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.

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).