Oh, wait, I was in State College...but I got a Pittsburgh. It's a sandwich made (famous) by Primanti Bros. in, you guessed it, Pittsburgh, Penn.I don't know what the original tastes like but the one I got at the Corner Room Restaurant at the corner (they are so literal in Penn.) of College Ave. and Allen St. was a little bland. Apparently the signature of a Pittsburgh is the enormous amounts of coleslaw, tomatoes, and fries piled in the actual sandwich. This excited me but I think I may have to head half a state east toward Ohio in order to get my P-burgh on.
If you look at the pic, it's a manageable size and you can barely see any fries or 'slaw. I know, it sounds like a heart attack ready to happen, especially when the server asked if I wanted fries on the side. At the time, I thought a side of fries would have been a little, well, overkill, but had I known, maybe it wouldn't have been such a bad idea. I could have added them to the sandwich. As it turned out, it was tastier when I added mustard.
The reuben that Brian got was much better though. He was kind enough to share a taste...I must admit, I almost didn't give his sandwich back but thought that that would set a bad tone for our friend's wedding weekend--our reason for traveling to Penn State-land.
The meal ended with a "grilled sticky" knock-off. Rose, my food-loving friend, (at the time) bride-to-be, and who grew up in State College, says the original at Ye Olde College Diner (or just "The Diner") is best.Here at CRR, the sticky (aka sticky bun or cinnamon roll without any frosting by Ye Olde College Diner) is butterflied, then grilled in butter and topped with locally made vanilla ice cream. This version is crispier than the original which is not butterflied, therefore it's chewier and meltier on the inside. Not a low-calorie dining experience, I know. But it was definite a Pennsylvania meal. I suppose all that was missing was a full day of work at the dairy farm to work off all those calories. Anyway you grill it, I love the sticky!
1 comment:
I had a Pumanti Brothers sandwich at 1am on a drunken Friday night in 1997. I don't know where it was because my native-'burgh friend took me there and I was indeed intoxicated, but I *do* recall it was bigger than my head, there was a cascade of fries and 'slaw every time I picked it up, and I managed to consume a week's worth of food in one sitting. Ahhhhh.
Thankfully, Pennsylvanians don't bother with silly things like "calories." And besides, there was coleslaw! That's a vegetable, especially if slathered with mayo.
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