September 2002

Several Great Pittsburgh Sandwiches That You Will Like...
...even though they don't all appear in my new PBS program.

By Rick Sebak

1. The Primanti Sandwich. Of course. It's our city's "signature sandwich" with fries and slaw and meats (my favorite is grilled pastrami) and cheese (and egg if you're really bold) between slices of Italian bread. An essential Pittsburgh experience available at several locations. I'm a sort of regular at the South Side location (where Kathy knows to make mine on the heel of the loaf), but the place in the Strip is the mother-shop.

2. The Mystery Sandwich at Chiodo's Tavern, Homestead. What's it made of? Who cares? Joe Chiodo concocted this tasty, provocative kolbassi-and-burger sandwich with sauerkraut, secret sauce and seasonal variations over fifty years ago. It's extraordinary, messy, and it's served at the most interesting restaurant anywhere near Homestead's Waterfront.

3. A banh mi in the Strip on the Penn Avenue sidewalk near 22nd Street. Under her umbrella outside the My Ngoc restaurant, Lucy Sheets has been selling scrumptious, cilantro-laden Vietnamese sandwiches on crusty French baguettes for over ten years. She's open (usually by 7 a.m.) seven days a week (and very late on Friday and Saturday nights.) Get there before lunch on busy Saturdays so she has a full supply of surprising peppers, grilled meats, fresh cucumbers, carrots, secret sauce and other goodies to stuff in these crusty French bread hoagies.

4. The Pastrami Rachel at the Smallman Street Deli. It's only a couple of years old, but if you make the best pastrami in town (cured in the adjacent building), put it on a quality rye, top it with crunchy slaw, Russian dressing and grill the thing to perfection, you can convince even the most skeptical that this sandwich ranks right up there with the best from New York's classic delis. (NOTE: In Shadyside, Rick Handler at the Nirvana Deli also assembles a rockin' Rachel, based on his family's old recipe from the fondly remembered Gazebo, where I learned to love these sandwiches.)

5. The Devonshire. Legendary local restaurateur Frank Blandi reportedly concocted this open-faced-turkey-bacon-and-tomato-topped-with-cheese sandwich when he had a bar called the Stratford at the corner of Center and Millvale in North Oakland (maybe it's Shadyside), just a block from Devonshire Street. Not far from there, on South Craig, you can still find a delicious bubbling, cheesy Devonshire at the Union Grill, where it's the signature sandwich.

6. The Slammer. This is the best Chipped Ham Sandwich I've ever eaten. Grilled with onions on a heavenly homemade roll, it was first assembled by Tom Weisbecker at the wonderful West View Isaly's that he and his wife Gail run with a wicked sense of humor. Named in honor of all the jail-bound convicts who are paraded into the magistrate's office across Route 19 on Wednesdays, the Slammer is a simple but perfect, purely Pittsburgh sandwich.

7. The Ham Sandwich at Rudy's Grill. Look for the sign on Island Avenue in McKees Rocks that says "Home Of The Great Ham Sandwich," and go in and get a classic bar sandwich, hand cut to order off a big bone-in ham that sits on a rack behind the bar. Nothing chipped here, it's manly and magnificent.

8. A Wallyworld Deluxe at Charlie's, behind Mitchell's Bar in North Oakland. It's not a "cheesesteak" like you'll find in Philadelphia (the bread is not the same, and we're not as "Whizzy" as they are back east), but it's a big, first-class steak mega-messy sandwich, topped with mushrooms and peppers and marinara sauce. If all the food and the fries and the daily specials here weren't so good, I'd eat even more Wallyworlds than I already do.

9. Great bar sandwiches. Pittsburgh bars can still whip up a few incredible sandwiches. Emil's Lounge in Rankin puts out some memorable fish sandwiches (and a real steak sandwich) at lunchtime. The Triangle Bar in Swissvale has christened its sort of super submarines as Battleships and Destroyers. Big Jim's in the Run (lower Greenfield) makes a big hot sausage hoagie. But you can always stop in any local pub and see what they're proposing as a beer-worthy sandwich in your neighborhood.

10. Danny's Italian Hoagies on Rt 88 in Bethel Park. People drive great distances still to have one of these hot, oregano-seasoned, perfectly oiled sandwiches. I started eating these in high school and still want to turn in every time I drive by. Danny needs to fix his sign, but the sandwiches aren't broken.

And how could I not mention:
• "Multi-location hoagies." While I avoid national chains and what I call "corporate sandwiches," we're blessed with a two local mini-chains, Uncle Sam's and Peppi's, that put together some wonderful sandwiches, respectable cheesesteaks, and noteworthy Italian subs too.
• Any of several sandwiches (love that Evan-Nosh-Day) at the Pittsburgh Deli Company in Shadyside?
• Many of those manly "headwiches" at Fat Head's on the South Side?
• Our only local lobster rolls at Roland's in the Strip?
• And the scrumptious pork and lamb sandwiches from Sam & Rini's truck on Saturdays in the Strip?