The Scoop Behind 93.9 The River’s Food and Music Radio Show, “Lick The Plate”

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You may be able to find a picture of David Boylan in the dictionary under “living the dream.” He’s the radio host of 93.9 FM The River’s food and music radio show, “Lick The Plate.” He splits his time between Detroit and San Diego, where he also hosts Lick The Plate San Diego for KPRi and writes the eponymous food column for The Coast News.

Lick The Plate on 93.9 The River is on during the first break of the 5 p.m., 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. hours. His shows are all over the map, and that’s exactly the way he likes it. He will go old school one week and invite the owners of Roma Cafe, Detroit’s oldest Italian restaurant whose guests included the Rat Pack, and then invite the staff from Gold Cash Gold, one of Corktown’s hottest restaurants, the next week.

Producing Lick The Plate at a restaurant.  Photo courtesy: Lick The Plate.
Producing Lick The Plate at Gusoline Alley in Royal Oak with bartender Patrick Tierney. Photo courtesy: Lick The Plate.

David’s path to food radio started during his summer job on a corporate yacht in the Grosse Point Yacht Club.

“I was surrounded by amazing food on a daily basis,” David said. “That is where I really became a foodie. I was exposed to this world of fancy food and cruising.”

He graduated from Grand Valley State University with a degree in marketing. From there, he worked at various agencies before starting Artichoke Creative, his own agency, where a lot of his clients are restaurants and growers. He started the Lick The Plate column seven years ago, which grew into the San Diego KPRi show a few years later.

“I knew [KPRi] from marketing connections,” David said. “The timing was right and they knew I had a way with words.”

Lick The Plate Detroit premiered March 2015.

“I pitched it to [93.9] and they said yes with no hesitation,” said David. “In the age of Yelp, everybody is a critic. We are not a review show. We talk about our guests’ beginning, influences, and where they like to eat and drink around town. There are so many good stories in the culinary world.”

David sees the show as the vehicle that will help him return to Detroit permanently. While it is clear David got a dream gig through sharp business acumen, the seed could not have sprouted without passion.

“Get out there, experience it and write,” David said. “It’s a discipline thing for me to have those deadlines. It’s not easy and it’s difficult to make a decent living at it unless you get lucky and fall into something. There are all kinds of things we want to grow this into and that is where my marketing background helps. I want to monetize it.”