Pittsburgh Bound! Part XI
(For Part X, go to: http://www.yelp.com/review_share/F9IJ3EddoyW89O0DFikPTQ/review/D5UPfn_UbOm4iqfWgSRygw?fsid=X4Q_wJ-wTj91tUUZ_DA3Eg)
Where to begin. Primanti Brothers is an institutional staple in the Pittsburgh area. The restaurant is famous for their sandwiches that are smothered with French fries and coleslaw. Originally created as a whole meal-in-one for the truck drivers making early morning deliveries to the Strip, Primanti's sandwiches have since become a local go-to for tourists and has been featured on several Travel Channel and Food Network programs.
Let me impart a little local knowledge here. The sandwiches suck. My parents have always hated Primanti's and I've had a hit or miss experience over the years, so I had to convince her that we needed to give it one more shot. We stood in line to get in (which pissed my mom off to no end) and when we finally sat down, the sticky table didn't leave the best first impression.
Our waiter arrived and we ordered two capicola and cheese's. Although the prodigal sandwich was, as usual, dry and salty, it also had overwhelming flavor undertones of 'waste of money', and 'overrated'.
I've had friends visit who felt it some sort of rite of passage to indulge in salty mediocrity, and I can see how people outside of Pittsburgh would find French fries and coleslaw on a sandwich a KA-RAAAZZZY premise, but Primanti's isn't anything special and in no way worth bypassing the plethora of amazing restaurants the city has to offer.
(For Part XII, go to: http://www.yelp.com/review_share/DGeupkmvo1X1oKn-sv9UQA/review/-HJfUYS0E_OklNDSFkWfbQ?fsid=FL_7zkBe4MUwc2VCDFMFNA)