Eight Rules for Eating at Primanti Brothers
I’m all about touristy sandwiches. Living an hour north of Philadelphia, I always encourage out-of-town guests to have at least one cheese steak when visiting my area–ideally served with pierogies. I made sure to hit up the best po boy shop in town when I visited New Orleans–and even managed to make room for mufaletta on that same trip. Local sandwich specialties are a fun, budget-friendly way to explore an area. They are also often offered up at restaurants and diners that, due to their popularity, are open at all hours. Here you will get a information about 11 Best and Worst Metabolism Boosting Foods.
I found myself dining at Primanti Brothers (and I use the term ‘dining’ loosely) late on a holiday weekend Sunday night. There was little else open in downtown Pittsburgh, so I made my way to the Market Square location to find the unhealthiest dinner imaginable. If you are planning a visit yourself, check out the lessons I learned while attempting to consume the giant hunk of sandwich-y goodness pictured below. For more articles on keeping yourself healthy, check this website with vas amounts of Kratom for sale.
Rules for Eating at Primanti Brothers
1. Go big or go home. All of the sandwiches at Primanti Brothers contain the same basic ingredients–bread, coleslaw, french fries, and tomato. The only thing you have to pick out is the meat you’d like squished between all of these elements. For the life of me, I couldn’t decide what would be the best option–and then I saw it. On someone’s sandwich behind me. Bacon. So much bacon. So I ordered the bacon and cheese sandwich. Sound unhealthy? It absolutely was. But it started out that way. I mean come on, we’re talking about a french fry sandwich here. What’s a little more fat and cholesterol going to hurt?
2. Don’t wear nice pants. No matter what, you are going to get food on your lap. That food is probably going to be greasy. You will not leave Primanti Brothers looking as well-groomed as you did when you came in. So don’t wear anything that’s dry-clean-only. And while you’re picking out your casual pants, consider something with an elastic waistband.
3. Sit at the bar. If you are dining at Primanti Brothers as a tourist experience–and let’s be realistic, that’s what everyone there is doing–you might as well get a show with your dinner. Watching the wait staff make the sandwiches at lightning speed is impressive. It should also inspire you to tip well, as you can see they are clearly working their butts off.
4. Don’t underestimate your ability to eat. I visited Primanti Brothers (and Pittsburgh) with a friend. It was my intention to encourage him to share a sandwich with me rather than each order our own. I assumed there would be no way I’d finish a whole sandwich. I was wrong. And I’m glad he refused to split one with me. Which brings me to my next point…
5. Share. Notice I didn’t say ‘he refused to share one with me’. While we each ordered our own sandwich, we split each in half and thus got to sample two different varieties. Oddly, for two sandwiches made up mostly the same ingredients, they were very different–as I said, I ordered the bacon and cheese and he ordered the corned beef. They were both very good in their own way, and I had a hard time deciding which one was to be my ‘last bite’ (I do that thing where I save my favorite part of a meal for my final bite–that’s normal, right?)
6. When offered hot sauce, accept it. Halfway through my sandwich, I discovered a bottle of hot sauce on the counter in front of me. So I added some to my sandwich. After all, the thing was already covered with an improbable mountain of bizarre ingredients. Why not add one more?
7. Don’t plan anything else for the rest of the night. I’m so glad I didn’t choose to come here for lunch. That would have been a huge mistake and would have likely ruined the rest of my day. You know how you feel after Thanksgiving dinner? Yeah. It’s kind of like that. But with even more of a carb crash at the end. Finishing a Primanti Brothers sandwich will be the last productive thing you do that day. Trust me.
8. Don’t take advice from anyone else. I was told by two different people to avoid Primanti Brothers–one friend told me that it is too touristy, the other told me it just wasn’t very good. Well, I can honestly say that as a huge food snob–and someone who typically avoids anything that can be considered a tourist trap–I really enjoyed my (giant, fat-laden) sandwich. On top of that, on a cold winter night, the dining room itself was a welcome haven of chatter and warmth. I’m glad I didn’t listen to anyone who told me not to go. So stop reading this post and go get your own sandwich. And then make sure to come back and tell me what you thought!
Have you been to Primanti Brothers? If so, what was your experience like? Are there any must-visit local sandwich shops in your town? What is the sandwich specialty in your part of the world? Share in the comments below!
Primanti Brothers has been on my Pittsburgh list for a loooong time. They sound delicious!
It was REALLY good. And full disclosure–I don’t even really LIKE french fries. At least not on their own. But as part of a sandwich (or, better, as part of a salad) they are fabulous. Oh–or in poutine. LOVE poutine.
Ok maybe I DO like french fries!
This sounds awesome, Tracy. I know I wouldn’t be able to make a dent in that sandwich, though. I feel full just reading about it. 🙂
I thought I wouldn’t be able to, either. But I swear to you, it was really good. And not as giant as it appears.
Or at least I HOPE it was not as giant as it appears!
There are RULES for eating a Primanti’s? Dang! I thought the only rule for eating at Primanti’s was that there are no rules. But, after close reading, your recommendations are good ones. However, you missed one key finding. Primanti’s sandwiches are BEST when consumed late, late into the night. A perfect ending for a long night out. Oh, and you forgot to mention that the coleslaw on the sandwiches is the vinegar type. A mayo based or creamy coleslaw would be disgusting on these works of art. While I try to eat healthy, or reasonably so,I still indulge in the occasional capicola and cheese at Primant’s. Yum!
Ha! Yes, I suppose I should have used the term ‘suggestions’. Or even ‘tips’. Tips would have been good–it’s shorter than suggestions and even has a restaurant-y connotation. The word rules is a function of my teacher-ness I fear!
And yes, I absolutely agree about the late at night part. In fact, while it wasn’t middle-of-the-night late during my visit, it WAS at the end of an afternoon and evening out.
Good info about the coleslaw, too. I posted this photo on Facebook and someone asked where the coleslaw was–I think they were imagining the creamy kind, too. And yes, that would be less good!
My second choice was the capicola. I’ll have to try that next time!
A nearly native Pittsburgher here. (I think living anywhere for 15 years earns one a “local” status.) I find Primanti’s to be perfectly adequate sandwich fare. Admittedly, I’ve never dined there unless I’ve had a couple of beers in me first so maybe I’m not the best judge. I get the triple cheese with no fries (they’re too soggy) and dunk it in lots of ketchup. Yum.
My husband’s impression of the food is drastically different. He’s from Texas, so I think his greasy food standards are higher. He despises every element of the sandwich and believes the place exists only as a joke on out-of-towners. I think the story of his experience involves him forcing down the first half of his terrible meal and offering the other half to a stranger on the sidewalk on his way out. Eh.
I do agree that Sammy’s corned beef sandwiches are better but Primati’s is just fine by me.
Oooh–you must tell me about Sammy’s. I’ll be returning to Pittsburgh in the spring, and would love a sandwich comparison!
Also–I had more than a few drinks. 😉
Born and raised in PGH and there is one rule to eating a Primanti Sandwich for the first time…don’t ask for something to be left off!!!! I’ve taken so many “newbies” to Primanti’s and they don’t get the fries or the slaw on the sandwich. Just do it! This place wouldn’t be so popular if it was awful. I don’t like coleslaw but I like it on my sandwich!
If you know you are going to eat Primanti’s that day don’t eat a lot! It really isn’t hard to put down a whole sandwich (I always do and I’m about the size of a stick) but if you refrain from eating a lot prior you won’t feel unable to move afterwards! Also if you enjoy the bread on your sandwich stop over at Mancini’s Bakery in McKees Rocks and get a fresh loaf. It is quite possibly the best smell ever.
Oh I didn’t think of that! Perhaps because I’d never dream of leaving something required off of a sandwich. For example, my husband orders his cheese steaks without onions. That’s simply NOT a cheese steak.
I’m a native Pittsburgher spent most of my life in Western PA. But… I absolutely can’t stand and go crazy nuts when someone puts a side dish on my sandwich! I only recently tried a Primanti Brothers sandwich on a return trip to the area(after moving away) and I begged them NOT to put french fries on my sandwich… they looked at me like I had lobsters crawling out of my ears… I didn’t know until later that french fries on a sandwich is part of the Primanti’s schtick. Sorry but please no french fries, cole slaw or even mac n’ cheese on my sandwiches… sides are called sides for a reason… they’re to be served on the side of the sandwich… not in them. 😉