MM-MM Goodwin

Former MSU student making a name for himself as a Twin Cities foodie influencer

By Joe Tougas '86

If there’s a drawback to following Davon Goodwin ’17 on Instagram or TikTok, it’s the food cravings that hit immediately upon viewing his posts. 

For buffalo catfish. Or a stack of four ribs on a johnny cake. Or fettuccini noodles slathered in shrimp jambalaya. And it doesn’t help that his baritone narration sounds like Barry White describing the first bites of a perfect Beef Wellington.

The advantage to following “Devouring With Davon” is discovering where you can get these kinds of dishes in the Twin Cities metro area, along with how they taste, look and what the story is behind the restaurants where they are served.

In each of his video reviews of restaurants, Goodwin explains why he’s checking a particular place out; a typical video gives the viewer shots of a restaurant’s interior and exterior, the proprietors, the food he’s chosen, the company he’s keeping and, throughout, his take on it all.

It’s done with a style that hearkens back to his days at MSU.

Goodwin, who was raised in St. Paul, graduated with a degree in multi-disciplinary studies in 2017. A highlight of his time at MSU, he said, was putting together stories in an audio documentary class led by communications professor David Engen. Goodwin recalled creating a piece on a Latino-owned barbershop that catered to black men.

“That was really huge to me,” he said. A lot of us had to go to the Cities to get our hair cut. We talked to the barber, recorded the buzz of the clippers…” 

Engen recalls the project as indicative of Goodwin’s storytelling savvy.

“Davon's work back then already had that quality of being fun and engaging but also exploring bigger topics like race and place," Engen said.

The reporting, the narrating and the editing process in Engen’s class all served Goodwin well when he started creating food and restaurant reviews three years ago. 

Sometimes the restaurant owners knows he’s coming, sometimes they do not. Other times they reach out to him asking for a review. He’s happy to oblige as it occasionally means a free meal – but he doesn’t alter his opinion if something’s not to his liking. He also isn’t swayed by  some of his viewers, who encourage him to get brutal in his videos if he doesn’t like the food. 

“If there’s something I don’t like on the menu, I’ll say ‘I don’t like it. it’s not for me,’ but I’m not going to call it trash or anything,” he said. “I’m a real positive person, and I like to put out my positive energy to things.”

In addition to reviewing area eateries, Goodwin is a software engineer for Target and its online customer services. In that role, he’s headed up special events for employees of color at Target, including an event that brought Target employees from around the country to the Twin Cities “in a powerful moment of food, fellowship and connection,” he said. 

He’s unsure how long “Devouring With Davon” will continue in its current form, but he does want to parlay it into some form of community support for local businesses. 

“I’d describe myself as someone who brings people together, through events, mentorship, food or storytelling,” he says. “I’m also a creative problem-solver who enjoys finding ways to build meaningful connections.”

If anything the series will give him notoriety with small businesses and allow him to help them, one review at a time.

“I love supporting local,” he said. “I like giving them exposure they need. A lot of local spots don’t have the money to pay for a big commercial that’ll be on TV and seen by thousands of people.”

Engen and Goodwin stay in touch, and Engen’s a fan of the series.

"I love watching ‘Devouring with Davon’ because I know Davon and enjoy learning about the food and the places,” Engen says. “But I also love watching because it's clear Davon sees things out there that people might easily overlook. He pays attention in an important and unique way."