Nights With Geno

Doing a road trip to South Florida?  I've got a spot for the best cheesesteak eggrolls, an awesome place for subs to take to the beach or a fancy Brazilian steakhouse dinner.  The other episodes in this summer travel series all require a plane ticket.  But if you're up for the road trip to South Florida, I've got some great places to try.

A few years ago, a Pasco friend retired in Colombia and kept bugging me to visit.  I saw no reason to.  South America was never on my travel radar.  The food alone is enough to go back again and again.  Whether it's pan de la abuela in Bogota or a peanut butter banana coffee smoothie in Medellin, I've got lots of places for you to try.  But no matter what you do, make sure you get some pan de la abuela.  It's what you see in the photo for this episode.  It's my favorite food anywhere and it's criminally cheap. About $1.

Before a day at the blackjack table, I have a spot in Vegas I love to hit up for apple cinnamon stuffed French toast.  And how do I really feel about In-N-Out burgers?  And what parts of Sin City should you avoid because the prices are too sinful?

When I go home to visit family, there are must-stop spots for pizza, Italian sandwiches, and fried shrimp.  Let's take a tour of my hometown of Portland, ME.  There's one must visit that is really an all-in-one Maine experience.  You get to see the ocean with a rocky coast view as you dine on my favorite seafood anywhere.  And it's not overpriced.  

Whether you want a legit New England lobster roll or the best chicken parmesan you'll ever have, I have a spot for it in Boston.  Most of my adult life I've lived in the Boston area.  When I go back, these are the places I've gotta hit up.

You'll hear former northerners like me say it all the time. Sorry Florida natives.  But the Chinese food in Florida is pretty awful.  But if you look hard enough, there are a few spots that measure up to what we enjoyed back in the frigid north.  Now when I say Chinese food, I'm talking the "New York style" unhealthy stuff that only fat Americans like me eat. 2 of my go to spots are in Tampa.  There's 1 in Seminole.  One is in Brandon.  And my newest find in in St. Petersburg.  Let's eat.

Happy Pi Day.  Yelp has put out their list of the best 100 pizza spots in the country.  Three Tampa area pizzerias made the list. One is good and it's right near our radio station in St Pete.  One is my favorite pizza anywhere in Florida.  But one that's a favorite downtown Tampa I find to be super overrated.  Spoiler alert: this is another podcast episode where I'm pretty much just going to gush over how much I love Cristino's in Clearwater.

Last year I got addicted when Publix created "Lemon Berry Bliss.  I love lemon flavored desserts. And being a kid from Maine, blueberries have always been a part of my life. Blueberry muffins, blueberry pancakes, I’ll even buy blueberry coffee when I see it. So to see these 2 flavors together? Psh. No brainer. I was all in. Publix described it as lemon crème flavored ice cream with lemonade flavored flakes and blueberry flavored swirls.  I think we went through 3 boxes last year at the house. This year, Publix has some new offerings like Black Swamp Raspberry Cheesecake and Irish Creme Salted Caramel.  

As beloved as the chicken tenders Pub Sub is, I want you to take a chance and order something else instead. While trying to decide what to get while I was standing in line a few weeks ago, I saw a sign that seduced my taste buds. I don’t know if it’s been around a while and I just never noticed it or if it is truly a “limited time only” offering as the sign said. But I was starving and a Boars Head French Onion London Broil sub sounded like a worthy challenger to dethrone the famous Publix chicken tenders sub.

I don't do talk about chain restaurants much on this podcast.  I tend to be more of a fan of mom and pop local spots.  But I've always appreciated that Chipotle uses fresh natural ingredients. I don't know if all their menu offerings are 100% organic, but I do know they make an effort to use less science and chemicals in their food compared to other national fast food establishments.  When I heard they were getting into the drive thru game to accommodate our American laziness, I had to drop by to check it out.  

The Florida Strawberry Festival in Plant City is that last lethal blow to those New Year’s resolutions. You’ve got until Sunday to head to Plant City to try my 3 picks for the best of 2025. One is just here this year but the other 2 are Florida Strawberry Festival classics.

It's time to put an end to those New Year's resolutions. The wild, artery-clogging foods being added to the menu at the Florida State Fair are sure to do a number on that whole weight loss "journey" you embarked on last week. Some sound irresistible. Others just sound... interesting. Here's a rundown of the 5 wildest strange culinary options you'll have when you visit the Florida State Fair.

You still have time to devour some truly awful things before those New Year’s resolutions ruin your life. And the timing couldn’t be better. My favorite South Florida junk food spot is coming to St. Pete for 2 days this week. What do they serve? Hold your arteries. Deep fried cheesesteak eggrolls dipped in a ranch sauce with a sweet and sour kick. Yep, it’s a heart attack just waiting to happen. I found “World Famous” on a Yelp search during a Fort Lauderdale visit years ago. The little to go restaurant isn’t even in Fort Lauderdale. It’s tucked way in a strip mall in Lauderdale Lakes. You’d never notice it from the street. Word of mouth has made the place, well, famous. These cheesesteak eggrolls are as good as they look and sound. I’ve had them a dozen or so times since that first visit and figured I’d offer up my advice since their food truck is coming to St. Pete today and tomorrow.

There are not a lot of great Italian restaurants in Florida.  So when one pops up, it's worthy of a podcast episode.  This particular one is located in Clearwater where there are so few good restaurants.  It just opened about a month ago and you've gotta check it out if you're a chicken parm lover like me.  Vinny Fortunato has opened his new restaurant Antico Fornaio.  

Florida still doesn’t have an In-N-Out. So you can’t get a Double Double Animal Style. So what are the best fast food burgers you can order at the drive thru for lunch today if you live around here? A new USA Today ranking is out and here are 7 of Florida’s best fast food burgers. I think the most surprising thing is who’s NOT on their list. McDonald’s, certainly the most consumed burgers in Florida, has NO picks on USA Today’s top 10. Not even the Big Mac. Also not on the list? Wendy’s! Of the fast food chains, those are probably the two most visited Florida burger joints, but neither made the list. I would argue that Shake Shack deserves to be on this list way more than USA Today’s #7 pick.

Pizza is on everyone's mind lately because Dave Portnoy from Barstool Sports was recently in Tampa trying different pizza places.  Among the ones he tried was my favorite spot for the best pizza in Florida: Cristino's in Clearwater.  I don't know what score Portnoy gave Cristino's, but it got me in the mood for a Margarita with extra sauce because I hadn't dropped by in a while. When I pulled in, there were dozens waiting for a table.  That's always a good sign.  I posted the photo on my Instagram and Facebook of everyone waiting in the parking lot and mentioned that these people don't need Dave Portnoy's endorsement.  They know Cristino's Pizza is worth the wait.  In the comments, most listeners backed me up - but a few instead suggested other pizzas.  And that's where I made my crucial mistake.There's nothing worse than getting your hopes up about trying a new pizza someone is raving about... and the pizza is just underwhelming.  I made the big mistake I don't often make yesterday.  In those comments, a lis

The Florida State Fair opens February 8 and runs through February 19th at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa. It’s that time of year when it’s time to finally do away with those New Year’s resolutions. Counting calories is strictly forbidden and carbs are king. This year, there are the usual things on the menu like cotton candy, popcorn, deep fried Twinkies, pizza, turkey legs and fried dough. And there’s no fair in Florida where you won’t find gator nuggets for the adventurous eater. For those with a sweet tooth, there are some creative new items to hunt down. I will definitely find the Oreo Cookie Cinnamon Bun that Cinnamon Saloon is serving up this year. What an awesome combination of words. And with the Barbie movie being so popular, Paulette’s Food Service has created the Barbie Funnel Cake. It’s got pink icing, powdered sugar and various kinds of sprinkles. But how about those really weird fair foods? The ones that you dare someone to try. There are always a handful of strange, weird and cringeworth

Kelly’s Roast Beef is a landmark in the Boston area just as much as the Freedom Trail and Boston Tea Party ship. Boston isn’t known for its beaches. And for good reason. They’re nothing like ours. First of all, there are about 3 months of actual beach weather in New England if you’re lucky. The quality of them is quite low too. BUT Kelly’s on Revere Beach is iconic, serving up roast beef sandwiches and seafood for over 70 years now. There are now a bunch of Kelly’s locations in the Boston area. There’s even one in New Hampshire. But when they opened in Florida, I was shocked. It must be going well for Kelly’s Roast Beef because now they have as many restaurants in Florida as they do in Massachusetts and New Hampshire combined. They are at the Gateway Shoppes in Naples, Creekside Commons in Parrish, Cypress Woods in Fort Myers and University Park in Sarasota. I’d been meaning to visit one, but I don’t visit any of those areas often. So when I heard their newest location in St. Pete opened, I finally made a tri

“Mama Jane” Harris is a favorite on TV shows like Carnival Eats. There’s always a line for her fair food creations for the Florida State Fair and Florida Strawberry Festival. Today she let me in on her two new creations for Tampa and Plant City next year. The Florida State Fair Head to the Florida State Fairgrounds between February 8 and February 19 to try Mama’s newest savory funnel cake: The Temperamental Hog Funnel Cake. Mama wanted to get crazy and do a savory creation that would be all-new. It’s a funnel cake with cornmeal that gives it a bit of a crunch, barbecue spices and there’s pulled pork on time. Then you pick your temperament: happy, angry, or FURIOUS! There’s a thinned down cream cheese glaze to cool the cake down. It’s not sweet – it’s a straight cream cheese flavor. The Florida Strawberry Festival Love Almond Joy candy bars?  Mama has nailed the flavor with her new Almond Joy Funnel Cake.  It’s got the chocolate, almonds and coconut flavor you love in the candy bar.  Mama said she’s a big fan

The Bolts invited me over to Amalie Arena to check out the new stuff you can chow down on between periods during the 2023-2024 season.  From flatbreads to tacos to pork bowls and loaded nachos, there are some creative new items to check out.  If you'd like the visual to go along with this audio, head to my Q105 page and check out photos of all of the foods we talk about with Bubba Flores and Stephanie Swanz from Wicked Oak BBQ, Paul and Brittany Eppler from Bull Market, and Taro Larrea from Loli's Mexican Cravings.