, reality television programming that considers the production, consumption and/or sociocultural impact of food. Reality food television emerged as a recognisable sub-genre in the 1940s. Hist ...

series that premiered on April 23, 2007, on the

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ( ...

. It is hosted by

Guy Fieri Guy Ramsay Fieri (, ; ''né'' Ferry; born January 22, 1968) is an American restaurateur, author, and an Emmy Award winning television presenter. He co-owns three restaurants in California, licenses his name to restaurants in New York City, Las ...

. The show originally began as a one-off

special Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer Literature * ''Specia ...

that aired on November 6, 2006. The show features a "road trip" concept, similar to '' Road Tasted'', '' Giada's Weekend Getaways'', and ''

$40 a Day ''$40 a Day'' was a Food Network show hosted by Rachael Ray. In each episode, Ray takes a one-day trip to an American, Canadian, or European city with only $40 US, to spend on food. While touring the city, she finds restaurants to go to (often b ...

''. Fieri travels around the United States, Canada, and Mexico looking at various diners, drive-in restaurants, and

dive bar A dive bar is typically a small, unglamorous, eclectic, old-style drinking establishment with inexpensive drinks; it may feature dim lighting, shabby or dated decor, neon beer signs, packaged beer sales, cash-only service, and a local clientele ...

s. He has also featured restaurants in European cities, including

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

, as well as in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

(see the episodes page).

Premise

Each episode generally has a unifying theme (such as burgers, ribs, or seafood) with the host visiting multiple restaurants within a single city to sample the food that corresponds to this theme. The program focuses on small, independent eateries featuring traditional

comfort foods Comfort food is food that provides a nostalgic or sentimental value to someone, and may be characterized by its high caloric nature, high carbohydrate level, or simple preparation. The nostalgia may be specific to an individual, or it may ap ...

(such as barbecue,

smoked meat Smoked meat is the result of a method of preparing red meat, white meat, and seafood which originated in the Paleolithic, Paleolithic Era. Smoking adds Flavor (taste), flavor, improves the appearance of meat through the Maillard reaction, and ...

hamburgers A hamburger, or simply burger, is a food consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or c ...

deep-fried Deep frying (also referred to as deep fat frying) is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot fat, traditionally lard but today most commonly oil, as opposed to the shallow oil used in conventional frying done in a frying pan. Norma ...

food, pizza,

steak A steak is a thick cut of meat generally sliced across the muscle fibers, sometimes including a bone. It is normally grilled or fried. Steak can be diced, cooked in sauce, such as in steak and kidney pie, or minced and formed into patti ...

, and bacon-and-egg breakfast), regional styles, or ethnic specialties. Often, the chosen restaurants will use fresh ingredients, home-style recipes, and

gourmet Gourmet (, ) is a cultural idea associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterized by refined, even elaborate preparations and presentations of aesthetically balanced meals of several contrasting, of ...

culinary approaches to what is usually not considered gourmet food. The host interacts with both the customers, to get their opinion on the food, and with the kitchen staff, who demonstrate how to prepare one or more of the dishes.

''Takeout''

As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the show's format shifted to feature chefs sending Fieri boxes of ingredients and guiding him through the process via video link. ''Takeout'' episodes of the show were filmed at Fieri's home in California with the help of his children, Hunter and Ryder.

Guest appearances

The show has had various stars appear in the kitchen alongside Guy Fieri, including fellow chefs

Robert Irvine Robert Paul Irvine (; born 24 September 1965) is an English celebrity chef and talk show host who has appeared on and hosted a variety of Food Network programs including '' Dinner: Impossible'', ''Worst Cooks in America'', '' Restaurant: Imposs ...

Andrew Zimmern Andrew Scott Zimmern (born July 4, 1961) is an American chef, restaurateur, television and radio personality, director, producer, businessman, food critic, and author. Zimmern is the co-creator, host, and consulting producer of the Travel Chan ...

Michael Symon Michael D. Symon (born September 19, 1969) is an American chef, restaurateur, television personality, and author. He is of Greek, Sicilian, and Eastern European descent. He is seen regularly on Food Network on shows such as ''Iron Chef America' ...

, Emeril Lagasse, and Geoffrey Zakarian, as well as celebrities such as

Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He had his breakout role with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first succes ...

, Gene Hackman,

Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actress, author, and television personality. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series '' Star Search'' ...

Joe Theismann Joseph Robert Theismann (born September 9, 1949) is an American former professional football player, sports commentator, corporate speaker and restaurateur. He rose to fame playing quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and Canad ...

, Chris Rock, Kid Rock, Adam Sandler,

Kevin James Kevin George Knipfing (born April 26, 1965), better known by his stage name Kevin James, is an American comedian and actor. In television, James played Doug Heffernan on ''The King of Queens'' from 1998 to 2007, and receieved a Primetime Emmy ...

Clint Bowyer Clinton Edward Bowyer (born May 30, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and commentator for ''NASCAR on Fox''. He competed in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2005 to 2020, driving for Richard Childress Racing for eight yea ...

Martin Sheen Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...

, Gene Simmons, Steve Harwell,

E-40 Earl Tywone Stevens Sr. (born November 15, 1967), better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. He is a founding member of the rap group The Click, and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 26 studio albums to date, ...

and

Mick Fleetwood Michael John Kells Fleetwood (born 24 June 1947) is a British musician, songwriter and occasional actor. He is best known as the drummer, co-founder, and leader of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. Fleetwood, whose surname was merged with that of t ...

Lawsuit

In May 2011, Page Productions, the original

producers Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

of the show, filed a lawsuit against Food Network. The lawsuit alleges that the network failed to pay required production costs, and failed to make the show's host, Guy Fieri, available for taping. A week after Food Network counter-sued the producer, a settlement was reached in August 2011, allowing the 12th season of the show to resume, with a new production company, Citizen Pictures.

Impact

Throughout the years, more than 800 restaurants have been mentioned on the show, resulting in a dramatic increase in customers. Due to the show's popularity, long-term effects have included increases in both customers and sales. In 2015, the owner of Duluth specialty market Northern Waters Smokehaus said that being featured in a 2010 episode had "jump started" its mail-order business, and that the long-term growth in business hadn't slowed. Donatelli's, a restaurant in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, said that their appearance on the show "saved us from going out of business." They experienced an average, sustained 20% increase in sales since the airing of the episode in 2008. Over ten years later, the restaurant was still reaping the benefits of their appearance.

References

External links

* * {{Food Network series Food Network original programming 2000s American cooking television series 2010s American cooking television series 2006 American television series debuts English-language television shows Food travelogue television series 2020s American cooking television series