Guy Fieri’s food tour stops by Miami’s Mojo Donuts
Welcome to Flavortown, Mojo Donuts & Fried Chicken.
The gourmet doughnut and chicken shack in Miami’s Westchester neighborhood will appear Friday on a new episode of the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”
Co-owner Jimmy Piedrahita says he could hardly believe his luck when platinum-blond celebrity chef Guy Fieri and his Food Network entourage stopped by the restaurant in early December to sample his comfortfood confections.
“He’s a very nice guy, and you can tell he knows his product,” Piedrahita says of Fieri. “He left beyond belated, and he gave a lot of compliments.”
Fieri, whose 10-year-old program bills itself as a road trip highlighting America’s unheralded small-town haunts, sampled Mojo Donuts’ chicken brulee sandwich, a breaded chicken tenderloin served between two caramelized doughnut buns.
“He declined to have the sandwich with a runny egg, which is how I serve it, because Guy Fieri told me he doesn’t eat eggs, period,” Piedrahita says, adding that the salty-and-sweet treat has remained a top-seller since the restaurant began offering it in January 2017. Mojo Donuts also has a location in Pembroke Pines.
While Fieri struck Piedrahita as impressive and knowledgeable, it was the surprise appearance from Fieri’s guest co-host, Richard Hales, owner of the chicken-and-ribs concept Bird and Bone in Miami Beach, that left him feeling intimidated.
“I was prepared for Guy Fieri, and when I see Richard Hales, I’m like, ‘Oh, crap, he’s also here,’ ” Piedrahita says. “The guy who has the best fried chicken in the Southeast is here? Well, no pressure, right?”
Mojo Donuts & Fried Chicken will host a viewing party of the episode at 9 p.m. Friday (doors open at 8:15 p.m.). The party will include giveaways of Mojo’s glazed doughnuts, along with samples from Sweet Melody Ice Cream. RSVP for tickets via Eventbrite.com.
Mojo Donuts and Fried Chicken is located at 8870 SW 40th St., in Miami. Call 305-223-6656 or go to MojoDonuts.com.
pvalys@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4364