Cleveland, OH

Voice-over artist, TikTok influencer and ‘Cleveland ‘Snack Daddy’ Stefan Johnson shares his favorite dining spots: 5 for Friday

Published

10 months ago

October 20, 2023

Voice-over artist, TikTok influencer and ‘Cleveland ‘Snack Daddy’ Stefan Johnson shares his favorite dining spots: 5 for Friday

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Many triumphs can be attached to Cleveland’s own Stefan Johnson: Internet influencer of millions, “Snack Daddy,” multi-instrumentalist and musician, actor, voice-over guru… Renaissance Man.

Social media enthusiasts know that the “occasionally not safe for work” (NSFW) food critic’s “Oreo Cakesters’ Savior” status should be a part of that list.

Mere mention of any of these things still surprises and humbles the man himself.

“That one really is wild, man,” said Johnson in his bass-baritone voice—one every bit as distinctive as that of Hollywood legend James Earl Jones.

“I did a couple [Oreo Cakesters] videos, which did really well. Then I did one calling out Oreo for discontinuing Cakesters, which they actually responded to. I mean, they’re basically Oreo’s take on a mini-Moon Pie—so soft—why on Earth would you drop those?” he laughed.

“Before I knew it, fans were piling on Oreo, they decided to revive them and even sent me my own personalized box,” he added. “Talk about something taking on a life of its own!”

Make no mistake, Johnson’s career has done exactly that.

Internet sensation Stefan Johnson recently added live announcing to his repertoire at the Forbes Under 30 Summit.

While everyone was “hunkered down in place during the unprecedented times,” Johnson took working from home to the next level: he manned his social media channels with blunt, irreverent and hilarious food reviews—many of them filmed in the driver’s seat of his car.

His smooth, convincing voice, larger-than-life personality and sometimes off-color NSFW comedy reviews of everything from mustard ice cream to “trash chips” made quarantine times infinitely more bearable.

Friends found his vignettes hilarious and began sharing them. Before too long, he was going viral.

You don’t even need to see Johnson on-screen to know that it’s him. I was sitting across from him at Melt Bar & Grilled in Lakewood for the interview, but I could have been blindfolded before he arrived and would have known when “Snack Daddy” was in the building.

To that end, fans only needed to hear his voice ebbing and flowing through the bar to know he was in the house. And Johnson was more than happy to chat them up when they inevitably wandered over.

“I truly am blessed,” he said between bites of Melt’s Hangover Fries. “I always talk with fans, because without them none of this is even possible. That’s the power of the Internet.”

Power, indeed. Google “deep voice food review guy” if you don’t believe me. Dude is everywhere.

Today, Johnson has 7.7 million followers on TikTok, 693,000 followers on Instagram, 346,000 followers on Facebook, and 426,000 subscribers on YouTube. His social media notoriety, which bubbled up from right here in The Land, has landed him on Buzzfeed, All Recipes, Pop Sugar, and NBC’s Today Show website.

He’s also has landed thousands of commercial, promo, and trailer voiceover credits for top global brands—McDonald’s, Cartoon Network, Food Network, Doritos, WWE and more.

Johnson has even appeared on screen in several feature films, including Judas and the Black Messiah and Cherry, and for a time, he was literally and figuratively playing the role of BrownMark (bassist/vocalist for Prince and The Revolution) in The Prince Project.

Is there anything he can’t do? We think not. What would be on Johnson’s shortlist?

“I’m lucky to have been able to do so many great projects in my career,” the 33-year-old Johnson said.

“Doing the recent Forbes Under 30 events here allowed me to check live announcing off the list. I don’t know, probably movie trailers,” he added with a smile. “You know, <assumes announcer voice> ‘In a world…’ <back to normal voice> and all that. Now, that would make the little nerd in me insanely happy.”

Nerds-to-nerd, how could we not ask Johnson what local food makes him that happy? He was all too happy to share his favorites in The Land and honestly, we couldn’t imagine a better return of the Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer column “5 for Friday” than this. So, without any further ado:

Puerto Rican at Cleveland Mofongo Latin Grill: Great, crispy empanadas, tender pernil and some of the best beans and rice in the state. My new favorite Puerto Rican place. 11621 Lorain Ave., Cleveland. 216-415-5323. (Our own Alex Darus walks us through the best of Mofongo here).

Sandwiches at Black Box Fix: Whether it’s a chicken sandwich, fish sandwich or a Philly, they bring a unique twist to the sandwich game. 25359 Cedar Rd., Legacy Village, Lyndhurst. 216-675-3129. (Find Johnson’s TikTok on the subject here).

Shawarma at Ferris Shawarma: I stopped in this place on a whim. Massive portions, tender meat, great desserts. I fell in love. 13507 Lakewood Heights Blvd., Lakewood. 216-252-3354. (You can take a tour through the best Middle Eastern food according to Yelp here).

Tamales at La Plaza Supermarket & Taqueria: You can taste the difference between imitation and authentic. This place is the latter. 13609 Lakewood Heights Blvd., Lakewood. 216-476-8000. (Find Johnson’s TikTok on the subject here).

Wings at Kim’s Wings: The sauce and the crispiness on the wings make me feel things I haven’t felt since puberty. 14909 Saint Clair Ave. Cleveland, OH 44110. South Collinwood. 216-681-6644. (Part of our Best of Cleveland Wings poll, which can be found here).

Source link

Cleveland, OH

GCSC Summer Golf Classic | Greater Cleveland Sports Commission

Published

7 hours ago

August 4, 2024

Press Room

GCSC Summer Golf Classic | Greater Cleveland Sports Commission

Get Your Golf On!
Golfers of all abilities are invited to play in GCSC’s Summer Golf Classic presented by First National Bank on Monday, August 5, 2024 at Cleveland Metroparks Sleepy Hollow.
Join us for a day of 18 holes with cart featuring beverages, contests & prizes, lunch and a buffet dinner.
FORMAT:…

Source link

Cleveland, OH

Fatal shooting on east side after reports of large fight: Cleveland Police

Published

14 hours ago

August 4, 2024

Press Room

Fatal shooting on east side after reports of large fight: Cleveland Police

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – One man is dead after a shooting following reports of a large fight on the east side, according to Cleveland Police.

Police got reports of a large fight around 2:50 a.m. on Saturday in the 1000 block of East 71st Street.

While officers were en route, they learned that two people were shot.

Police located a 22-year-old man and a 24-year-old man who were both shot, according to a release.

Both of the men were taken to the hospital by EMS.

The 22-year-old man later died at the hospital.

The condition of the 24-year-old is unknown.

Cleveland Police homicide unit is investigating, according to police.

Source link

Cleveland, OH

WWE SummerSlam 2024 Results: Winners And Grades On August 3, 2024

Published

22 hours ago

August 4, 2024

Press Room

WWE SummerSlam 2024 results

Credit: WWE.com

WWE SummerSlam 2024 from Cleveland, Ohio advertised six championship matches. Among them was Solo Sikoa challenging Cody Rhodes for the WWE Undisputed Championship, LA Knight challenging Logan Paul for the WWE United States Championship, Sami Zayn defending the WWE Intercontinental Championship against Bron Breakker and GUNTHER challenging Damian Priest for the WWE World Championship.

This week’s broadcast of WWE Raw garnered 1.412 million viewers on SyFy after being preempted by the Olympics.

WWE SummerSlam Results | August 3, 2024

Liv Morgan def. Rhea Ripley | WWE Women’s World Championship
Bron Breakker def. Sami Zayn | WWE Intercontinental Championship
LA Knight def. Logan Paul | WWE United States Championship
Nia Jax def. Bayley | WWE Women’s Championship
Drew McIntyre def. CM Punk
GUNTHER def. Damian Priest | WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Cody Rhodes def. Solo Sikoa | WWE Undisputed Championship

WWE SummerSlam 2024 Ticket Sales

WWE SummerSlam 2024 Venue: Cleveland Browns Stadium (Cleveland, OH)
WWE SummerSlam 2024 Tickets Distributed: 55,858
WWE SummerSlam 2024 Tickets Available: 807

WWE Money In The Bank 2024 Winners And Grades

Liv Morgan Def. Rhea Ripley

Despite all the talk of The Judgment Day competing by themselves, Dominik Mysterio accompanied Rhea Ripley to the ring.

Michael Cole noted the last time Rhea Ripley lost a singles match was 26 months ago. To Liv Morgan.

This match started as a cat-and-mouse as Liv ran away from Ripley. Fans became frustrated and booed Liv loudly.

Rhea dominated this match until Liv Morgan dodged a charging Ripley and followed up by throwing her, shoulder-first, into the turnbuckle. Ripley could be heard (kayfabe) saying “it’s out, it’s out!”

Fans were split as they made dueling chants of “let’s go Rhea/let’s go Liv!”

Liv Morgan (kayfabe) popped her shoulder back into place by running herself into the announce table and fans went crazy.

Ripley hit the riptide, but did not pin Morgan. Instead, she grabbed a steel chair that Morgan brought into the ring. Mysterio grabbed the chair from her, which was the wise decision because she would have gotten herself disqualified. This led to an Oblivion for a nearfall and “holy s—t” chants.

Dom distracted the ref, leading to an Oblivion on the steel chair for the win. After the match, Dominik Mysterio kissed Liv Morgan and they left together.

Backstage, Damian Priest was furious with Dominik Mysterio for his actions. Finn and the rest of the Judgment Day vowed to go find him. I don’t trust them.

Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan Grade: A-

Bron Breakker Def. Sami Zayn

Bron Breakker hit his always impressive Breakkensteiner early on, then he proceeded to scream “quit!” at Sami Zayn.

Bron Breakker cut Sami Zayn off with a Spear, then he hit ayn with another Spear for the win. This wasn’t necessarily a squash match, but it was definitely a dominant win for Breakker.

Bron Breakker vs. Sami Zayn Grade: B

LA Knight Def. Logan Paul

Logan Paul wore a Cleveland-inspired American Flag vest and greeted two security guards on his way to the ring. One of hte security guards turned out to be Cleveland’s own MGK.

LA Knight shattered the glass on Logan Paul’s Prime vehicle before making his way to the ring.

Paul cleared the table, but LA Knight got the better of him with a modified TKO, though the table didn’t break.

Paul won these people over with a springboard moonsault on LA Knight. Though they cheered the spot, they eventually came to their senses and chanted “you still suck!”

After jumping up on the top rope, LA Knight hit a scary looking superplex. Fans chanted “this is awesome” after a nearfall.

Logan Paul borrowed brass knuckles from MGK. After a shot to LA Knight, Knight countered with a BFT.

Logan Paul vs. LA Knight Grade: A-

Nia Jax Def. Bayley

Bayley relentlessly knocked Nia Jax off her feet early in the match.

Nia Jax took control of the match, to the point where she hit the Annihilator, but Bayley kicked out.

Jax called herself “reckless” and “clumsy” while trash-talking Bayley on offense.

Bayley hit an awesome power bomb on Nia Jax from the top rope. The fans were fervently into a match that struggled to follow Logan Paul vs. LA Knight.

A Tiffany Stratton cash-in was thwarted by Bayley, but the distraction led to two power bombs and two Annihilators for the win.

Nia Jax vs. Bayley Grade: A-

Drew McIntyre Def. CM Punk

Seth Rollins walked out in a long cloak, and what was under the jacket was certain to be even wilder.

WWE used ref cameras on the referee’s ear, and there were never more ref cam shots than during Seth Rollins’ entrance.

Rollins’ referee outfit were baggy, bedazzled pants and a cutoff shirt similar to Shawn Michaels.

Fans chanted “CM Punk” to start the match as punk donned pink gear in homage to Bret Hart.

Rollins did a great job working the fans into a frenzy before ringing the bell. When the bell rang, Punk and McIntyre brawled like crazy.

Instead of counting to 10 while Punk and McIntyre were outside of the ring, Rollins instead chose to tie his shoes. Rollins also took immense pleasure in seeing Punk and Rollins beat the hell out of one another.

During an Anaconda Vice on McIntyre, Punk secured his friendship bracelet and the entire stadium celebrated.

Punk stopped his GTS on McIntyre dead in its tracks and confronted Rollins about wearing his bracelet, which Rollins picked up off the ground did wear, but out of no malice.

After a ref bump and a nearfall (followed by a second visual pinfall), Punk and Rollins got into a heated argument. Punk hit a Go To Sleep on Rollins and took his bracelet back, but it cost him the match.

Drew McIntyre vs. CM Punk Grade: B+

GUNTHER Def. Damian Priest

Finn Balor wished Damian Priest luck before the match. Famous last words.

GUNTHER already had chop marks on his chest before the match even started.

GUNTHER and Priest chopped the hell out of one another to the point where GUNTHER was bleeding from the chest.

Finn Balor hit the ring, presumably to save Priest, but he ended up costing Priest the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by putting GUNTHER’s leg on the bottom rope.

After this match, Jelly Roll, The Miz and R-Truth took out A-Town Down Under.

GUNTHER vs. Damian Priest Grade: B+

Cody Rhodes Def. Solo Sikoa

Cody Rhodes ran into Arn Anderson backstage, and Anderson said he called in a few favors to a few allies of Cody Rhodes. Some of whom he knows, some he doesn’t.

For a full recap of Cody vs. Solo Sikoa in Bloodline Rules, click here.

Source link