text: Once upon a timebefore profiteering became more important than product there were a lot of good food items to be had Anyone remember when Twinkies or Ho Hos actually tasted like food and not like chemical compoundsnnWell the same applies to Primanti BrothersnnOnce upon a time there was a little sandwich shop in Pittsburgh that was trying very hard to be like the famous steak sandwich shops in Philly After all Pittsburgh really was not and still is not known for anything other than dirty steel mills followed closely by closed steel mills and the mill workers who sat around waiting for them to reopen even after they would been torn down and the property turned into mallsnnPrimanti Brother at one time was a decent sandwich shop with a quirky gimmick They put your sides ON the sandwich Yes you could get a steak sandwich piled high with your favoritesfrench fries and cole slawin addition to the usual lettuce tomatoes pickles and cheesennAs time rolled by the restaurants sprang up in several locations around the city primarily anywhere that there might be a mall nearby or a bunch of drunks who really did not care WHAT they were eating and there even sprang up one of the shops in Ft LauderdalennAs the business grew the Primanti Brothers started cutting corners to maximize profits The meat became nothing more than SteakUms and they started adding everything under the sun that could be served on a bun to their menu to try to draw in more people A nice healthy chicken breastgrilled in the same grease as everything else and topped with fries and cole slaw nnNow anyone not from Pittsburgh should knownative Pittsburghers are not exactly known for having distinguished tastesin anything In fact people in Pittsburgh will stand and give a raving standing ovation and scream faaaaabulousfor what most folks around the country in more metropolitan cities would say ehnnLast year I had jury duty The Pittsburgh Courthouse is located near one of the many Primanti grease pits I thought I would try a fish sandwich since I was on a limited budget for the day and time was too short to sit down in any other restaurantnnGreasy did not taste much like fish the batter was soggy from the grease the cheese clearly came in little squares from a plastic package and even the tartar sauce could not make it more palatable My stomach felt rock laden the rest of the daynnMore recently a couple from San Francisco came into the store where I work which is near one of the Primanti restaurants They would heard all the hype and had lunchnnThe woman said to me WHAT is up with Primanti Everyone kept telling us we had to have a Primanti while we were in PittsburghnnShe looked at me rolled her eyes stuck out her tongue and said BleeechnnI shrugged my shoulders and told her I agreednnI guess we could say that Primanti is kind of the White Castle of Pittsburgh only with more GOOOO Steelers ambiencennIt is best eaten after a drunken bender when you are not really hungry but are the type to eat like you are at a trough after guzzling half a keg of beernnOryou think McDs is fine diningnnDont buy the hype The gimmick of the fries and slaw on the sandwich does not make it a decent meal Just means you are gullible to local yokel advertising And sadly there really is not another thing in Pittsburgh that stands out