The Chicago Area’s Best Burgers Tournament starts on Sept. 4th

What better way to celebrate National Burger Day than announcing our new Chicago’s Very Own Eats Podcast tournament! The Chicago Area’s Best Burgers Tournament, sponsored by Turano Baking Company and Puckered Pickle Co., will launch on Thursday, September 4th. Kevin Powell and Michael Piff discussed all the details on a brand new CVOE episode. Listen […]

Billy Zurekait first joined Kevin Powell and Michael Piff on the Chicago’s Very Own Eats podcast in February of 2023, and now has been on 5 more times since then with their latest episode. As he raises awareness and funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Billy has grown from a home chef to an in-demand […]

When you have out-of-town company visiting the Chicago area, what’s the one thing you make sure is part of their experience? If your answer isn’t “pizza”, you’re a bad host and you need to fix that. Taking them on the original Chicago Pizza Tour is a great way to do so. Chicago Pizza Tours founder […]

For the three years that we’ve held our annual Chicago’s Best Beef Tournament, Turano Baking Company has been gracious enough to support it as a sponsor. Mario and Giancarlo Turano joined Kevin Powell and Michael Piff on the Chicago’s Very Own Eats podcast to talk about this year’s tournament, the history of their family’s business, […]

What’s the Chicago version of peanut butter and jelly? Well, Italian Beef and giardiniera, of course! But even as a co-sponsor of our 2025 Chicago’s Best Beef Tournament, Caruso Provisions aims to be more than a condiment for your dipped sandwich. Peter Caruso, co-owner of Caruso Provisions, joined Kevin Powell and Michael Piff on the […]

Before the 2025 Chicago’s Best Beef Tournament kicks off on Thursday, Rich Bartell from Bob-O’s joined Kevin Powell and Michael Piff on the Chicago’s Very Own Eats podcast to talk about defending their championship title. Rich shared with Kevin and Michael what it was like from a business owner’s perspective being on the competing end […]

WGN Radio’s Senior Digital Strategist and co-host of the Chicago’s Very Own Eats podcast Michael Piff joins Wendy Snyder (in for Bob Sirott) to talk about the third edition of WGN’s ‘Chicago’s Best Beef Tournament’, sponsored by Turano Baking Company and Caruso Provisions. Michael details this year’s bracket which features 64 mom-and-pop restaurants from the […]

What began as a day to celebrate “the most Chicago food item of all,” has now expanded into a month-long celebration. The family behind the winner of our inaugural Chicago’s Best Beef Tournament, the Buonavolantos, joined forces with the Scalas and Pacellis (from Al’s Beef) to petition for a National Italian Beef Day, and this […]

Like many of us pizza lovers, Jerry and Nancy Czerwinski had “Pizza Fridays” with their family, picking up Lou Malnati’s and Pequod’s every week. When they moved to Cary, Jerry bought a 25-pound bag of flour, and began making his own pizzas at home, which slowly well known throughout the community. Located in the heart […]

After 4 weeks of voting on 128 Chicago area pizza places, with more than 95,000 votes casted by WGN Radio listeners and pizza lovers, we have a new Chicago Pizza Madness Champion! The championship was down to Uncle Jerry’s from the North Region and Rosati’s from the Local Chain Region. Jon Hansen was joined by […]