If you are looking for Julia Child, this is not the show for you. Guy Fieri, the host of the show, visits diners, drive-ins and dives, just like the title says. These places feature down-home cooking, bar food, truck-stop standards, Cajun recipes, Southern dinner table traditions, NJ diner menu items, etc. In short, they feature comfort food. What is comfort food? According to Wikipedia, comfort food is "food which provides a nostalgic or sentimental value to the consumer and is often characterized by its high caloric nature, high carbohydrate level, and simple preparation." In short, the show features food that is comforting as well as delicious. Guy travels from the Atlantic to the Pacific and highlights restaurants that have a reputation for comfort food. He visits the kitchens and a few menu items are prepared in toto with us, the food-loving public, watching.
Guy has a style all his own, but the show's emphasis is on the food, which is usually mouthwatering. As HGTV is to home remodeling and buying, DD&D is to food preparation and consumption.
Watching the restaurant customers chow down on the food is both satisfying and tortuous, because you want to partake yourself. Watching the food preparation gives the viewer a vivid concept of the subtleties of the recipes, and some of them are not simple despite the definition of comfort food.
This is enjoyable viewing for anyone who appreciates finding those hidden treasures of delightful dining that are somewhere in every small town and big city.
