Meet Mike

Mike Romaine is the guy behind The Polk Squeeze.

He lives in Auburndale with his wife Katie and their dog, Gimli, and spends most of his time exploring the restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries, and hidden food spots around Polk County.

When he's not eating or exploring you can find Mike writing (he’s been writing online for over a decade), or working out (to be able to eat even more...).

Mike’s a small business owner himself, which is part of what inspired him to start The Polk Squeeze. He knows how much work and passion local owners put into the places that make Polk County unique.

Mike realized he had problems...he needed:

  • A place to easily see what's going on in Polk County each week.
  • A reason to try more local food spots.
  • A way to support local businesses.

So he created The Polk Squeeze with his wife Katie to solve them both.

If there’s great pizza, tacos, burgers, BBQ, or coffee somewhere in Polk County, Mike is probably already there checking it out.

Before The Polk Squeeze...

Mike has spent more than a decade building websites, publishing online, and creating digital content.

Before starting The Polk Squeeze, he built several online brands and communities across fitness, writing, and digital media.

One of those projects, Superhero Jacked, was even featured in The New York Times while covering the growth of online fitness businesses.

His work has also appeared in a number of major publications including:

That same curiosity for discovering interesting things and sharing them with people is what eventually led to starting The Polk Squeeze.

What Happens Each Week Inside The Polk Squeeze?

Every Thursday morning The Polk Squeeze lands in inboxes across Polk County with the best things happening around the county.

What to Eat. Where to Go. The Good Life in Polk.

Inside each edition you’ll find things like:

📅 The Weekly Event List
The most interesting things happening around Polk County that week — markets, festivals, live music, local events, and more.

🏆 Best Food In Polk
Local rankings and guides to help people discover the best pizza, burgers, tacos, coffee shops, and more.

🍽️ The Polk Food Quest
Mike and Katie visit restaurants across the county and ranks them on taste, value, vibes, and the overall experience.

Some weeks it’s a brand new restaurant.
Some weeks it’s a local festival.
Sometimes it’s a hole-in-the-wall spot you’ve driven past for years but never tried.

If it’s worth checking out around Polk County, there’s a good chance it shows up in The Polk Squeeze.

Our Team

katie romaine

Co-Founder, Head of Events &

Dietary Restriction Testing

Ryan romaine

Contributor &

Secondary Food Tester

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