Primanti Bros. - holymother

This actually happened in March, and I took these photos back then, vaguely planning to start a food blog. It's only June now, and here we are! First post! I'm like a freight train - bound and determined. A very slow freight train.

My dearest friend Lisa lives in LA, and living in New York I do not get to see her often enough. So, for her spring break we decided to arrange to meet [approximately] in the middle, which turned out to be Ohio, where Lisa's family lives. Knowing my preoccupation with food, she left it up to me to decide where we'd eat. And I chose Primanti Bros...in Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania.
Now, not to knock all of the exciting culinary delights to be had in Canton, OH - we enjoyed some delicious mini-burgers in a bar whose name I cannot recall at the moment - but just take a look at THIS...

...blurry photograph. Which actually works out perfectly, because it portrays how it might look in life, as your eyes well up with tears at beholding such a thing of beauty.
I am only a little ashamed to admit here that we were both a bit intimidated by its size, and so decided to share one. This here is one truly inspired feat in sandwich engineering. If you need further convincing of its impressiveness, here is a picture of Lisa wringing her tiny little hands - sweetly and patiently - in white-knuckled anticipation, as I annoyingly fumble to justly capture its essence in photo:


This is what makes Lisa a great friend, and me kind of a jerk.
Anyway.
French fries in the sandwich, people. And not just fries, but delicious, hot, fresh-cut fries, along with tomato, and coleslaw - all of which come standard on all the sandwiches. We went for the pastrami and cheese - despite the fact that the "Cheesesteak" is supposedly the local favorite, which according to the menu is the "2nd Best Seller" (the 1st is beer). The bread was pillowy and plush, cradling the rest of the ingredients ever so snugly, like puppies in a velvet blanket. Or something equally precious, and more delicious sounding. The warm fries melted the cheese onto the pastrami, bringing it all together into one succulent mass of gooey, fatty deliciousness, while the coleslaw added a fresh crunch. Everything came together in a perfect harmony of salty, tangy, starchy, crispy, gooey, and meaty. One could not ask for more from a sandwich, I think. And to wash it all down, a tall - really tall - mug of Yuengling. Mmmm, beer.

Was it worth it to drive across state borders for a sandwich? I probably need not say this, but, yes. Yes, it was.

We also visited The Mattress Factory, which was extremely fun. Really great installation pieces, many of which are viewer interactive. Like a fun house, but more conceptual and artistic, and mostly for grown-ups.
But me being me, and that sandwich being grotesquely delicious, that is the memory most likely to linger on.

And there's my first post.

Primanti Bros.:
[Several Locations]

We actually visited 2 of them:
Market Square
2 South Market Square
Pittsburgh, PA 15222

and

Strip District
46 18th St
Pittsburgh, PA 15222