Throwback Thursday: Meeting Guy Fieri

As a foodie, I’ve always had Meeting Guy Fieri on my bucket list. Over the past few years, he’s been to Hampton Roads quite a few times to film “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” and even opened up three restaurants in the area. Back in the fall of 2019 (before the world ended, which is crazy to even think about.), it was announced that Guy himself would be making an appearance at his Dive & Taco Joint restaurant in Hampton; in addition, there was also a social media contest that announced that a select few would have the chance to meet the man himself, as well as win some signed memorabilia. All I had to do was sign up with my name and email, so I figured what the hell, I doubt I’ll win, but I’ll go ahead and enter the contest. To my surprise I got an email about a week later that said …

The first thought that came to my mind after reading this email was that someone playing with me. I even called the restaurant to confirm the email was real. After confirming, I called up my best friend and told her that we were meeting Guy Fieri, and she was equally as excited.

The event was packed, there was a long line wrapped around the building filled with tons of fans (some of which were even dressed up as Guy himself). My friend and I got to skip the line for a featured VIP feast of most of the items featured on the menu as well as drinks on the house.

I had a couple of blood orange margaritas, and they were a nice way to unwind after a long day at work; flavorful, yet strong. The winners of the contest also got to eat every single variety of taco the restaurant had to offer, they literally did not stop bringing them out for the duration of our meal. I had never seen so many tacos in my life. They were all good, especially with some Tapatío thrown on top, but my favorite had to be the shrimp and the cheeseburger tacos.

Not too long before we finished our meal, the man of the hour came through. We could tell by all the roaring cheering and applause throughout the building. The crowd did not once die down as he was walking through. There were plenty of people screaming his name, running up to him, and trying to get selfies. I swear I even saw a few people crying. It was crazy. Actually, when all the contest winners were lined up to meet Guy behind a velvet rope, bodyguards literally had to hold people who were trying to push, shove and reach their way through. To be honest, I had no idea that Guy had a fanbase that went up for him this hard. haha

Meeting Guy was a brief but pleasant experience. My friend and I said hello to him, I was able to tell him that I was a fan of his show, he gave us a handshake & a fist bump, he signed a copy of his cookbook to give to me, we took a picture and he thanked us for coming out. Overall, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and a night I’ll never forget. The next stop on my bucket list is meeting Gordon Ramsey. Let’s see if I can do it ya’ll! haha

PS: You can read my honest review of Guy Fieri’s Dive & Taco Joint here.