About: Kevin Godbee

I've always loved cooking. When I was 6-years old I wanted to cook. When my mom said that she was just running to the neighbor's and would be right back, I climbed onto the kitchen counter and found Lipton Instant French Onion Soup Mix. By the time my mom returned, I was stirring the pot on the stove, and proclaimed; "Look Mom! I'm cooking!"

In High School, I took three different cooking classes and got an A in each. After getting my first apartment, I used to cook 5-nights a week, and go out two nights. An old girlfriend from decades ago had a brother-in-law that was a CEO of a trucking company, and he used to entertain in Manhattan quite a bit ... and he started taking us along.

This was when I learned about gourmet food and fine wine. For a couple of years, Lori and I went out about 4-5 nights a week, but now we have a better balance of 50/50 between cooking at home, and going out to the amazing restaurants we are so lucky to have in our beloved Downtown St. Petersburg.

Atomic Volcano Hot Sauce is the Best!

Interview with Raphael Perrier of Kahwa Coffee Roasting Welcome to the St. Petersburg Foodies Podcast Episode 33. Our featured interview today is with Raphael Perrier of Kahwa Coffee Roasting. We find out from Raphael that his first job out of University was as a coffee barista at La Colombe Coffee Roasters, when it was a…

StPetersburgFoodies.com Cartoon Caption Contest Sponsored by Hunger + Thirst Group Welcome to the April 2019 Cartoon Caption Contest. Cartoonist Jerry King creates foodies cartoons exclusively for StPetersburgFoodies.com every month. Each month, one of the cartoons will be published without a caption so contest entrants can submit their own entries. Hunger + Thirst Group co-sponsors the…

We are pleased to announce the March 2019 winners for the StPetersburgFoodies.com Cartoon Caption Contest Sponsored by Hunger + Thirst Group, which includes these locations: The Avenue Eat + Drink, Park & Rec DTSP, and No Vacancy. 1st Place - Cecily McGuckin, Tampa FL $75 Gift Card that can be used at The Avenue, Park…

Interview with The Mayor of St. Petersburg, FL - Rick Kriseman Welcome to the St. Petersburg Foodies Podcast Episode 32. Our featured interview today is with the Honorable Rick Kriseman, Mayor of St. Petersburg, FL. We talk to Mayor Kriseman about how he got his start in politics, what he thinks of the explosion of…

Interview with Tony Mangiafico from Gratzzi and Flute & Dram Welcome to the St. Petersburg Foodies Podcast Episode 31. Our featured interview today is with Tony Mangiafico. Tony is the well-known Chef and Co-Owner of Gratzzi Italian Grille in downtown St. Pete for the last 20-years. He is also Co-Owner of the newer (1-year old)…

Best Fish & Chips in St. Pete Fish and Chips is thought to have come about in the early-to-mid 1800s in the U.K. It is theorized that Jewish immigrants may have originally brought the idea of frying fish in batter to the U.K. (There go those immigrants in another food origin story, again.) In 2003,…

We recently paid a visit to Sloppy Joe's Bar & Grill at the Bilmar Beach Resort in Treasure Island. We heard they had some new items on the menu, and thought we would check it out. They are the main restaurant, and souvenir shop in the resort. (We made sure to get t-shirts while we…

I like to end all things on a good note, so this one will start with the somewhat negative. Everyone is going to hate me because Bodega didn't make the top 5 list of Cuban Sandwiches. People are going to go insane. I will probably have to go into the witness protection program, but Bodega's…

Interview with Stephen Schrutt from Hunger + Thirst Welcome to the St. Petersburg Foodies Podcast Episode 30. Our featured interview today is with Stephen Schrutt. Stephen is the owner of Hunger + Thirst Group. They operate the restaurants and bars: The Avenue Eat + Drink, Park & Rec, and No Vacancy in downtown St. Petersburg.…

The Best Chili to Eat in St. Pete Chili's geographic origins go back to what is the currently most talked about border ... unfortunately for no reasons having to do with this quite popular food. Chili was born in both Northern Mexico and Southern Texas - on the border and over the border. Its more…

Wepa Cocina de Puerto Rico Opens Today - Across From 3 Daughters (Wepa is an exclamation that can mean great, good job, what's up, wow, etc.) It takes a lot of balls to go from amateur food critic to professional restaurateur—especially when you've ruffled a few feathers along the way with some of your critiques.…

Interview with Mike Sponaugle from Buya Ramen Welcome to the St. Petersburg Foodies Podcast Episode 29. Our featured interview today is with Mike Sponaugle. Mike is the owner of Buya Ramen in downtown St. Petersburg. He has opened several restaurant concepts ranging from New American, to Caribbean and Japanese. Michael studied finance at the University…

10 Best Buffalo Wings–Chicken Wings and Duck Wings too! Chicken wings are not only one of the most popular restaurant and bar staples, but their popularity keeps increasing so much that there were shortages and price peaks in 2017 lasting into 2018. I read about it back then in The Wall Street Journal, but things…

Mangia! Mangia! I remember my Sicilian grandmother always saying this to me as a kid - Eat! Eat! I ate so much pasta as a kid, that by the time I was a young adult, I swore off the stuff for several years. Now I am back in love with pasta, and I eat it…