This past Friday evening, hundreds of Food Network fans crammed into the Mesa Arts Center for an evening of fast paced, rockin' fun at the Guy Fieri Road Show. This was the show's second to last performance on the 24-city tour (the last being Vegas, baby), so Guy pulled out all of the stops.
The evening kicked off with a pre-party hosted by Foodies Like Us and featuring tasty grub from Arizona eateries that have been featured on one of Guy's past shows.
Los Taquitos in Ahwatukee proved to be a crowd favorite -- or at least, a Guy favorite. While in town, Guy popped by the 10-year-old eatery run by five sisters for lunch. "Everyone was talking about it and coming in to see Guy," said oldest sister Adrianna.
Joe's Farm Grill tossed in an unexpected ahi slider, and Haus Murphy's in Glendale brought out the apple strudel and hackbraten (German-style meatloaf). Add that to barbecued pork, mango mousse, Emerald Chicken from Chino Bandido and Salsa Brava's tacos and you had one satisfied and stuffed foodie crowd.
The theatre was packed nearly to capacity -- according to Fieri, the high-priced VIP tickets sold out the first day they were made available to the public. During the show, Fieri also announced that his two Diners, Drive Ins and Dives books had just cracked #1 and #2 on the New York Times' bestsellers list. He'll soon be hosting a new game show on NBC in addition to his regular Food Network gigs.
We knew the Food Network star had fans, but we didn't know just how many. Or just how fanatical they are...
At least everyone got a piece of Guy after the show. While he didn't have time to pose for pics, Guy signed one item for everyone waiting in line. Dude signed in a Lynyrd Skynyrd tee -- just more proof that Guy does, in fact, rock hard.
