Chicago-area native Mark DeCarlo has built quite an impressive and varied career in the entertainment business. About 20 years ago he added travel to his résumé.
Bitten by the comedy bug early in life, DeCarlo started his career on stage in comedy clubs. Around that time he also became the all-time money winner on television’s Sale of the Century. Money he earned from that appearance allowed him extra time to get his career going, and he never looked back. Since then, DeCarlo has hosted game shows; acted on several shows, including Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm; became the voice of Hugh Neutron and other cartoon characters; and more. He also won three Emmy awards for his work on Windy City Live.
In 2004 DeCarlo entered the world of travel with the debut of Taste of America with Mark DeCarlo on the Travel Channel. Several years later, DeCarlo and his wife, Yeni Álvarez, launched their travel podcast, A Fork on the Road. Although it was derailed during the pandemic, DeCarlo and Alvarez are in the process of restarting it.
Recently, I interviewed DeCarlo about his career, including getting his insight on travel and food. From visits to more than 400 cities and even more restaurants, DeCarlo has a wealth of knowledge about everything from 5-star spots to fantastic underrated gems. As a fellow Chicagoan, I also had to ask DeCarlo about Chicago pizza and the Cubs.
Talking Travel is a new interview series on Global Traveler. Subscribe to the GT YouTube channel to be notified of all future interviews and other travel-related videos.
— John Wroblewski, online writer
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