We Opened a Cheesesteak Spot With Skinny Joey — Here's How It Happened

Joe, Johnny, and Gene are back at the booth for episode 5, and they cover a lot of ground. Johnny breaks down how a cheesesteak spot in Wildwood came together through a chance connection with Skinny Joey Merlino's crew, and the guys debate whether it could eventually franchise all the way to Seattle. From there, they get into the old neighborhood geography of South Philly and South Jersey, talking about which blocks, parishes, and high schools defined where you stood socially growing up.The conversation drifts into classic 80s nostalgia, from designer jeans (Sassoon, Cavarici's, Z-Cavs) and knockoff leather jackets to who was allowed to like Michael Jackson in South Philly versus Cherry Hill, and the strict cultural rules around what you could and couldn't wear if you grew up Italian downtown. Gene drops a confession about being a die-hard MJ fan, and Joe admits he borrowed a Thriller jacket from a classmate named Young Kim for one period of class.They also get into Philly sports, the Don Mattingly era Phillies, the old blackout rules when teams didn't sell out, and the legendary club scene on Route 70 in Cherry Hill. The episode wraps up with listener voicemails, a full-on moon landing conspiracy debate, and a very sincere plug for Johnny's Louis Vuitton cologne, Imagination, which runs $380 a bottle.