Cheesesteak restaurant owner explains his secret sauce, the viral Malibu Barbie Dream Drizzle
Barbie may not eat or drink actual food, but her new movie has inspired hundreds of hot pink-hued bites and beverages in the real world from coast to coast.
Gino's Cheese Steak and Onion sits just over 2,700 miles from the California coast -- where Barbie's Malibu Dreamhouse is located -- in Fayetteville, New York, where its owner recently concocted a now-viral specialty sauce in honor of the hit movie.
"It's basically a sweet ranch with big punches of garlic and chili," Josh Amidon told "Good Morning America" of the red dragon fruit-based condiment that he dubbed the "Malibu Barbie Dream Drizzle."
It may not sound like much, but Amidon told "GMA" that Gino's Cheese Steak and Onion has sold over 30 gallons of the sauce, served in two-ounce portions, since late July. "That's a lot," he said, for his "tiny 800-square-foot restaurant in a tiny village of only 4,000 people."
"Day one, it sold. First locally -- Syracuse and central New York is a very loyal market, and they wanted in on something so weird first," he said of the Barbie-inspired cheesesteak, which comes complete with edible glitter. "It's because of our fellow central New Yorkers that it spread so fast. Within a matter of a few days, we had people traveling from New Jersey, Maine and Chicago."
Some customers have been driving from hours away just to get a taste, but Amidon said there have been plenty of haters, including an 80-year-old woman who called it "a culinary abomination."
"I put that quote on the menu board to help sell it," he said with a laugh, adding that after that particular customer tasted it, she told him, "'It doesn't feel right liking it this much.'"
Amidon said the idea was first inspired by the controversial pink sauce on TikTok "that haunted your nightmares earlier this year," adding that Gino's sauce differs because it's made with only real, fresh dragon fruit and no dye or flavorings.
"I have nothing but 100% respect for the original -- that's where I got the idea. We just elevated it with fresh ingredients. There's ... a stronger flavor when you make it fresh," he explained.
While scanning social media ahead of the "Barbie" opening on July 21, Amidon said he "saw every restaurant in the world doing something" and he "wanted in on it."
"I'll be damned if I'm not in on a national trend. Before opening, by 11 a.m., the cooks and myself had tasted eight different versions and came up with the final version," he said. "My cooks hated the idea and never thought it would sell. They rolled their eyes and were like, 'I guess we're doing something weird again.'"
Amidon hailed his cooks for "knocking it out of the park."
When asked who he'd most love to cook his sauced up sandwich for, Amidon said the "biggest hope is to make this live on air with some media nationally."
"We'd give away the recipe and have the hosts try it. I'd want to give out the recipe -- it feels like it would be a classy way of saying, 'Hey my 15 minutes of fame are over. Thanks, but I'm taking my bow now.'"
