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| - My initial introduction to Primanti's began about a year ago with everyone insisting, "You have to go to primanti's! They make these amazing sandwiches piled with french fries and cole slaw. It's a Pittsburgh institution!!" Well, to be honest, they said the one thing that will keep me miles away from any peice of food - cole slaw or more particularly a cabbage product. Trust me, if I don't want to be around myself when cabbage is in my stomach, no one else does.
My actual first visit to Primanti's was just last week. After spending a night out with the guys, we decided we needed some grub. We were at Smallville's, only a few doors down from the strip district Primanti's which I believe is the original. The bars had just closed. The streets were littered with the scantily clad and utterly drunk. I was neither drunk nor scantily clad!
The place was packed with a ring side view of a man sweating over a hot grill and smushing fries and coleslaw with his hands onto said sandwich. And then another guy smushing and cutting the pile of intestine turning "staples" and handing them across the bar to the awaiting group.
This is not the place for the timid. While not typically timid, my mindset viewed Primanti's (at 2:00 am when swamped with drunken masses) as a sort of "soup-nazi" mentality on ordering. While my friends insisted I could order a sandwich sans-cole slaw - something about the whole grilling, smushing, and well...smushing really. . .just did not intice me. And beyond that, I fears a random riot or glare of disgruntlement from the cook who was indeed "on a roll" with his quickly produced orders. When we ordered there were over 10 orders on the grill that were completed (WITH COLE SLAW) while we waited in line. The numbers were not letting up, people were coming in behind us...
On the other hand, they did have chili fries on the menu. Never one to turn down chili fries, I gave my friend some money and stood back while he went to order. He was told he can only order french fries on the other side of the store (the bar side which was packed with drinkers and diners). He goes over there, to the bartender he knows no less, and was summarily told that there were three people ahead of us for chili fry orders. . .in the "don't bother" mentality. They wouldn't take his order or his money essentially. Honestly, I was sober, I could have waited but at the same time - if the state of the front grill was telling - I didn't want to know why making an order of chili fries in the back may be too time consuming for me to bother. Bucket of chili, fries, smush smush...how hard can THAT be.
So while I can see Primanti's for its historical/regional value (and I am sure if sampled drunk. . .no wait. . .my stomach just isn't that strong. . .), it's definitely not for the weak of heart or stomach. On par with the cheese steak legions in Philadelphia, its definitely worth experiencing. And everyone who could stomach it (primarily men, I believe I was outnumbered almost 1 to 7 there) live and die by this food. So for that reason, I give a rather nuetral 3 stars...I would definitely take someone there, but I am not sure I will ever eat anything myself.
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