While at Foxwoods Resort Casino last week for the opening of Grace by Nia, Time Out had the pleasure of sitting down with Guy Fieri to chat about his time in Boston and more.
Over a spread of cocktails—made from the celeb chef’s own Santo Tequila, of course—plus burgers, fries and his famous trash can nachos at Guy Fieri’s Foxwoods Kitchen and Bar, Fieri dished on his favorite Boston chefs these days, catching another Celtics game and how he measures his own success.
Wait... is Guy Fieri a Celtics fan?
Eagle-eyed Cs fans may have spotted Guy Fieri sitting courtside at the TD Garden during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Celtics and the Indiana Pacers.
"Going to a game at The Garden is one of the greatest,” Fieri told Time Out. “One, Boston fans, they're great. They're crazy, they're tenacious, they're everything." But he isn’t necessarily among them: the Golden State Warriors superfan was just in town for a good time. “I was just there to see great basketball and oh my God, did I see it,” Fieri said.
What else does Guy Fieri love about Boston?
Of course, the Mayor of Flavortown wasn’t in town just to talk hoops. He also visited some of his favorite chefs in Boston, including fellow Food Network star Tiffani Faison. “I just went over to Sweet Cheeks for barbecue,” Fieri said, noting restaurateur Faison’s win in the third season of his competition show, Tournament of Champions.
He is also excited about a hot new restaurant, Seamark Seafood & Cocktails, which recently opened at Encore Boston Harbor with a menu by Michael Schlow. The Time Out Market chef and owner of acclaimed Alta Strada, which has locations in Wellesley and Foxwoods, Schlow is “another great friend of mine, amazing chef,” Fieri said. He also praised “all of Kenny Oringer’s restaurants,” which include Toro, Coppa, Little Donkey and Faccia a Faccia.
Fieri, whose wife, Laurie, is from Providence, said the Boston food landscape has changed over the years. “We've been coming to Boston together for 30 years, when it was all chowder and lobster rolls,” he said. But recent visits to shoot new episodes of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives showed him a lot more to offer. (We coulda told him that!)
“We just shot six locations for Triple D,” Fieri shared. Though he wouldn’t specify exactly which restaurants, it’s “an eclectic mix” featuring a Vietnamese cuisine specialist, among other spots. These days, the food in Boston is “as diverse as the history of Boston,” Fieri said. The city is “a great destination to come to for food.”
What’s the deal with trash can nachos?
Fieri is involved as a Boston restaurant owner as well, with his popular Guy’s Bar and Kitchen on the edge of Boston Common. One of the most popular dishes there? The vegan trash can nachos, believe it or not. “It’s big at Guy’s Boston because we’re close to Emerson, and there’s all these college kids,” Fieri explains. “Vegan cheese, vegan beans, even vegan chorizo, they eat it up.”
The unique presentation—stacked in a can—is all about getting full flavor in every bite, according to Fieri. Would he ever apply his unique nacho presentation to other types of food? Fieri was shocked by our question, because in fact, there is something new on the horizon.
“Either you're bugging my room, we might be related, or there's some cosmic intervention in the universe,” Fieri exclaimed. “I have about 10 recipes of trash can nachos in other ethnicities that are getting ready to happen. I have Indian. I have Korean. You just wait. They're coming. I even have a raw version.”
Was Guy Fieri at a Family Reach fundraiser in Boston, too?
Fieri’s own non-profit supports first responders and others in need. Recently, with help from Faison, Fox & the Knife chef Karen Akunowicz and other Food Network talent, the Guy Fieri Foundation raised more than $1.5 million for Hawaiian families and business owners after the devastating Maui wildfires. During his recent visit to Boston, Fieri supported another famous friend, Ming Tsai, at the local chef’s annual culinary fundraiser for Family Reach at Kimpton Marlowe Hotel.
The Boston based non-profit “is an amazing program,” Fieri said, which provides non-medical financial support to families facing cancer. He co-hosted Cooking Live by Family Reach, along with Tsai. To Fieri, it was a fun way to give back. “Taking the opportunities that I have and being able to divert them,” Fieri said, to reflect on positive things others are doing, “that's the greatest sign of success.”