The Federal Food Drink & Provisions is neither a diner, a drive-in, nor a dive. So it may come as a surprise that Guy Fieri chose to feature the intimate restaurant on his Food Network hit.
That is, until you catch on that chef/partner Cesar Zapata is all about working with good old-fashioned, all-American basics like bacon and wings and turning them into brand new creations. Unarguably, classic diner comfort food is a major influence.
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The Federal makes its Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives debut on Food Network tonight at 10 in an episode entitled "Grillin', Chillin' and Huli Huli Chicken" (we're assuming they're the grillin' or chillin' part).
During filming, which took a "solid 18 hours" for three minutes of final footage, according to The Federal's Aniece Meinhold, Fieri chowed down on venison chili, pig wings, and fried chicken.
According to Meinhold, Fieri "freaked out" over the pig wings (of course), but was won over by the chili. "He said he'd judged a bunch of chili competitions and this was competition level if not some of the best he'd had. Very cool."
How was the experience, by the way? In a word: "Surreal." Meinhold tells Short Order, "He really comes and does his thing! Super task oriented, boom, boom, boom, done, done, done. But he's that same guy you see on TV. Energetic, larger than life, determined. He's a force for sure!"
To mark the occasion, The Federal is hosting a DDD watch party. Tonight from 9 to 11 p.m., come down and enjoy the food Guy Fieri raved about, including Buffalo-style pig wings ($5), venison chili ($5), and fried chicken ($5). Plus, there will be complimentary nibbles and a special late-night happy hour from 9:30 p.m. until midnight where you can have all the bubbles and beer you want for $15.
They'll be plenty of seats and a huge projector screen so everyone can get in on the action.
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