Gavin's guide, on SPOT
Where Guy Fieri Ate in the South Sound
6 spots · Tacoma, United States
Six stops in Tacoma and the towns south of it, filmed across multiple episodes of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, most of them around 2013. This is the unglamorous half of Puget Sound and it cooks accordingly: double-floured fried chicken and cornbread dressing on the Hilltop, parmesan tots and tasso tacos on Sixth Avenue, hangover soup and schnitzel at a European room, a Cuban sandwich out of a converted feed store along the I-5 corridor.
#1
Southern Kitchen
Hilltop, Tacoma · New American · $$
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives came to Sixth Avenue in season 6, episode 8 for the double-floured fried chicken and the cornbread dressing, and the show returned for a second visit. The double flouring is where the shatter comes from, and the dressing is dense enough to end the argument about what else belongs on the plate.
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Double-floured fried chickenCornbread dressing
#2
Dirty Oscar's Annex
Sixth Avenue, Tacoma · Bar · $$
Season 17, episode 1 of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives came to Sixth Avenue for the parmesan tots and the tasso tacos. The tots are rolled by hand, which is the joke this bar has been telling about a commodity product for years.
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Parmesan totsTasso tacos
#3
Crockett's Public House
Puyallup, Tacoma · New American · $$
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives filmed in this converted feed store in 2013, with the fire-grilled artichoke, Mom's sloppy Joe and the house meatball carrying the segment, and the show came back for a second visit. The episode numbering from that first stop has never been recorded cleanly, so take the year and the meatball and leave it there.
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Fire-grilled artichokeMom's sloppy JoeHouse meatball
#4
Bruno's European Restaurant
Lakewood, Tacoma · German · $$
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives came to Bridgeport Way in season 16, episode 9, and the dish was the hangover soup, which Krystyna and Bruno list under exactly that name. Central European kitchens all keep something for the morning after; this is theirs, and nobody here is joking about it.
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Hangover soupSchnitzel
#5
Dick's Northwest Sausage & Deli
I-5 exit 88, Tacoma · Deli · $
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives stopped at this exit 88 counter, though the season and episode were never nailed down, and the order was the Cuban sandwich and the hot pastrami. Everything sliced onto them is cured and smoked out back to Dick Young's own recipes, which is the only reason anyone plans a stop here.
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Cuban sandwichHot pastrami sandwich
#6
Joy's Once Upon a Thyme
Chehalis, Tacoma · Café · $$
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives filmed in this Chehalis cafe and gift shop, with the turkey artichoke panini and the meatloaf panini on the plate, though the season and episode were never recorded. Joy roasts her own brisket and builds sandwiches considerably heavier than the decor prepares you for.
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Turkey artichoke paniniMeatloaf panini
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