It's a Pittsburgh Thing

     My travels over the Memorial Day weekend took me to the other side of the Keystone State.  I mixed business with pleasure and took in a local landmark eatery.  I had been hearing that out where the Pirates and the Steelers compete there was a sandwich that had coleslaw and fries included in with the meat and cheese.  So on Saturday afternoon I decided I would see and taste for myself.



     I found my way to the Primanti Brothers restaurant on the top of a hill just outside Greensburg and was greeted by the friendly staff as I was shown to a booth.  The menu was overwhelming, and also a bit intimidating with over 2 dozen options to choose from, but all including their "almost famous" fries and slaw.  As a novice to this gastronomic epic I thought it best to stick with the basics and ordered up a "Pittsburger" for my first time around.



     The history of this creation is very interesting.  Back in the 1930s Joe Primanti pushed a food cart selling sandwiches in the area of Pittsburgh where hungry truckers were making deliveries throughout the night.  With the success of his enterprise he opened a small storefront restaurant with the assistance of his brothers Dick and Stanley and a nephew.  Their hours were from 3am to 3pm daily, serving hard working delivery men and shift workers "good food for a fair price" during the height of the depression.

     Joe tells the story that, "One winter a fella drove in with a load of potatoes.  He brought a few of 'em over to the restaurant to see if they were frozen.  I fried the potatoes on our grill and they looked pretty good.  A few of our customers asked for them, so I put the potatoes on their sandwiches."  And the rest, as they say, is history.

     Upon the retirement of the family Jim Patrinos purchased the business in 1974.  He continued the tradition and made a few changes along the way, like staying open 24 hours and adding new locations.  Today Primanti Brothers can be found in locations throughout metro Pittsburgh, in Erie, and also in York, State College and Morgantown & Wheeling, WV.  They also have 3 locations in Florida.



     When my sandwich arrived I was amazed and also a bit concerned at its girth.  Somewhere amid the slaw and fries there was a burger, although I couldn't seem to find it until I cut down through the slices of Italian bread to halve the behemoth.  Sure enough, it was indeed there, hidden by all the other ingredients.  I did manage to finish the entire sandwich, but it took awhile.  And my take on it all?  Let me say that I like slaw, I like fries, and I like burgers.  But I'm not sure I like them all in the same bite.  I guess it's a Pittsburgh thing.