As we all know, Pittsburgh is a great city with great things, including The Steelers, Heinz Ketchup, and Roberto Clemente. But, one of the best things about Pittsburgh is the unique sandwiches from none other than Primanti Bros. Piled high with meat, cheese, coleslaw, and greasy fries between two thick-cut slices of Italian bread. I just had a decadent Capicola and Cheese at the Pittsburgh Steelers game on 11/17, and the Steelers beat their rivals the Ravens. It was a fantastic day. But, we aren’t here to talk about the Steelers. We are here to talk about great sandwiches and somehow, even better fries.
Here’s some history for you: Primanti Bros was a sandwich cart operated by Joe Primanti in Pittsburgh's historic strip district. He opened this cart in 1933 to feed truck drivers and shift workers at all times. Joe's brothers Dick and Stanely joined him to open a storefront in the Strip-District and they operated until the early 1970’s when Stanely unfortunately passed away. They now have 42 locations (16 of them are in Pittsburgh) in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, Maryland, Florida, and Michigan.
There are three premiere sandwiches we need to talk about: The Pittsburgher, The Pastrami and Cheese, and the Capicola and Cheese. The Pittsburgher is a sandwich piled high with steak and cheese, tomatoes, coleslaw and fries. The Capicola and Cheese is a wonderful, tasty sandwich with melty cheese and tender capicola, coleslaw, tomatoes, and fries as well. Pastrami and Cheese, well it is what it sounds like, pastrami and cheese and the normal toppings of tomatoes, coleslaw and fries. Just the cherry on top is they also have world class wings, pizza, deserts, and drinks.
If all this information has not convinced you that Primanti Bros has the best sandwiches ever, then you should take yourself downtown State College and try it for yourself on Heister Street.