I feel like people dump on Guy Fieri too much. Sure, the spiky-haired traveling foodie might come across a little overenthusiastic on television, and his personality can be a little grating at times, and a condiment named “Donkey Sauce” may not be a necessary addition to the culinary canon, but deep down he’s a good dude. He has fun traveling around the country shining a spotlight on deserving small restaurants. The “Triple D Effect” is real, and restaurants have been put on the map thanks to feature appearances on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives — they often see new bumps in business solely because a rerun aired on Food Network.
Outside of his TV gig, Fieri has raised $25 million for struggling restaurant workers through his Restaurant Employee Relief Fund since the start of the pandemic. So cut him a little slack next time you start to feel snarky.
The next Nashville restaurant to enter the DDD spotlight will be West Nashville favorite Nicky’s Coal Fired, whose ownership has been involved in plenty of charitable initiatives themselves. Owners Tony and Caroline Galzin have been industry leaders as active members of the Tennessee Action for Hospitality group, and they can always be depended on to pitch in when a charitable event is being organized.
So you can bet we’ll be tuning in to Food Network this Friday, Nov. 5, when Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives stops by Nicky’s for dinner. The show starts at 8 p.m., and Nicky’s will be one of three restaurants featured. Fieri will join Chef Galzin and his massive coal-fired oven Enrico in the kitchen to prepare two of the restaurant’s signature dishes. The Hey Paisano pizza features smoked mozzarella, capicola ham, red onions and spicy honey. So really, how can you go wrong with that?
