4...Nf6 looks like a good antidote to 4.Nf4?! to me - intending ...d5 versus most, whilst 5.Bc4 can be met by 5...Nxe4 (and/or a6). And 5.Bb5 can be met by 5...Nd4

You know, you're probably right.  Most of those ...f5s were analysis in which I didn't push d7-d6.  I didn't check the position as I was typing. 

The practical problem I had with letting White stew in his own juices is that I know he plays h4-h5 and g4 at every opportunity.  I wanted active play in the center and to castle kingside only after he had already castled.  But perhaps you are right.  Finding the right moves to keep the position near the boiling point while he stewed was difficult in a timed game.

Hi, I recently faced someone online who only plays this variation.  I thought it was so bad that I could bust it with relatively little effort.  I was wrong.

I chose:

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 (Others had tried 2...d6 and even 2...e5, but seemed to get the worse position pretty quickly.  I think 2...e6 is critical against this as long as White doesn't revert back to the Open Sicilians.) 3.Nge2 Nc6 4.Nf4?! (This is White's key move, and the one that had me believing his system was just wrong.) g6 5.Bc4 Bg7 6.a3!/!? (I didn't expect this at all.  I had worked out other lines that gave Black a major advantage, but failed to take this quiet move into account.) Nge7 7.d3 d6 (7...d5 runs into trouble, but perhaps 7...f5 is good.) 8.Bd2 (I hate this move but it stresses that Black hasn't really challenged the opening yet.  I decided to go for a Q-side attack, but perhaps 8...f5 was the right way.) a6 9.h4 b5 10.Ba2 (During the game I thought this was a mistake, but again I may be wrong.) b4!?/?! 11.Na4 d5 (This is playable, but again 11...f5 may have been better.)

I managed to get equality out of the opening, but my opponent's superior sense of where the pieces belong in the resulting middlegame added to his time advantage and tactical skill defeated me.

I haven't found any model games based on Nge2-f4.  Does anyone know anything about this opening and how to play against it?