Amato's Omaha, NE

The first thing that hit me was that it smelled just like an Italian dinner which is exactly what this place is.

Omaha's Amato's Cafe is best known for breakfast.  In fact it is the breakfast ricotta pancakes that makes this place special.

I tried them myself and can testify that they are spectacular.  They don't taste "cheesy" but still like a pancake but richer and more filling.  

Peoples from all over the world somehow know about this place.  I can see why but, I don't know how they do it.  The evidence was a well worn world map with pins for visitors from all over the world.

The atmosphere is typical diner.  The coffees cups were all from Union Pacific railroad.  I'm guessing that they like this place.  It's a little divy.  The chairs were all mismatched chairs, for example.  I kind of like it.

Amato's Cafe
6405 Center St
Omaha, NE 68106

Sharks Cove Grill - Haleiwa, HI

Sharks Cove Grill was not technicaly a triple-D restaurant but, it should have been in my book. I was actually trying to photograph the sunset at Oahu's Sunset Beach on the west side of the island. This place happened to be across the street.

Whoa!  What a find!  It was nothing more than an old panel van, maybe an old ice cream truck converted into a kitchen. There were also some outdoor furniture set up under a tent where you can eat.  That's it!

What made this special was first off the incredible view of one of the most beautiful coasts in the world. Second, whoever was cooking in the van knew what they were doing and was taking it seriously.

I got the mahi-mahi sandwich and some fries. The bread was really good quality and whatever he did with the fish really brought out the flavor. It was absolutely fresh.

I would rate Shark Cove a 9.6. This is an awesome place.

Sharks Cove Grill
59-712 Kamehameha Hwy
Haleiwa, HI 96712
(808) 638-8300
http://www.sharkscovegrill.com

Brints Diner - Wichita, KS (CLOSED)

Brint's diner has closed since I visited there in 2012.  I am not terribly surprised.  I did not see the DDD show on Brints but, my experience there was not great.

The service was exceptionally slow despite the fact that there was only one more table of people in the restaurant.  My waitress was not the most professional person.  She didn't know me but still felt comfortable complaining about her employer. The owner approached me later and tried to explain her behavior away.  It was all very strange.

Evidently from the menu, Guy liked the Cincinnati style chili spaghetti here.  I couldn't handle that kind of calorie count. So, I ordered the Ruben sandwich which was probably no better.

The Ruben was very average.  I pretty much had to inhale my lunch because I was almost out of lunchtime by the time it arrived.  I was underwhelmed.

I ranked Brint's 3.0 which was probably being generous.

Brint's Diner
4834 E Lincoln St
Wichita, KS 67216

Voulas offshore cafe - Seattle, Washington

Voulas was definitely a diner. It had stainless steel paneled walls and the sounds of sizzling food cooking and the clatter of spatulas on metal grills that is heard at diners all over the country.

The waitress was really friendly. Everyone in fact seemed to be in a good mood.

Voulas is located about 100 feet from the Portage Way in Seattle near the University of Washington in Seattle or "U 'dub" as the locals call it.

I got the little squealer sandwich which was pork, bacon, a coupe of different cheeses, tomatoes with a chipotle hollandaise sauce all on a toasted French roll.

Oh, this was savory decadence!  Just the comfort food needed to take the edge off of the cold north Pacific wind.

I would rate Voulas a 9.5.  It is well worth returning to again.



Voula's Offshore Cafe
658 Northeast Northlake Way
Seattle, WA 98105
(206) 634-0183
voulasoffshore.com

Cecilia's Cafe - Albuquerque, NM

Cecilias is a cool little diner in downtown Albuqureque, New mexico.  It's got a cool atmosphere. It is in a very old typical new mexico style building with lots of exposed brick and rough wood beams. I think that the only heat was from a wood stove in the middle of the serving area which wasn't lit on this January day, I might add.  I had to put my coat back on to stay warm.  I suppose this qualified as a dive.

The lunch menu showed that Guy ate a double patty bacon burger when he was here.  That was a little too much for me so, I just went for one of their burritos for lunch.

Service very friendly and fast.  The table they put me at first was a little dirty but, she fixed that quickly.  I had asked for a slice of lemon for my water.  It sure looked and tasted like orange slices.

Parking limited. Downtown area. Bring change for parking meter.


The burrito was really good.  It was chicken with just the right amount of chorizo spice in a bath of the New Mexico green chile sauce.    This is what you are looking for with a triple-D restaurant.

I would rate Cecilia's a 9.1.  Great points for food, good points for atmosphere, slightly negative points for cleanliness.  I would still go back.

Cecilia's Cafe
230 6th Street Southwest
Albuquerque, NM 87102
(505) 243-7070
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cecilias-Cafe/184663328221698

Pizza Palace - Knoxville, TN

Pizza Palace was a disappointment.   It had potential.  It looked like it was an old Sonic drive-in and it was a dive.  Despite the name of the tv show, most of the restaurants are not drive-ins.

I ordered a ham and swiss sandwich on rye bread with onion rings and a vanilla malt.  The sandwich and the malt were ordinary.  I had to through away the onion rings.  They had a strange taste like maybe they were cooked in bad oil.  I luckily didn't get sick.

Please pass this one up

If you decide to give it a try then bring cash because they don't take credit cards.

I'm rating this a 1.0.  I think this is being generous.

Pizza Palace

3132 East Magnolia Avenue Northeast
Knoxville, TN 37914
(865) 524-4388

Steer In - Indianapolis, IN

The Steer In is kind of a typical triple-D restaurant in that it is a quirky, divey restaurant with some good food.  The tables, chairs and everything else looks like it was straight out of the 1970's back when this was probably a nice neighborhood.  Luckily, there were a couple of police cars in the lot to help chase away the bad guys.

They had a map with a bunch of push pins and notes.  The notes were from from visitors from all over the world.  I saw Dublin, Ireland, Germany, Guam, Lagos and several others.  I chatted with the owner who said that a lot of people come in during the Indianapolis 500 races.  Being featured on the Food Network has brought in a lot of business.  She also got me a push pin of my own to add to the board.

She also had some nice things to say about Guy Fiere.  She said that he was as nice in person as he is on tv. What you see is what you get.  Evidently, the Food Network had two film crews in town the day they filmed here and Guy would bounce between the two crews.

They are not shy about publicizing their affiliation with triple-D.  Everyone who works there wears a t-shirt with Guy's head and signature on it.  They even put a little tow-head symbol next to the menu items that were featured on tv.  I tried the meatball parmisian sub sandwich with coleslaw and onion rings.  It was the meatball sandwich that had the little guy symbol next to it but, it was the onion rings that were the best in my opinion.  They were beefy and really flavorful.  The onion was cut thick and the batter was also thick and had a great flavor.

The meatball sandwich was still pretty good.  The sauce kind of like pizza sauce.   I kind of liked the cole slaw, too.  It was very creamy and just a little vinegary.  My lunch partner ordered a chicken sandwich which he said was okay but probably not up to triple-D standards.

I would rate Steer-In a 8.6 because the food was a hit with me but a miss with my lunch partner.  I thought that the owner and the people that worked there were very nice and charming.  The 70's decor was not something a designer dreamed up, it was probably just bought in the 1970's and never updated.

Steer-In

5130 E 10th St
Indianapolis, IN 46219
(317) 356-0996
http://www.steerin.net

Jamie's Bar and Grill - Sacramento, CA

Jamie's was a little too much of a dive for me.  It was a little intimidating as I walked up to the front door.  There was graffiti on awning outside of a not particularly nice building.  I was a little weary about leaving my car parked outside.  If it was later at night then I probably would have not stopped here.

It was very dark inside in stark contrast to the bright outside California sun.  It felt kind of dirty.  There were deer and buffalo heads on wall and a picture of Guy hung behind the bar.  I got the sense that even though this was a bar and grill that it was much more bar than restaurant.  It is more of a beer and a shot kind of bar rather than a martini kind of bar at that.

Despite my reservations, I ordered the chicken gumbo with a half-BLT sandwich on sourdough bread.  The gumbo was spicy but pretty good.  The BLT was ordinary.  It was definitely not DDD quality.

I rated Jamie's a 4.0.  I can not say that I recommend it.  Oh well, they can't all be winners.

Jamies Bar and Grill
427 Broadway
Sacramento, CA 95818

The Diner - Norman, OK

The Diner in Norman, Oklahoma is most definitely a dive in the best kind of way.  It is small with all of the stereotypical drippings of a diner such as lots of pink neon everywhere, the long counter with the round swivel stools and a row of vinyl covered booths.  There is nothing pretentious about it.

Norman is a college town.  This is the kind of place that I could imagine college students rolling into after a night out on the town in the middle of the morning for some eggs to sop up whatever adult beverage they over-enjoyed that night.

I was there for lunch.  Even I am not that much of a hero to have begun drinking early in the morning.  I ordered the Santa Fe chicken sandwich.  It came with some ruffle chips probably out of a large bag in the back.

The sandwich itself was really pretty good.  It was piping hot so, I opened it up to let the heat out.  The waitress came over concerned.  She thought that something was wrong.  She was pretty good; obviously attentive and caring.  She was fast with everything she did.  She had to be because she was a one-person wait staff.  That didn't seem to bother her.  She seemed to have it well under control.

A student photographer came into the restaurant.  She was photographing the people and the place.  She photographed a guy at the bar then asked for his information for a model release.  He obliged, no problem.

I could see becoming a regular here if I lived in Norman.  The Diner is probably a place that you wear like an old shoe.  It is just comfortable.  It is a place where real people just live unpretentiously.  It doesn't even have a real name.

I liked The Diner.  The food was pretty good but the atmosphere just seemed really homey.  I'd give it a 8.8.  Definitely try it out and stay a while.

The Diner
213 E Main St
Norman, OK 73069
(405) 329-6642