The Preston and Steve Cast On What Got Them Through the Past Year
From Delco barbecue to the best potato soup in Philly to, yes, vodka.
The Preston and Steve cast poses like Queen on the cover of Queen II. Clockwise from bottom left: Casey Boy, Kathy Romano, Steve Morrison, Nick McIlwain, Marisa Magnatta and Preston Elliot. (Photo by Linette & Kyle Kielinski, courtesy of Preston and Steve)
As part of our annual Best of Philly coverage, we’ve been asking local celebrities what got them through this last oh-so-long year. Here’s what the team behind the hit WMMR Preston & Steve Show had to say.
Preston Elliot
“I started tinkering around with performing drum covers on my YouTube channel. It was both fun and time-consuming, so it was perfect for the lockdown.”
Here’s Preston playing drums on Rush’s “The Spirit of Radio”:
Steve Morrison
“At the beginning of the pandemic, we decided quickly that the best way to do our show would be to comfort through projecting normalcy. The easiest way to do this would be to come into the studio and do our show just as we had always done. Saying ‘Everything is going to be okay’ and then sounding as if we were delivering that message from mic booths in our bedroom closets wasn’t going to work. Long story short, sticking to that edict helped us keep our sanity, and from what many of our listeners have said, it did the same for them.”
Marisa Magnatta
“The potato soup from Cherry Street Tavern. [Editor’s note: We love the roast beef sandwich at Cherry Street Tavern.] It’s my favorite soup in the city. Doesn’t matter the weather. I will order a bowl every time it’s there, 365 days a year. Once they were able to open again, I was happy to bundle up like I was heading to an Eagles game so I could sit anywhere but my apartment and enjoy a bowl of ‘normal.'”
Kathy Romano
“Neighborhood outdoor boot camp workouts with trainers David Yontef and Chris Frank. Outdoor yoga and lots of handstands with Angela from Sol Yoga Conshohocken. And to-go skinny margaritas from Plaza Azteca, to void any calorie-burning I did throughout the week. Also, I think I finished Netflix!”
Nick McIlwain
“At the beginning of the pandemic, when we didn’t really know what was going on or where we could go or if we needed to bleach our groceries, the good folks at Stateside Vodka delivered a case of vodka to my house. My girlfriend and I stocked up on limes and seltzer and Reed’s ginger beer. Even on those tough days where we couldn’t go anywhere, we could have a little bit of fun and normalcy hanging out and hiding at home.”
Casey Boy
“I had a conversation with my wife about this, and we came to the realization that the Best of Philly, for us, has been the Preston & Steve listeners. We cannot thank them enough for what they continued to do for the Philly community through the pandemic.
“Early in March of 2020, we recognized the frontline workers in our area. We put thank-you signs on the lawns of those workers, and they were all nominated by our listeners. Then, in June of 2020, we held our annual I Bleed for Preston and Steve blood drive, and our listeners showed up by the hundreds to donate.
“Later in the summer, I rode in the Ben to the Shore Bike Tour. It ended up being canceled, but my team showed up anyway. They all raised money and rode with me from Cape May to Atlantic City in honor of the charity. They didn’t have to do that, but they did it anyway.
“In November, we weren’t sure how the Campout for Hunger would go, but with the help of our listeners, we raised more than 2.5 million pounds of food and $1.7 million for Philabundance. And just recently, we held our blood drive again, and our listeners came out and donated 778 units of blood for the Red Cross.
“On a lighter note, I have to give my Best of Philly nod to Wilson’s Secret Sauce for having — hands down — the best barbecue brisket I have ever had. During COVID, their carryout has fed me and my family for a number of Eagles games as well as for Christmas and Easter.”
