"So...I've never had a Primanti's sandwich." -me
"You're kidding, right? You? The food person." -my friend
That's right. Me. The foodie who writes and talks about food all the damn time had never had the quintessential Pittsburgh sandwich.
After growing up in Pittsburgh and traveling home once or twice a year for the past ten, I had yet to make it there. This is not to say I haven't tried during visits to the Strip District, but the line out the door had deterred me. Because I knew it'd always be there.As I have mentioned before on this blog, I grew up a picky eater. I had only ventured to try the fries back in those days, because the thought of coleslaw and meat on top of those fries seemed gross. But that was the old me. The new me says "bring it on."
So I went there for lunch with some friends and on my way there, my mom had told me: "It's a hefty sandwich. You can always bring back the other half for your dad." Pfftt. That's a joke. I was going to take this whole thing down.And I did. I opted for the pastrami version, though you can get it with a variety of meats, or a ridiculous amount of cheese (the way my vegetarian friend prefers.)
So the history of this sandwich goes back to the time when Pittsburgh steelworkers needed to have a lunch that packed all their nutrients (ha!) into something they could eat with their hands, even with one hand if necessary. So they put the meat, the fries, and the slaw between two pieces of white bread. And thus a sandwich revolution occurred.
I will say it was quite tasty, though I could have used a bit more flavor in the slaw. These fries were just as good as I had remembered and amazingly enough, I was even able to eat dinner a few hours later. Because not only do we build a hearty sandwich in Pittsburgh, we breed hearty eaters.
Primanti's...I'm so glad we finally met. I will be sure to take friends to see you next time I'm in the 'burgh.
