A 1940s New York Diner in the Heart of Texas
Picture this: a squeaky windmill, a dirt parking lot, and an authentic 1940s New York diner sitting just five miles from Texas A&M University. That’s exactly what Guy Fieri found at Hullabaloo Diner in Wellborn, Texas. As Guy put it, “This is the authentic thing. This is the real deal. I couldn’t get any more real.”
The story behind this place is almost too good to be true. A local memorabilia collector bought the vintage diner on a whim but had no idea how to run it. Enter Rich, a transplanted Philadelphian who followed his girlfriend Sydney back to her Texas hometown—and brought his East Coast culinary roots with him.
Philly Cheesesteak: The Real Deal
Rich doesn’t mess around when it comes to his Philly cheesesteak. The key? It’s all in the meat and the slicing. He starts with partially frozen beef—what he calls “slacking it out” for six to eight hours until it’s soft on the outside but the core is still solid. This allows for those paper-thin slices that make a proper cheesesteak.
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Guy watched Rich work the monster slicer, getting the meat exactly right. “That’s exactly what we’re looking for right there,” Rich said when he hit the perfect thickness. For his classic Philly, Rich keeps it simple: just onions and white American cheese. But he also offers a pizza Philly variation loaded with red and green peppers and marinara sauce.
When Guy took his first bite, he went full South Philly—hunched over with sauce dripping down. “I was off the hook, man. Philly cheesesteak just like I got him in Texas.”
Italian Sausage and Peppers Worth the Trip
Growing up with Sicilian great-grandparents, Rich knows his way around authentic Italian food. His sausage and pepper sandwich features Chicago-style sausage packed with fennel and crushed red pepper. He grills fresh vegetables right next to the sausage, letting the rendering fat mingle with the peppers and onions for extra flavor. A layer of smoked provolone finishes it off.
The rolls? Shipped in from New Jersey. When Guy called him out on sourcing outside Texas, Rich fired back: “We do get our tomatoes from here.” Fair enough.
Texas Meets East Coast on the Breakfast Menu
Rich isn’t ignoring his adopted home state. The menu features biscuits smothered in homemade gravy, that same gravy over French fries, and a creation called the Mexi Burger—a glorious mess of bean sausage patty, tortillas, and house-made chile verde sauce. Rich picked up that chile verde recipe while cooking in Colorado, and it goes perfectly on his home fries cooked in bacon fat.
The breakfast burrito clocks in at about a pound and a half of food for six bucks. And for the kids (or anyone with a sweet tooth), there’s a French toast PBJ—French bread smeared with peanut butter and jelly, dipped in vanilla-cinnamon French toast batter, and grilled until the peanut butter gets warm and gooey. “Kids must go bananas,” Guy said. Rich laughed: “They wear half of it.”
If you love classic diner fare with an unexpected twist, check out how other restaurants put their spin on comfort food, like this spot serving up FRIED Bologna or this one known by MASSIVE Corned Beef Reuben.
For Rich, it all comes down to passion. “We have passion for real homemade foods and the pleasure it gives people when they eat something like this.”
Find Hullabaloo Diner and other Triple D favorites in our restaurant directory.