Dad’s Kitchen to appear on Food Network show this October

Dad’s Kitchen will appear on the Food Network show “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” in early October, according to co-owner Julio Peix.

The episode, which was filmed Tuesday inside the Land Park restaurant, will center on Dad’s signature bacon-and-bleu-cheese-encrusted burger. Videographers captured the eight or nine burgers Dad’s cooks prepared from every angle, even rotating them on a spinning platter, Peix said.

“The Best Thing I Ever Ate” asks rotating celebrity chef hosts to pick out their favorite meal within a certain category. Former “Private Chefs of Beverly Hills” star Stuart O’Keeffe picked Dad’s Kitchen when the show came calling for its seventh season, though he wasn’t present Tuesday.

American River College alumnus Guy Fieri previously highlighted the half-pound hamburger on his hit Food Network show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” camera crew pried for information about the burger’s seasoning, Peix said, while Fieri played up his “Flavortown“ shtick and focused more on the whole of Dad’s Kitchen.

“When Guy came, they shot the place more and talked about three different items on the menu,” Peix said. “With this one, they really dissected the product more.”

Regular customer Ted Ennis and general manager Greg Gallagher were instructed to eat the burgers slowly, exaggerating their faces to show appreciation. The room was silent in lieu of O’Keeffe’s future voice-over, Gallagher said, making the meal somewhat awkward.

“They wanted (cameras) in your face, and then it’s ‘look up, have your eyes light up when the flavor hits your mouth,’” Gallagher said.

Peix and Gallagher weren’t told the episode’s air date outside of early October, they said. Dad’s Kitchen is unlikely to host a viewing party, Peix said.

Dad’s Kitchen is expected to open another location, this one with a smoker and beer garden, in East Sacramento before the end of the year. Peix also plans to serve gluten-free drinks and simple dishes out of Cider House at 24th and K streets this fall.