Date: April 22, 2011
Food Ordered: Hot Sausage and Cheese Sandwich; Pastrami Sandwich
I'm too old to go on spring break, and have been for a few years now. But that doesn't stop me from feeling that I should at least take some sort of trip during that annual week off in April. A few years ago, I convinced my friend and teaching colleague Nick to take a spring break trip with me. I was already dating my now-wife, and he was married, so Florida or Cancun didn't seem quite right. We decided instead on exotic, sunny Pittsburgh. It was only a five-hour drive from DC, and the Nationals just so happened to be playing the Pirates at PNC Park that weekend. "And maybe we'll stop at Primanti Bros. too. They are supposed to have excellent sandwiches," I suggested to Nick during the planning phase of the trip. I tried as hard as I could to make this sound like an off-hand suggestion, instead of my secret motivation for taking the trip in the first place.
I had always heard about Primanti Bros, mostly from Pittsburghers who take as much pride in their local sandwiches as Philadelphians take in their cheese steaks. Primanti's claim to fame is that everything is in the sandwich: meat and cheese, of course, but also fries, coleslaw and sometimes a fried egg for good measure. According to legend, these sandwiches were popular with truckers, who couldn't be bothered with the inconvenience of eating sandwich, fries and coleslaw separately when they were on the go. While I had kind of always been curious about such a sandwich, I privately worried that it might be excessive or even disgusting. It wasn't. These sandwiches, which Nick and I ate at the bar of the dark and slightly dingy restaurant, proved incredibly satisfying. And while they were obviously stuffed with food, they never left me feeling like I would have to have the jaw of a snake in order to simply take a bite. Sometimes, even in the world of massive sandwiches, restraint is not so bad. (Are you listening, Harold's Deli in Edison? http://www.roadfood.com/Photos/18519.jpg)
Coolest part of the experience: sensing that we were new in the town, the couple sitting next to us asked how were liking Pittsburgh and how we had heard of Primanti's. We chatted for a bit, before bidding them farewell once they finished their meal. When it came time for us to depart, we asked for our bill only to be informed by the guy behind the bar that the couple, on hearing we were about to partake of our first Primanti's sandwich, had surreptitiously bought us our sandwiches, and left us a message: "Have fun in the Steel City!" I had never been on the receiving end of such a random act of kindness. As we left the restaurant, Nick and I vowed that if we ever found ourselves sitting next to tourists at Ben's Chili Bowl in DC or Faidley's Crab Cakes in Baltimore, we would continue the chain of good will. (Still haven't done it yet - but haven't forgotten either.)
The trip actually turned out to be a bit of a let-down overall: our game was rained out and the two of us went back home after only one night. But we got a weird and memorable sandwich out of it - the sort that can only be found in Pittsburgh, as a matter of fact. And we left the restaurant feeling a little better about our fellow human beings.
Verdict: Five out of Five Stars. If they open a sandwich Hall of Fame, it should be in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania - halfway between Cheese Steak City and Primantiville. There should definitely be a bronze bust of Primanti himself (whoever he is). They can put it next to the busts of Joe (namesake for the Sloppy Joe) and Ruben (namesake for the Ruben).
Note: I didn't take any of these pictures. However, I did display the middle one on my Facebook page shortly after returning from the trip to Pittsburgh, prompting Maya to complain, "I've posted so many nice pictures of the two of us, and the only picture you've ever posted is of a sandwich!" Valid point.
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