When Adam Scherr came to Orlando 12 years ago, he’d never lived outside his hometown of Sherrills Ford, North Carolina. His dreams were as big as he was (6’8″, 350 pounds) and he needed sustenance to keep up the build that would help lead him to WWE superstardom as Braun Strowman, The Monster of all Monsters. But he didn’t have much money.
“I was just driving around one day and I saw the Beefy King sign,” says Strowman, who was couch surfing with friends at the time. “I’ve always been a fan of mom-and-pop establishments.” In fact, his first job was bussing tables at a place called Butcher Boys Cafe back home.
“I tried Beefy and was like, ‘Wow! This is really good. And I can afford it. Knowing I could get something that met my macros, that could give me my calories and that it was good quality? I kind of fell in love with the place.”
And they with him, says third-gen Beefy King owner Shannon Woodrow.
“We’d see him a lot. And he was just the sweetest,” she says. “Big smile, so friendly … He’s just a great person. I know he looks huge and intimidating, but he’s truly one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.”
“Destruction is his passion…” his WWE.com superstar profile reads, but on Strowman’s new USA Network show, “Everything on the Menu,” the only thing this monster destroys are a few XL Beefies at one of Orlando’s most iconic sandwich joints, and a henhouse worth of yakitori, among other things, at Tori Tori in Mills 50, as he eats his way through his adopted hometown.
Plus, a few stereotypes.
Wrestling superstar Braun Strowman, pictured here with third-generation Beefy King owner Shannon Woodrow, has been a regular at the Milk District mainstay for the past 12 years. (Courtesy Beefy King)
“A lot of people are quick to judge a book by its cover,” says Strowman, a glass-half-full kinda guy, as affable as he is enormous. “People see my stature and the luck and blessings of what I have, and they don’t see what it took to get here.”
Strowman’s beginnings were humble.
“We didn’t have a lot growing up, but we never went without a meal, and mom and dad were unbelievable cooks in what they were able to provide, making great dishes out of nothing sometimes,” he says. “I never had that opportunity to dive into the finer side of the culinary space. Steak was a birthday or Christmas thing.”
This photo doesn’t showcase it, but WWE “Monster Among Men” Braun Strowman has a cuddly side. He showcases this neatly, while stuffing his face, on his new show “Everything on the Menu.” (Courtesy USA Network)
Traveling the world with the WWE opened his eyes to the riches of kitchens, both domestic and international.
“It taught me how much I like experiencing new things,” he says, “and now I like to help other people do the same, step outside their normal box and try something different. That’s what life is all about.”
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On “Menu,” Strowman showcases his range, not only as an on-air personality (no ambulance-flipping here) but as a gourmand. Season 1’s episodes take him across the nation — Fort Worth, Texas; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Washington, D.C. and more — each featuring a humble hometown favorite where he consumes the classics and a hotspot where he dogs, you guessed it: everything on the menu.
A Michelin Guide-recognized Tori Tori, this takes up an entire low table in the trendy eatery’s lounge space. Unlike the folks at Beefy, chef/owner Sean “Sonny” Nguyen only met Strowman on the day of the shoot. But by the end, the two became kitchen buddies, bonding like bros.
“We may or may not have served each other some sake using a spray bottle while cooking,” Nguyen quips, but says it was an honor to be chosen to represent the city on a national level.
What did Braun Strowman eat on his visit to trendy Orlando izakaya Tori Tori? Literally “Everything on the Menu.” (Courtesy USA Network)
“He’s such a great guy and has a great palate and just appreciates food. We made him literally everything on the Tori Tori menu: every single skewer, every single bar bite, every single raw-bar item. He had a taste of it all in one sitting, and what really surprised me is that he was able to pinpoint flavors and ingredients used just by tasting them. He’s serious about his food.”
But not too serious, which is part of what makes the show enjoyable. As does his interest in supporting local. Not just restaurants, but the entire community. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, says Woodrow, Strowman, by then a yearslong regular, came in as often as he could.
Beefy King’s longtime menu has a brand-new offering: The Monster, a Braun Strowman-created behemoth featuring five different meats, plus cheese. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)
“And at that point he asked if he could donate $2,500 worth of Beefy King to all the hospital workers,” she says. Strowman partnered with another of his favorites, Jimmy Hula’s, to do the same.
“We were able to help a thousand Advent Orlando Health employees on the front lines,” he tells me.
“It speaks volumes about these restaurants, what they do, what they mean to the community, what they’re continually doing and it’s an amazing thing to be a part of.”
As both a wrestling fan and a Beefy King fan, I had to sample the restaurant’s new Braun Strowman-inspired Monster. No, I didn’t finish it. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)
Now, he’s a part of Beefy King’s near 60-year history, as The Monster, the Strowman-spawned sando you’ll see on the show, is a massive new menu add featuring turkey, ham, corned beef, pastrami and roast beef with cheese ($16.50).
Strowman, who says it’s a “humbling honor,” even signed a Beefy King visor as a surprise for the first person to order the sandwich, who Woodrow says was thrilled.
“He was a huge wrestling fan and came in just because of the show,” says Woodrow, whose team congratulated him in the middle of the lunch rush. “He went outside and took a picture with it in front of the sign, and he was just beaming.”
Strowman, who’s also amid the launch of Quintaliza, a new certified-organic tequila brand, calls himself blessed.
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“Because there is no Braun Strowman, no ‘Everything on the Menu,’ no Adam Scherr being who he is right now without my fans, without this community … and having the close relationships with these restaurants in the city is the least I could do.”
He’s more than just “being gigantic,” he says.
“I have something inside me that puts smiles on people’s faces. I’m good at it. And I absolutely love doing it.”
Catch all eight episodes of “Everything on the Menu,” including Orlando’s, on the USA Network.
Want to reach out? Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com. For more foodie fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.