One Guy Fieri superfan is showing his devotion to every diner, drive-in, and dive that the mayor of Flavortown, U.S.A., has graced with his presence. According to Eater, Virginia resident Bill Grella has made it his life's mission to visit as many of the restaurants featured on Fieri's Food Network show as possible.
"I've been from Maine to Florida to Hawaii, to places in-between," Grella told the Fairfax Station Connection.
As of last week, Grella reached 600 visits, with the Carving Room in Washington, D.C., taking the milestone honors. Eater notes that the total of 600 may include repeat visits to restaurants, since Grella doesn't clarify exactly how he's tallying up his Fieri-adjacent dining experiences. Even considering some double-dipping, it's an impressive feat.
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Grella started his culinary sojourn back in 2008, which means he's visited about 100 different restaurants per year. Grella explained that at each and every stop, he asks an employee to sign a book that he brings along for the ride. It's both a journal for him to track his own travels and an homage to Fieri himself. Grella hopes to one day present the Food Network host with the chronicle. In addition to that physical record, Grella keeps his followers up to date on his quest via his personal blog, Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives Adventures. Filled with food snapshots and even some photos of special memorabilia related to Fieri and his cross-country treks, it's a shrine to all things Triple D.
While 600 restaurants is already a monumental achievement, Grella has plenty of restaurants left if he wants to catch up with Fieri. Fansite FlavortownUSA reports that the goateed chef has visited 950 different stops during his show's decade-long run.
"Every time I get to a milestone, I say I'll slow down, but something always pulls me back," Grella said. Looks like he's not slowing down anytime soon.
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