Nice article on Gregg:

https://www.mysuburbanlife.com/2019/06/28/westmont-remembers-gregg-pills-zest-for-life/awunvpr https://www.mysuburbanlife.com/2019/06/28/westmont-remembers-gregg-pills-zest-for-life/awunvpr/

Some picture from our Nashville trip- 

Gregg was “in his element” The top pic was from Monells, a delicious Sunday farewell brunch.

A big smile on his face, he was always happy to see you. 

The bottom pic was from the Loveless Cafe- Gregg was in the middle of the table, 

and “head and shoulders above” the rest of us. 

He will be missed by everyone who knew him, 

His memory will always be a blessing. 

Condolences to Patti and the rest of his family – there are no words. 

I was fortunate to be Gregg’s eating partner on his first Contingent Roadfood tour. He was the first one to sign up for the tour. He’d eat half the food we’d split before any one could take pictures, which had me laughing throughout the entire day. Loved your post, Buddy!

RE: Vienna Tour de Beef Chicago Feb 10th Sat, 02/10/07 7:27 PM (permalink)

Nick, we’re glad to have you with us. Here’s my review of the tour:

1. Ten hungry souls converged on the Wiener & Still Champion in Evanston at 11:00. Guspas and his crew of two fed us an array of Vienna Beef dogs. I had Gus prepare a CSD inspired francheezie for me. He wrapped bacon around a natural casing Vienna Beef dog and dropped it into the fryer. Once the bacon was crisp, the dog was placed in a steamed poppy seed bun and covered with melted Merkt’s cheddar cheese. It was an an artery clogging dream come true. When gus arrived at my table to take pictures of this creation, it was gone, along with half of Chitowndiner’s excellent cheddar fries

2. The second stop was Poochie’s. I had a char cheddar polish with grilled onions and a Green River. This has always been my traditional Poochie’s meal. The carmelized grilled onions are absolutely terrific. The char salami sandwich and cheddar fries were also a big hit. Chris, the owner, spent time schmoozing with us, which made the experience even richer.

3. We decided to drop Portillo’s from the tour and headed to fRedhots & Fries in Glenview. Fred, the owner, had posted signs welcoming our Roadfood tour. I was hot dogged out at this point, so I shifted gears and enjoyed a brat and some fries with Chitowndiner. I’ll revisit fRedhots in March, when they feature their reindeer dog. I also want to try their Vienna Beef dogs and their fries with the various dips which every one seemed to be enjoying. 

4. We decided to drop Michaels from the tour and headed to Stash’s in Highland Park. Since I completely lost interest in eating another encased meat, I opted for excellent 1/2 pound char cheddar burger with grilled onions, that I split with Chitown diner. My standard bill of fare at Stash’s is a char cheddar Polish or char cheddar burger. After that, I couldn’t eat another thing and they were passing out free chicken wings to sample. Each participant received eight Vienna Beef natural casing hot dogs with a bottle of Stadium spicy mustard, courtesy of CSD & The Grateful Dog. Dog owners received hot dog squeeze toys for their pooch.

Thanks to Gus, Chris, Fred, and Bobby and all the participants. It was a great adventure and we’ll do another one when the weather allows t-shirts and shorts.

CSD

We both came bearing gifts the first time we met.  I brought Barbecue Sauce, and the man I then only knew as ChiTownDiner brought a T-shirt from his favorite Westmont BBQ Joint, Uncle Bub s.  I was familiar with the place, and thought their  Que was okay, but nothing special.  I never told him that, because from the moment I met him I wanted him to be my friend.

That was his magic.  It didn t matter who you were, you wanted Gregg Pill to be your friend.  We disagreed on politics, the merits of an Excel Spreadsheet versus a Word generated Itinerary in planning a Crawl; we even had a public squabble or two, but through it all I still always wanted him to be my friend.  Everyone wanted that.  Fortunately, there was plenty of Gregg to go around.

That first meeting took place on an outing organized by chicagostyledog; http://forums.roadfood.com/Vienna-Tour-de-Beef-Chicago-Feb-10th-m263997.aspx?high=poochie%27s a Vienna Beef Tour of Chicago s North Shore Suburbs.  Gregg was the new kid that day.  He was excited about meeting all of us and we welcomed him immediately.  Like I said, everyone wanted to be his friend.

The tour thread was just five pages long, including the planning stage and the report.  Gregg only posted in it a handful of times. http://forums.roadfood.com/FindPost/264083 His longest effort was a review of the day.  Reading it reveals a very different guy than the one we d all come to know and love.  He was still a little green back then.  He hadn t learned about pacing yourself and not overindulging at any one stop (did he ever learn?).  He had to call it quits before the last stop at Portillo s for their famous Chocolate Cake.   He was satisfied back then to take a passive role and let others lead the way.  He was just so happy to be hanging with the cool kids.  Eventually he d be the cool-kid-in-chief.

That day lit a fire in our boy.  He became a first-class Roadfood Explorer, always on the hunt for the next great discovery.  He loved to share a new find, and he inspired others to do the same.  I marveled at his ability to root out a worthy candidate and always enjoyed the places he brought me.  I always hoped he thought as highly of my picks as I did his.

Last year we had one of those public spats I mentioned.  I was unhappy about his ramping up the vote leading us to choose Minneapolis/St. Paul for the 2018 Crawl.   I wasn t mad about the outcome, but rather the path we took to get there.

Instead of handling it privately, as I should have, I called him out in public. Gregg responded in kind.  Words were exchanged, and people predicted the whole Crawl would crash and burn.  It didn t.  And we never gave up our friendship, in spite of the short-lived rancor.  We forgave each other almost immediately, but http://forums.roadfood.com/FindPost/874755 “officially” resolved our differences weeks later over a Poochie s Char Salami (no Cortados for this guy), served on a bun (not the usual French Bread); Merkt s Cheddar, mustard, grilled onions, and relish.

I made a point that day of wearing the same Uncle Bub s T-shirt he gave me 11 years earlier when we exchanged gifts right there in the parking lot of Poochie s.  And I made sure he knew it.  Any remaining trace of anger or resentment faded away.  We were two old friends who d shared so much, and cared for each other enough that we weren t going to let a stupid internet fight ruin a good thing.

There may still be some folks who doubt our friendship was as strong after that outburst, but I know for a fact we were okay.  The proof came months later on the last day of the MSP Crawl.&nbs,12,882994.002002001001001001002001001001001001001001001002002001001001001002001001002,25,55879,108.68.161.213
883147,883051,883146,2019-06-25 20:05:47.840000000,Re: How Solly’s makes a butterburger”

We both came bearing gifts the first time we met.  I brought Barbecue Sauce, and the man I then only knew as ChiTownDiner brought a T-shirt from his favorite Westmont BBQ Joint, Uncle Bub s.  I was familiar with the place, and thought their  Que was okay, but nothing special.  I never told him that, because from the moment I met him I wanted him to be my friend.

That was his magic.  It didn t matter who you were, you wanted Gregg Pill to be your friend.  We disagreed on politics, the merits of an Excel Spreadsheet versus a Word generated Itinerary in planning a Crawl; we even had a public squabble or two, but through it all I still always wanted him to be my friend.  Everyone wanted that.  Fortunately, there was plenty of Gregg to go around.

That first meeting took place on an outing organized by chicagostyledog; http://forums.roadfood.com/Vienna-Tour-de-Beef-Chicago-Feb-10th-m263997.aspx?high=poochie%27s a Vienna Beef Tour of Chicago s North Shore Suburbs.  Gregg was the new kid that day.  He was excited about meeting all of us and we welcomed him immediately.  Like I said, everyone wanted to be his friend.

The tour thread was just five pages long, including the planning stage and the report.  Gregg only posted in it a handful of times. http://forums.roadfood.com/FindPost/264083 His longest effort was a review of the day.  Reading it reveals a very different guy than the one we d all come to know and love.  He was still a little green back then.  He hadn t learned about pacing yourself and not overindulging at any one stop (did he ever learn?).  He had to call it quits before the last stop at Portillo s for their famous Chocolate Cake.   He was satisfied back then to take a passive role and let others lead the way.  He was just so happy to be hanging with the cool kids.  Eventually he d be the cool-kid-in-chief.

That day lit a fire in our boy.  He became a first-class Roadfood Explorer, always on the hunt for the next great discovery.  He loved to share a new find, and he inspired others to do the same.  I marveled at his ability to root out a worthy candidate and always enjoyed the places he brought me.  I always hoped he thought as highly of my picks as I did his.

Last year we had one of those public spats I mentioned.  I was unhappy about his ramping up the vote leading us to choose Minneapolis/St. Paul for the 2018 Crawl.   I wasn t mad about the outcome, but rather the path we took to get there.

Instead of handling it privately, as I should have, I called him out in public. Gregg responded in kind.  Words were exchanged, and people predicted the whole Crawl would crash and burn.  It didn t.  And we never gave up our friendship, in spite of the short-lived rancor.  We forgave each other almost immediately, but http://forums.roadfood.com/FindPost/874755 “officially” resolved our differences weeks later over a Poochie s Char Salami (no Cortados for this guy), served on a bun (not the usual French Bread); Merkt s Cheddar, mustard, grilled onions, and relish.

I made a point that day of wearing the same Uncle Bub s T-shirt he gave me 11 years earlier when we exchanged gifts right there in the parking lot of Poochie s.  And I made sure he knew it.  Any remaining trace of anger or resentment faded away.  We were two old friends who d shared so much, and cared for each other enough that we weren t going to let a stupid internet fight ruin a good thing.

There may still be some folks who doubt our friendship was as strong after that outburst, but I know for a fact we were okay.  The proof came months later on the last day of the MSP Crawl.  We were all standing in th,12,882994.002002001001001001002001001001001001001001001002002001001001001002001001,24,23309,69.47.73.79
883135,882994,883133,2019-06-25 12:50:50.397000000,Re: The post no one wants to write”

My favorite picture of Gregg.  We miss you so much! 

TJ,

Michael Stern posted on Facebook that he selected the review and photo.

Jim

Bravo, Mr Stern

I love Gregg Pill& ..I never realized how much until now.  Gregg and I conversed just about every day for at least the last 3 � years, by Facebook, Messenger, text and phone.  As with everyone who knew Gregg, there is a big hole in our lives, especially his dear family.  I spent the last several days looking over our many messages and texts, I was laughing and crying at the same time.  I miss him every day.
 
Gregg never sought to be the center of attention, but, he was always the center of attention.  He is a larger than life personality that draws people in.  His warmth, knowledge and kindness can never be replaced.  Some of the best times of my life were spent on Roadfood excursions(BeekCake) with Gregg at the wheel.  Gregg exemplified what Roadfood was all about, whenever there was a meet-up, Gregg was like a kid in the candy store with his Spreadsheet and his Cheshire Cat Grins.
 
Gregg had so many dear friends, you would consider him a very lucky guy& & .actually, his dear friends are the lucky ones.  Gregg is the only guy I know who could attend a town meeting in the morning, work, lunch with friends and a musical with Patti in the evening& & ..7 days a week!
 
Gregg, we may not be able to converse every day, but I think of you every day.  God Bless You and Your Bella Famiglia!

Thank you Joe for putting into words what so many of us are feeling.

David

I love Gregg Pill& ..I never realized how much until now.� Gregg and I conversed just about every day for at least the last 3 � years, by Facebook, Messenger, text and phone.� As with everyone who knew Gregg, there is a big hole in our lives, especially his dear family. �I spent the last several days looking over our many messages and texts, I was laughing and crying at the same time.� I miss him every day.
�
Gregg never sought to be the center of attention, but, he was always the center of attention.� He is a larger than life personality that draws people in.� His warmth, knowledge and kindness can never be replaced.� Some of the best times of my life were spent on Roadfood excursions(BeekCake) with Gregg at the wheel.� Gregg exemplified what Roadfood was all about, whenever there was a meet-up, Gregg was like a kid in the candy store with his Spreadsheet and his Cheshire Cat Grins.
�
Gregg had so many dear friends, you would consider him a very lucky guy& & .actually, his dear friends are the lucky ones.� Gregg is the only guy I know who could attend a town meeting in the morning, work, lunch with friends and a musical with Patti in the evening& & ..7 days a week!
�
Gregg, we may not be able to converse every day, but I think of you every day.� God Bless You and Your Bella Famiglia!

My favorite picture of Gregg.  

I never met Gregg, but I sure felt like I knew him.  This news is horribly sad. 

Rest Peacefully, Gregg.

mar, you would’ve loved him.  We all did!  

When he was undergoing cancer treatment a decade or so ago,
To say that Gregg made the most of a second chance at life would be an understatement of considerable proportion.  Even so, he still got shortchanged.