St. Petersburg Foodies Podcast

This is a special edition one-time show where we talk to Ray Lampe on the closing of Dr. BBQ the Restaurant, what the future may hold for him in the restaurant business and other projects he is working on. You'll get the real story on why the restaurant closed, and find out that Ray is quite the unstoppable entrepreneur with lots of fun and exciting current and future projects in the works. Will Ray be back in the restaurant business in the future? Listen to the ten minute interview to find out.

We interview Chef and Restaurateur Mike Crippin. Mike was the chef at The Moon Under Water for 20 years, and now he has his own place, Studio Public house. We discuss whether The Moon Under Water is coming back or not, learn Mike's trick for making a Guinness taste like a Bud Light, and the good news that you can still get the old Moon curries at Studio Public House, plus much more. After the interview we talk about the beef ragu we made with a beautiful chuck roast from St. Pete Meat & Provisions.

We interview Chef Jon Robben. We met Jon a few years ago at Tryst, and for the past few years he has upped the food game at Trophy Fish. Talking to Jon, we learn some things we never knew about fish and seafood, and he schools us (no pun intended) on fresh vs. frozen, and farmed vs. wild. At the top of the show we'll talk Pork Butt, Dinosaur Chicken Nuggets, and the evolution of American cuisine.

We interview Kelly & Alex Rodriguez. Kelly and Alex own Lolita's Wine Market, and we'll talk about their new place, Sammy & Paco's Cafe. After the interview we make pork carnitas with a recipe from IAmAFoodBlog.com using pork butt and pork belly from St. Pete Meat & Provisions.

We interview Joel Sanchez. Joel is the General Manager and Partner at Matteo Trattoria & Pizzeria. They just opened last month in the Grand Central District of St. Petersburg, and they have fantastic food from several different regions of Italy. We talk about Joel's inadvertent start in the business at an early age, some favorite menu items at Matteo, and Italian food and cooking. At the top of the show, we have Abby Allen with her recipe for Peach, Cucumber and Tomato Salad with Seared Halloumi.

We interview Max Blowers. Max is the General Manager & Beverage Director at Social Roost. He is a St. Pete native, but spent 15 years living in NYC, and has worked for celebrity chefs Wolfgang Puck and David Burke. We talk about his time there, and then hear about the wild rollercoaster ride it's been upon his return to St. Pete. After Max, we recap our grilling and meat filled weekend with Juicy Lucy Burgers, Grilled Chicken, Duck Eggs and Bacon, all from St. Pete Meat & Provisions.

We interview Brian Levine. Brian is a life-long Disney aficionado, having worked at Disneyland in college, and is now working at a Disney Store 34-years later. He's been to Disney World innumerous times, and will be telling us what to eat, and what not to eat at all of the Disney parks in Orlando. At the top of the show we will discuss the real Fettuccini Alfredo vs. The American Version.

We interview Allan Bishop and Cristian Uguzzoni from Tutto Bene, which is a quaint Italian eatery in Gulfport that has quickly become quite popular. Allan is the co-owner with his wife Michelle, and Cristian is the GM hailing from Modena, Italy. After Tutto Bene, we make the most famous steak in Brazilian steakhouses, Picanha, provided by St. Pete Meat & Provisions.

We interview Liz Senyak. Liz is the Director of Operations for Feed and Seed Hospitality, which owns Trophy Fish, Mandarin Hide, and Mandarin Heights. Liz got her start in the business bartending at Datz in Tampa. Her leadership skills got her promoted to manager, and she joined Feed and Seed in 2018 just after Trophy Fish opened. At the top of the show we have Abby Allen with her recipe for Curry Chicken Salad sandwiches + avocado hummus.

We interview Bill Brown from William Dean Chocolates. You'll learn which celebrity endorsed his chocolates on her TV show, which upscale chain of grocery stores, and which Las Vegas casino put William Dean Chocolates on the map by placing orders the first year they were in business. At the top of the show we will discuss the dichotomy of restaurants being super busy, and not having enough help, or experienced help.

We interview Matt Bonano. Matt is the former owner of Brooklyn South, and is now one of two butchers at St. Pete Meat & Provisions. After Matt, we take his suggestion to make the hanger steak from St. Pete Meat, which turned out to be a succulent flavor bomb.

We interview Robin Sussingham. She is the Publisher & Editor of the newly re-launched Edible Tampa Bay Magazine. She is a long-time award-winning journalist in several areas, and especially in food. Robin is also the former host, and creator of The Zest Podcast at WUSF, Tampa Bay's NPR station. At the top of the show, Lori and Kevin discuss Food Inflation, Chili with Beans (or without), and Restaurant Server's Pet Peeves.

We interview Christine Cutler. She is the President of The International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association. They will be having their 2021 conference in downtown St. Pete this November. Chris is also an expert on travel to Italy, Italian culture, and cuisine. Did you know that Spaghetti Bolognese does not exist in Italy? Neither does Fettuccini Alfredo, or Pepperoni Pizza amongst other things that we discuss. After Chris, Kevin does some "cooking for one" with Bajan Sausage and Moroccan Meatballs from St. Pete Meat & Provisions.

We interview Thomas Miller from The Treasure Coast Foodie. Just like us, he does reviews of local independent restaurants. He also does restaurant awards like us, has a wine club, dining club and more. He visited a few St. Pete restaurants for a feature article he is working on. He is also debuting a new video series reminiscent of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. At the top of the show we have Abby Allen with her recipe for St. Louis Spare Ribs with Hasselback Cantaloupe.

We interview Chef Susan Burdian. Susan is an acclaimed chef from NYC, and is now heading up the kitchen at Social Roost. She has cooked for Anthony Bourdain, and at The James Beard House, and is experienced in over ten different types of cuisine. After Susan, we have the best lamb we've ever had in our lives. We made the Colorado Rack of Lamb from St. Pete Meat & Provisions. It blew us away! We ate double portions, and there were no leftovers.

We interview Dean Hurst. Let us say this: Dean is just fun! He is the Beverage Director for The Datz Group, and today we have an extensive conversation on all things tiki and tiki culture with an emphasis on tiki drinks, and some tiki history. On the second half of the interview we get into the carefully crafted recipes for the drinks at the new Burnt Ends Tiki Bar. At the top of the show we will be talking about three news stories that include beef, tacos, and pizza - three of our favorite things.

We interview Chef A.J. Lambden. A.J. has worked at several Tampa Bay area, and downtown St. Pete restaurants with most of his hours being logged at Cassis on Beach Dr. He started his catering business two weeks before the first pandemic shutdown. Then he pivoted by taking several business courses, and is now launching his new culinary-tech crossover - Kiosk Kitchen. After A.J., we'll tell you about the best Baked Boneless Chicken Thighs we ever had. The boneless, skin-on thighs are from St. Pete Meat & Provisions, and the recipe came from Delish.com.

We interview Chef Olive Davis. She's been a charter boat chef in the Caribbean, appeared on Food Network's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" with Guy Fieri, was the chef at Stella's in Gulfport, and was part of the opening team for Locale as the in-house butcher. Currently, Olive is the chef at Salty's Sandwich Bar in Gulfport, and we love the food. At the top of the show, for Cinco de Mayo, we have Abby Allen-Leach with her recipe for Quesa Birria Tacos. Be sure to wear your apron for this one. It's worth it though!

We interview Don Nguyen in this special episode solely dedicated to Asian cuisine. Just a few of the things we talk about include, the evolution of Asian cuisine, hidden gem hole in the wall local Asian eateries, fish sauce, myriad types of soy sauce, Asian cooking, why there is no cheese in Asian cuisine, or is there?, and a whole lot more in this extended longest episode ever on all things Asian cuisine. After Don, we make Korean BBQ with the flank steak from St. Pete Meat & Provisions.

We interview Chris Ciarcia. He was the GM and sommelier at Annata for five years, and he is now opening his own place named Sauvignon Wine Locker & American Trattoria. They are in a 100-year old building on the first block ever built in St. Pete, and they will be serving Italian-inspired New American cuisine including homemade pasta and gelato, Creekstone Farms steaks and more. To start they will have 177 bottles of wine, including - 115 reds, 42 whites, 16 sparkling, four rosés with 73 available by the glass. There is also an optional membership with benefits including temperature controlled wine lockers. At the top of the show we'll talk about the quesa birria taco craze, and Ketchup shortage.

We interview Florida food expert Heather McPherson. She doesn't bill herself as a food expert, but that is what we are calling her after we found out how much she knows about farms, livestock, fish, and produce that has its origins in our state. A few interesting things we found out during this interview are that olives and blueberries love old citrus soil, Florida is in the top five cow producing states, and there is real sturgeon caviar being farmed in Florida. Who knew? Heather was the food critic and a food editor during her over 30-years with The Orlando Sentinel. She has authored three cookbooks, and co-hosted a radio talk show about food. Currently, she is the media relations and PR machine behind Chef Art Smith's Homecomin Florida Kitchen, Splitsville, and several other restaurants.

We interview Rich Hollenberg. Rich is a TV sports personality calling college basketball on ESPN, and the pre and post games on Fox Sports for The Rays. He is also a former TV food show host, and has cooked on live television with the likes of Wolfgang Puck, Emeril Lagasse, Cat Cora, Art Smith, Scott Conant, Michelle Bernstein, and Roy Yamaguchi amongst many others. Rich's first culinary lessons came from the late Tom Pritchard of Salt Rock Grill fame. At the top of the show we have Abby Allen with her modern, lighter recipe take on the classic Lobster Thermidor.

We interview Celebrity Chef Art Smith. He has been Oprah's personal chef. He has cooked for the Obamas, Lady Gaga, Nelson Mandela, Princess Diana, and many more celebrities. He owns several restaurants, and occasionally visits St. Pete. Some of the things you'll find out on this show are who Art's secret friend is in St. Pete that takes him around to local restaurants, and several other St. Pete locals that he is friends with. We'll find out who the one celebrity is that he hasn't cooked for but might want to, how he makes his grits, and a ton of more information. This entire hour-long episode is dedicated to Art Smith.

We interview online cooking coach Chef Michal Kováč from The Czech Republic. We talk about the fine dining establishments he has worked in in London and Czech, as well as his personal one on one live coaching. At the top of the show we talk about Tik Tok's Feta Pasta craze and failures, and Kevin & Lori's blind soy sauce tasting. We try and compare Chinese, Japanese, and American made soy sauces.

We interview Maggie Prittie from Prittie's Chocolates. You'll learn everything you ever wanted to know about chocolate, and didn't even know to ask about. Most importantly, the best, and healthiest chocolates have just four ingredients, and you won't find them at your chain super market. We also discuss a chocolate tasting we did with Maggie earlier. After the interview, we have lunch at Greenstock, which is a Chef-driven and ingredient-focused salad and wraps, fast casual eatery right in the heart of downtown St. Pete.

We interview Jason Gordon & Ashley Simmons from 727Prep, 3Rivets Catering and St. Pete Salmon Co. Jason is an award winning chef that created spectacular menus for two different St. Pete eateries before starting his three new businesses. His philosophy is that anyone, regardless of their socioeconomic status, should be able to eat good, healthy food. At the top of the show we have Abby Allen straight out of the St. Pete Foodies Test Kitchen with her recipe for Strawberry-Balsamic Chicken Salad with Watercress & Crispy Rice.

We interview Ashley Haywood. She is the CEO and founder of Embrew Sweetened Artisan Tea Bags. They are the only tea bags in the world that have sweetener already added. They use the highest quality teas that are responsibly sourced, and have some great unique flavor combinations. After Ashley, we talk about the handmade spicy Italian sausage, and scratch made pasta dinner we made from St. Pete Meat & Provisions.

We interview Jim Pachence about how Serious Foodie explores the regional cuisines of the world and brings them to your kitchen with quick, easy, healthy sauces, spice rubs, recipes, and more. At the top of the show Kevin and Lori discuss how fried chicken sandwiches are all the rage, someone accidentally buying enough paprika to last until 2040, food companies lying about vanilla, Subway's alleged fake tuna, and a great story of how a dishwasher worked his way up to head chef at two prestigious local eateries.

We interview Chef Erik Youngs. We talk about his video podcast, his start in the business as a teenager, his work as a culinary instructor, and about his line of sauces, and rubs, VooDoo Chef. Part of VooDoo Chef proceeds go to funding culinary education. VooDoo Chef is also the official spices and rubs of Gasparilla. After Erik, we'll be raving about the best steak we ever had in our lives that we got at St. Pete Meat & Provisions.

We interview Sea Salt St. Pete's Sommelier & Beverage Director, Jackie Eash. We talk about the wonderful wine pairing tasting dinner we recently had at Sea Salt. We discuss many wine topics, such as; how to pair wine with food, how and why did we go from Champagne flutes to drinking sparkling wine in white wine glasses, cliches we'd like to banish from the wine world, unusual pairings that work, what determines if a wine will age well, or not, and much more. The "cork dorks" will love this episode. At the top of the show we have Abby straight out of the St. Pete Foodies Test Kitchen with an easy, and delicious recipe for Shrimp Fra Diavolo with a healthy twist. The recipe discussion also has Kevin and Lori disagreeing on whether Banza Chick Pea pasta is like real pasta or not, and we also discuss how different, or the same Fra Diavolo is to Arrabbiata sauce. "Googling" it was mostly a waste of time with most of the information being wrong. We checked with one of the most well-known Italian chefs in town.

We interview Chef Jeffrey Jew about Lingr, his new restaurant opening in March / April in downtown St. Petersburg. The eatery will provide a unique combination of Norwegian and Chinese cuisines. They will be serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. After chef, we talk about the incredible St. Louis Style Ribs we got from St. Pete Meat & Provisions. They provide restaurant quality meats, and other items for cooking at home. They have some hard-to-find cuts, and their meats come from local independent farms where the animals are humanely raised, free range, organic, and non-GMO.

We interview Rob Bowen & Jason Teabout. They are the owners of the latest restaurant to open in downtown St. Pete, Social Roost. They specialize in serving up amazing renditions of all types of chicken dishes from around the world from many diffrent cultures. At the top of the show we talk about Mexican oregano, the reality TV chef competition show "Hell's Kitchen", why Kevin says to NOT call him "Chef", and the over abundance of lobster in Australia.

We interview the new co-owner of Annata Restaurant & Wine Bar, and Alto Mare Fish Bar, Jacob Linzey. After the interview, we have lunch at Greenstock, which is a Chef-driven and ingredient-focused salad and wraps, fast casual eatery right in the heart of downtown St. Pete.

We interview David Benstock. He is the Co-Owner and Executive Chef of IL Ritorno, Greenstock, and St. Pete Meat & Provisions. At the top of the show we have Abby Allen with her new recipe for a slightly healthier version of Zuppa Toscana, and boy is it so delicious!

We interview the Co-Owner and Head Brewer of Green Bench Brewing, Khristopher Johnson. After the interview, we talk about our weekend lunch at Greenstock, which is a Chef-driven and ingredient-focused salad and wraps, fast casual eatery right in the heart of downtown St. Pete.

We interview Shannon O'Malley and Brad Doyle from Brick Street Farms. Kevin and Lori discuss book "The Language of Food: A Linguist Reads the Menu".

We interview Kristen Hess from The Artful Gourmet. She has several degrees and certifications as a Food Stylist, Food Photographer, Food Writer, Recipe Creator, and Chef. She does work for large national brands, and local St. Pete food companies, and restaurants. After the interview, we have lunch at Greenstock, which is a Chef-driven and ingredient-focused salad and wraps, fast casual eatery right in the heart of downtown St. Pete.

We interview Fred Zammataro, the COO and Executive Vice President of Schramsberg Vineyards in Napa Valley. They were originally founded in the 1800s, and their sparkling wines are one of the only served at The White House. We'll discuss how the Davies family revived the vineyard in the 1960s, President Nixon brought several cases to China in the 1970s, and fast-forward to the present, talking about the terrible fires in 2020. At the top of the show, we have an outtake of Nate Najar telling us about the oldest restaurant in London, Rule's, which was founded in the late 1700s.

We interview Russell Andrade, the owner of Avo's Kitchen. Avo's is the only Goan restaurant in all of the southeast U.S. It is a unique style of Indian cuisine in a fast-casual pop-up inside of Iberian Rooster. After the interview, we have lunch at Greenstock, which is a Chef-driven and ingredient-focused salad and wraps, fast casual eatery right in the heart of downtown St. Pete.

We interview Joey Ledet, the general manager of The Urban Stillhouse. They are owned by American Freedom Distillery, feature Horse Soldier Bourbon, and have a huge two-story 16,000 sq. ft. space with amazing cuisine. At the top of the show, we have Abby Allen with her recipe for Sous Vide Duck Breast and Root Vegetable Gratin.

We interview international jazz artist, Nate Najar. Nate has 13 albums out, has toured the world, is a total foodie, and was born, raised, and lives in St. Pete. After the interview, we have lunch at Greenstock, which is a Chef-driven and ingredient-focused salad and wraps, fast casual eatery right in the heart of downtown St. Pete.

We interview Sef Gonzalez from BurgerBeast.com. He is a hamburger and comfort food aficionado, food event organizer, has his own bottled condiments, and his own burger creations as a pop-up in a Miami restaurant. He's been food blogging since 2008. At the top of the show we discuss James beard - the man, the house, the foundation, and the awards, and Kevin's recent experience with Sichuan Peppercorns.

We interview Executive Chef Cory Albright from Copa Lounge. Copa specializes in small plate, wine, beer, and wine cocktails. After the interview, we have lunch at Greenstock, which is a Chef-driven and ingredient-focused salad and wraps, fast casual eatery right in the heart of downtown St. Pete.

We interview Dr. Nicholas Okeson. Dr. Nick is a huge foodie, and sometimes knows more about what's happening on the St. Pete foodie scene than we do. At the top of the show, we'll have Abby Allen with her recipe for Fried Lost Coast Oysters with Tomato Butter, Pickled Shallots and Corn.

We interview Brian & Lindsay Rosegger from Lost Coast Oyster Co. They are the only locally grown oysters supplied to the St. Pete area, and they are the best that we ever had. After the interview, we have lunch at Greenstock, which is a Chef-driven and ingredient-focused salad and wraps, fast casual eatery right in the heart of downtown St. Pete.

We interview Executive Chef Rob Reinsmith, formerly from Noble Crust, and now with his new restaurant, Wild Child. At the top of the show, we discuss interesting and offbeat food news, along with a new food show we like.

We interview Chef & Culinary Instructor at Metropolitan Ministries, Clay Dempster. We talk about the upcoming Tampa Bay Food Fight charity event where St. Pete and Tampa chefs battle it out Iron Chef style. After the interview, we have lunch at Greenstock, which is a Chef-driven and ingredient-focused salad and wraps, fast casual eatery right in the heart of downtown St. Pete.

We interview local St. Petersburg actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Ward Smith. At the top of the show we have Abby Allen with a recipe for Kabocha Squash stuffed with Cacio e Pepe Rice.

We interview Chef Lee Aquino. He heads up three of the new places at the new St. Pete Pier - Teak, Pier Teaki, and Driftwood Cafe. After the interview, we stroll over to our favorite salad eatery, Greenstock, where Lori and Kevin get a fresh, tasty, healthy lunch.

We interview Chef Ronicca Whaley, culinary entrepreneur, and owner of the Shio Crispy food truck. Lori and Kevin also discuss the food shows, and cooking competitions they watch with their likes and observations.

We interview Laura Reiley from The Washington Post. After the interview, we stroll over to our favorite salad eatery, Greenstock, where Lori and Kevin get a fresh, tasty, healthy lunch.