'Diners, Drive-ins and Dives' tapes in Phoenix
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PHOENIX -- Several Valley restaurants will soon be getting some exposure on national television.
While he was in town to sell his 2013 Corvette 427 at the Barrett-Jackson auction, Chef Guy Fieri took his camera crews around town to tape episodes of his popular "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives" show that airs on the Food Network.
One place that will soon be on television is The Perk Eatery, near 65th street and Greenway road in north Phoenix.
Owner Pauline Thomas-Martinez said she got a call from the Food Network about three weeks ago telling her they wanted to feature her restaurant in an episode. Crews were in the restaurant for about three days, with Fieri showing up for the big taping on Jan. 15.
Thomas-Martinez said she had a blast taping the episode.
"[Fieri] is exactly as rambunctious in person as he seems on TV. He is a really nice guy. The whole crew was really phenomenal to work with. They were all very, very nice to work with. It was a great experience."
Thomas-Martinez described her restaurant as "classic Americana with a little Southwest twist." She whipped up three dishes for the show, but has decided not to reveal exactly what she cooked until the show airs.
"They are dishes that I have featured as specials, and that I don't run full time on the menu," she said. "They are all really great dishes, and I sell them out every time I make them for the restaurant. They are really great."
Thomas-Martinez that the show will drive customers to the restaurant, so she will be serving the dishes when they begin to arrive.
The Scottsdale-based Up Agency is handling Fieri's local media relations. It would not confirm what restaurants were visited by the show, but Thomas-Martinez said that her restaurant was just one of several places where taping occurred.
"From my understanding, I think they went to Curry Corner, which is a Pakastani restaurant in Tempe, they went to Defalco's Italian Grocer, they went to Barrio Café, St. Francis, they did us and they did The Duce [in] downtown [Phoenix]."
Thomas-Martinez said the Food Network has told her that the episode featuring Perk Eatery will air "sometime within the next three to six months."
Bob McClay, Reporter
