PHILADELPHIA -- This morning I was given a $100 cheese steak, a little bit of brotherly love and the chance to uncover the sordid truth about America’s favorite weatherman, all atop the Philadelphia Art Museum steps that Rocky climbed.

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It all may result in a restraining order against me, but I must say, it was the perfect Philadelphia morning.

On Tuesday morning weatherman Al Roker broadcasted his "Today Show" segments live from the new "10! Show" studio and from the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum, and I got to follow the famous meteorologist throughout the day.

Always dedicated to delivering hard-hitting investigative stories to my readers, I was up at 4:45 a.m., ready and waiting for Roker’s arrival, determined to reveal the slimy underbelly of celebrity that always seems to rear its ugly head behind the scenes. I knew that with old-fashioned reporting skills and tough questions, this well-loved and seemingly jovial character would be unmasked for who he really is.

No one is really that jolly.

Roker arrived at 6:30 a.m. with three NBC colleagues as his “entourage” and was almost immediately put on a squeaky lift for a "Today Show" shot. In preparation for the shot, he was raised and lowered to the sound of un-oiled screeching metal that would put your hair on end. Ha! Here it comes!

But Roker was patient, unbothered and smiling the whole time.

While standing 20 feet in the air as the TV monitors showed the Today Show reporting on a recent interview with princes Charles, William and Harry, Roker joked with the crew about Britain’s royal family, pointing out that we kicked them out 230 years ago, so why do we care?

“The only prince I care about is a dog,” said Roker. “And spaghetti. Prince spaghetti.”

Ah ha! I scribbled in my notebook: Does not care about the royal family. Hmmmm…neither do I. This only made me like him more. I knew then that I must dig deeper.

After doing a spot on, shouting imitation of Chris Matthews, the host of Hardball, who was a guest on the "10! Show" later that morning with Roker, the nationally loved weatherman talked to Matt Lauer and Katie Couric from our studio, and then it was off to the art museum.

Roker and his police escort sped down West River Drive, and I got to ride in an NBC 10 news van with reporter Jamison Uhler and cameraman Sam Adkins -- my Roker posse for the day.

We watched as Roker ran up the museum steps, talked to the locals, ate a $100 cheese steak from the Steven Starr restaurant Barclay Prime and had humorous banter in live "Today Show" segments with Couric and Lauer back in New York.

And then I got my chance.

Now, I could have asked him to tell me the truth about why Couric is leaving the "Today Show," or how riding on top of Lauer on a luge sled during the Olympics affected his relationship with his colleague, or whether or not he believes global warming is a myth created by the government.

Ah, but I didn’t. No, no, my friends. Unlike other journalists, I have my finger on the pulse of the people and I instead decided to use my three minutes with Roker to answer the real questions that burn within all viewers about their favorite celebrities.

“Mr. Roker, can I call you Al?”

“Sure you can call me Al,” he said.

Now that I had established a comfortable familiarity, I went straight for the jugular.

“You strike me as a hugger, Al. Is this true?”

“I have been known to hug from time to time,” he said.

Now down to the nitty gritty of celebrity gossip:

“Is Matt Lauer a hugger?”

“Yeah, I think he is,” said Roker. “Yes. Yes. Matt is a hugger.”

“Is Katie a hugger?”

“Katie is a, is a…” Insert interesting and telling pause that will surely make it to Page 6 of the New York Post. “Yes. Katie is a hugger.”

“Now, as a weatherman, do you think your hugging nature softens the blow of the storms and natural disasters you must report?”

“Well, unfortunately I can’t hug everybody, so I don’t know,” said Roker.

“Are you planning to hug Meredith when she joins the Today Show?”

He said he would -- if she was open to it.

My three minutes were just about up, and this was about the time he started looking around for someone to save him from the lunatic in front of him. Before he could ask me for my NBC identification, I did the only thing a reporter can do when investigating a story. I asked for proof. On the steps on the Philadelphia Art Museum at 9:15 a.m., I asked Al Roker for a hug.

It’s a fact. He's a hugger. (See Slideshow)

The morning finished up with my Roker posse and I enjoying the $100 cheese steak. (I always wondered what happened to the food those "Today Show" hosts get to sample. I now know it gets devoured by whoever stays the longest.) The delicious kobe beef, foie gras and truffle-laden sandwich made the oncoming restraining order from Roker’s attorneys a distant memory.

I figure restraining orders are just part of the price we journalists must pay in order to bring our readers hard-hitting investigative stories.

Good afternoon, and good luck.