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So, here I am, south of the border.
This is "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" in Cabo San Lucas.
Tacos!
...the taco shack...
Simple and delicious. I mean, that's the key.
...doing their take on the tostada.
Way more than a taco stand, dude. Way more.
Then, on the marina...
Let'*** it, brother.
...a real-deal seafood joint...
Outstanding, man.
...serving up some early a.m. classics.
Can't beat it.
Plus, we got a sushi spot...
Fresh fish all the time, every day.
...just rolling with the good times.
Outrageous.
It's the sun, the fun, and even some Sammy.
We in Cabo, baby! Whoo!
That's all right here, right now on "Triple D" in Cabo.
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
Now, as you can see, the '68 didn't make it.
A little issue getting across the border.
But don't worry about that.
It's a perfect time to drive the Baja racecar.
So, I've been coming to Cabo for a long time,
and everybody's been telling me, for the best tacos,
you got to check this joint out.
And in the land of tacos, that says a lot.
This is Asi y Asado.
WOMAN: I have pork and arrachera.
Best food in town, in my opinion.
One arrachera taco.
Can't beat the tacos here.
What makes Asi y Asado so great?
That has to be perfect.
FIERI: And perfection for owner and chef Gustavo Jimenez
comes from doing things just one way.
We make handmade tortillas.
Yep.
Along with everything else since he opened this stand in '06.
Everything is fresh.
We have scallops, shrimp, fish, octopus.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Octopus?
Two orders, octopus.
Yeah, the octopus taco is really good.
And we're gonna make octopus today?
Pulpo.
Taco de pulpo. Look at the size of that.
We got it just out from the sea.
And how are we gonna prepare it?
We have to boil it a little bit,
and then we drop to the charcoal.
Just add salt, pepper.
An onion.
And a little bit of orange.
So, we just drop the octopus
in boiling water for half-hour.
And what are we gonna serve with this?
The pico de gallo salsa.
Yes, sir.
This is the handmade tortilla.
You just put it on the grill.
No, sir. This is healthy stuff.
Awesome.
And it's crispier than any chip you'll ever try.
Pico de gallo. Just onion and lime.
And what makes really good pico de gallo?
The secret is the lime cooks the onion.
You do it first.
Crushed tomatoes.
Cilantro, Serrano pepper.
It's hot. Be careful. A little bit of salt.
And let this sit for a little bit?
Yeah, just a couple minutes.
So, that's ready.
So, we got some skewers in the water so they don't burn up.
The pulpo is cooled down.
We just take a couple tentacles.
Chop it. Chunks. Small chunks.
That's it? And then you just throw it on a skewer?
Yes. That's it.
Off to the grill.
And what kind of wood?
...from the mountain.
Yep.
Got it. I like the tortilla press.
Yeah. This a gift from my grandmother.
We do like 40 kilos every day times seven years.
Can you imagine how many tortillas this press made?
Just this press?
Just this press, yep. You have to do by hand.
Just put it there.
Just press a little bit.
Do it again because it's not equal.
So, when you turn it the other way, you get an even press?
You got to basically do it twice.
And this is a corn tortilla. Three minutes to cook.
We can...
Beautiful tortilla.
You make your own masa?
Yep. That's the secret, buddy.
That's the secret, buddy.
We start with the skewer.
Just take like this.
Put some pico on there.
Mmm. The octopus is so fresh, it tastes like the sea.
It's got texture.
The pico de gallo really is nice.
The handmade tortilla, it's fresh, it's moist.
Simple and delicious. I mean, that's the key.
And the rule is less is more, you know.
Less is more. Outstanding.
You can taste the octopus.
It has a very nice flavor.
It's not, like, chewy.
It's, like, crunchy because it's grilled.
Delicious. One of the best ones here in Cabo.
You come to Cabo, you will be happy.
Because it's a paradise.
You just come here and you live like on vacation.
FIERI: And what better way to top off a day at the beach?
Tacos!
And you just never who's gonna show up to get some.
One of my favorite bands, Rage Against the Machine.
This is my buddy Brad Wilk, the drummer from Rage.
Tell me about the taco experience here.
This is the best place to come down and eat tacos.
They just make them right here.
Go figure. I wonder why.
[ Both laugh ]
Always gonna be delicious, always gonna be fresh.
So, like, if you don't like seafood, they also have pork.
Vampiro.
I got the Vampiro, which is a tostada with some pork on it,
some of the pineapple salsa that they have here,
which is excellent.
Now we're going to make the pineapple salsa
for the pork chop Vampiro.
We just need some oil.
And then some green onions is the key --
The small ones, not the big ones.
Not the big ones.
A little salt, pepper. Plum sauce.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Do you use plum sauce in Mexican cooking a lot?
No. No, this is like a fusion.
Yeah. Pineapple jelly.
Sriracha sauce, and then we have the pineapple juice.
And then some fresh pineapple, as well.
20 minutes.
Now, we're gonna blend the big chunks,
because we just want the flavor.
The sabor.
I think your Spanish is better than my English.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Yep.
The lid.
This is the same, but it's just small pieces so you can bite it.
So, this continues to cook a little bit longer?
About 20 minutes, yes, sir, it is.
Outstanding. Delicious.
So, we got the pineapple salsa cooked down, reduced,
and now it's cool.
Okay.
We have the corn shell tortilla.
Monterey.
Yeah.
The pork chop.
Here, the pork chop is the loin without the bone.
It's on top of the taco.
You can taste the sweet and the salty from the pork.
Mmm. You know what it tastes like?
A really thin crust Hawaiian pineapple pizza.
The saltiness of the pork,
the sweet and the sour from the pineapple.
Vampiro.
Vampire.
Yeah.
As many times as I've been to Mexico,
I have never had Vampiro.
Glad you like it.
You're the man. Way more than a taco stand, dude.
Way more.
It's a good taste, the combination.
The salsa is one of the best salsas I ever have tried.
It's very, very fresh, sweet. It's delicious.
I love it on just about anything that I order here.
Pretty funky joint, but the tacos are of the best?
They are. They're great.
[ Laughs ]
This is the taco spot.
I'm done. My job here is done.
FIERI: Coming up, we're headed to the marina...
...for the perfect front-row seat
to the freshest catch of the day.
Real typical dish you see in Mexico all the time.
So, if you've ever been to Cabo San Lucas before, this looks familiar.
It's the marina. All kinds of shops, all kinds of restaurants.
This is where you go fishing from.
Now, the place that I'm taking you to, I've been there before.
If you're looking for some real-deal food and a great view,
you got to check out Solomon's Landing.
MAN: You'll love the food, you'll love the atmosphere,
everything about the place.
MAN #2: Spectacular views, very romantic.
And the food, well, as you can see, is to die for.
FIERI: And you can thank owner Brian Solomon for that,
a California ex-pat who ditched the corporate life
to buy this former taco stand back in '95.
Over the years, Brian's transformed the taquerÃa
into a laid-back, outdoor oasis.
He goes all out. He just caters to his customers.
FIERI: And he really wins them over with this fresh catch.
Straight out of San Lucas Bay.
Tantalizes the taste buds.
FIERI: So, what are we gonna make?
We're gonna make the lobster sauce.
So, we got everything -- mirepoix, shrimp shells,
lobster shells, lobster claws, you name it.
It's all in here.
Got it.
So, that's been roasted off.
Now we're gonna put some butter into there.
Now we're gonna put a little brandy in here.
There you go.
Flour there.
And we're just gonna cook it down a little bit.
Now the water.
How long are we gonna let this cook down for?
Probably about 20 minutes.
Add a little roux to there to thicken it up a little bit more.
Okay.
A little bit of tomato puree to give it some color.
Reduce this down.
Strain it off.
So, now we have the lobster reduction done.
Did you catch the fish?
Actually, I did not, but he was a happy camper yesterday.
So this is that fresh?
Really?
This is actually what they call a true red snapper.
In Spanish, they call huachinango.
There's the filets.
Basically, you dip it in whole-egg batter.
Panko it.
Then put it in clarified butter on the grill.
Char them up on the grill.
Now we're gonna make the finishing sauce
Correct.
A little olive oil, a little garlic.
I'm gonna add tomatoes, onions,
mushrooms, and some white wine.
Real typical dish you see in Mexico all the time.
Now we're gonna add the lobster sauce.
Marinara. And heavy cream.
So, let this reduce down a little bit,
and then this will go on top of the fish.
Yeah.
Plate it up. Okay.
Cilantro risotto.
Another piece.
And now the little sucker that brings it all to life.
And there. We're ready to eat.
First, I got to say,
you could put the lobster sauce on a flip-flop...
...and it would taste good.
I mean, literally.
The risotto, with that cilantro,
is nice, bright, fresh, clean flavor.
The richness of the lobster is outrageous.
Thank you very much.
Your delicious stuffed fish.
It's always flaky. I know it's fresh.
We get the freshest seafood here.
It's three or four hours from ocean to plate.
FIERI: And you just can't beat watching the sun rise
while chowing down on this classic Mexican breakfast.
WAITER: A dish of chilaquiles.
Yes.
All right, Chef, now, what are we into?
We're making the red sauce with chilaquiles.
So, stewed-down tomatoes, onions, peppers, garlic?
Uh-huh.
That's it.
Put some olive oil in there.
Almost get to where it's smoking.
We're gonna actually scorch it in the very beginning.
The first part goes in there.
Really want to have that scorched flavor.
A little pan juice in there.
Now we're gonna add a little bit of chicken base
and salt and pepper.
Let that cook down just a little bit longer,
and then I'm gonna add the tomato sauce in there
to give it some color.
What we're gonna do is take a sauté pan.
We're gonna pour the sauce we just made into there.
Boiled chicken.
We're gonna add the cilantro.
In with the tortillas.
Fried tortilla chips.
Nice, big, thick tortillas.
Now we're going to start plating.
This is fresh cheese actually made here in the Baja
they call farmer's cheese.
Take a little heat off the palate.
Red onions, and then some sour cream, and a sprig of cilantro.
Sprig? That's like a garden.
Now, I have had a lot of chilaquiles.
You want them to get a little bit soggy
but still have texture in the tortilla.
A little bit of heat in that.
The texture's great, the flavor's great,
the spice isn't too much.
A little sour cream, a little farmer's cheese in there.
You'll get a dip of the guacamole.
Mmm.
What I love about it, Chef,
is just all the little components
that you take that extra step with,
and it really makes a real deal.
Outstanding, man.
Best chilaquiles I ever tried, not even at home.
Sorry, Mom.
When we come back, Chef has got a hangover delight.
Killer stuffed French toast. See you in a little bit.
"Triple D" in Cabo San Lucas.
Welcome back.
"Triple D" going international,
across the border, Cabo San Lucas.
And we're hanging out at Solomon's Landing.
Now, we have tried fantastic chilaquiles.
We've also tried what they call a stuffed fish.
This, this is supposed to be,
from what I've heard from everybody around here,
the hangover cure of all time.
Stuffed French toast.
After some tough nights in Cabo,
it'll help you a little bit with your hangover.
What are we into?
This is the compote for the stuffed French toast.
Starting out with a little whole butter,
fresh strawberries, bananas.
Raw sugar.
Frozen strawberry compote.
Now we're gonna add a little brandy
to really bind these flavors really good.
Next up?
A nice, big pullman loaf.
You bake it?
Okay.
We're just gonna slice a couple pieces off of here.
Now we're going to put some cream cheese on both sides
so we can stuff it.
Now we're gonna stuff it with the fresh strawberries.
We try to use a local product.
A lot of the year, we're able to get local-grown strawberries.
Okay.
Now we're gonna push it together.
Let'*** it, brother.
Now, what's in our batter over here?
Eggs, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, cream?
And brandy.
Compote with the brandy.
Beautiful.
I'm not a huge breakfast fan,
but I do appreciate good French toast.
A little bit of sweet, a lot of fruit.
Some banana.
Really nice.
No need for any syrup.
The juice from the compote itself is just great.
Well, thank you.
Can't beat it. Delicious.
It's unbelievable.
I tell them we can never make it at home.
Good food, good price, good people.
I love this place.
Thank you very much.
FIERI: Up next...
I'm picking up what you're laying down.
I like where that starts.
...rocking out the deep-fried fusion flavors.
That guy's a surgeon.
So, on my final leg
of this "Triple D" tour of Cabo San Lucas,
I found myself back at the marina,
not too far from Solomon's Landing.
I'm here to check out a joint that my buddy Gorilla --
You remember Gorilla Rich from Gorilla Barbeque in Pacifica --
He says he's been to this place a bunch of times.
It's off the hook. This is Tiki Bar.
Fish tacos are ready.
This is our local spot to come to.
It's in kind of a touristy area.
Locals and tourists, we mix and mingle well.
It's right here on the marina. I love the food, everything.
FIERI: Just the kind of place owner Moises Gonzalez
was looking for after he became a local in 2005.
A place for people to come in, hang out.
Really?
And to make it feel more like home for the locals,
chef Manuel Aradando is taking advantage of the surroundings.
I know it's fresh 'cause if I didn't catch it, my friends did.
Every day.
The sushi is excellent here.
That's right -- sushi in a Mexican joint.
It's fresh. You can't fake that.
From the classic rolls like the rainbow and spider
to the turducken of sushi.
Heavy nagasaki.
Layers of fresh fish inside a butterflied shrimp roll
drizzled with homemade eel sauce.
You see it every day.
We're gonna prepare today the heavy nagasaki.
So, what we're gonna do is start with this surimi salad.
Imitation crab.
We're gonna add a little bit of mayonnaise.
The masago. That is the...
...fish eggs.
Add the togarashi.
Japanese peppers, with a little bit
of sesame seeds and orange zest.
And last but not least, the Sriracha.
So, then what we're gonna do is just mix it up a little bit.
Try it.
I like where that starts.
I don't know why you got to do anything else to it.
[ Laughs ]
We're gonna take our Pacific blue shrimp.
We are going to butterfly it, and then we do one more.
That's correct.
Then we're gonna go ahead and do our salad.
Okay.
Next, we're gonna do a piece of salmon.
That guy's a surgeon.
There we go.
[ Speaking indistinctly ]
Then we fold it, and we wrap it in nori, the seaweed.
I'm picking up what you're laying down.
These are beautiful.
Then our tempura, and then bread crumbs.
Fold it in tempura like this.
Then the bread.
Okay.
So, the next thing, we're gonna fry.
And we're gonna serve it with the eel sauce.
A little rose. Very nice.
Mango sauce.
And then more eel sauce.
Finish it off with a little red sesame seeds,
and we have some microgreens.
Gorgeous plate.
Okay.
The way you treat the shrimp
and the tenderness of that shrimp is outrageous.
Outrageous.
Although it was fried,
it doesn't have a real heavy fried taste to it.
It's very light.
The salad has just enough of the Sriracha.
A little hint of the salmon.
Thank you.
Oh!
Heavy nagasaki up.
Super-crispy and really delicious.
MAN #3: We're at the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula
where the fishing is the greatest in the world.
So it's the freshest in town.
I love this restaurant. I come here every day, ever since he's had it.
Just bring people here. It's a wonderful spot.
I'm just like you guys. I mean, you go somewhere, you're like, "Where should I go eat?"
A funky little place -- small -- and these guys do it legit.
We got to do more sushi on "Triple D."
So, that's it for this edition
of the "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" Cabo tour.
Now, before you leave, there's one joint you got to check out.
It's not about the food. It's all about the rock.
This is the Cabo Wabo Cantina.
[ Rock music playing ]
I hope Sammy's in the house.
Yeah! Sammy Hagar!
"Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives," we in Cabo, baby! Whoo!
[ Laughter ]
"Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives," all of them.
"Triple D."
In Cabo. Yes!
There's your outtakes.
[ Laughter, applause ]