Pittsburgh

Yesterday I began my move to Phoenix by leaving my parents house in Kentucky and returning to Connecticut. I am not there yet; I stopped in Pittsburg for lunch with my friend Stanley before finishing the day in New Jersey at my Uncle’s house. My drive this summer from Connecticut to Nebraska, Minnesota and points between had been uneventful until Yesterday. My trip to Pittsburgh was a fiasco.

Stanley and I know each other from Middle School and boy scouts but had not caught up in as many years as we have not lived in Germany. Bean found him on My Space, but they were not friends so I am not sure why she was looking for him or if she just stumbled across him.

So, I stopped in Pittsburg at Primanti Brothers, which is apparently Pittsburgh’s famous sandwich. This sandwich is a sandwich with coleslaw and French fries ON it. According to Stanley the story goes like this: they were opening their sandwich stand, and someone forgot to order plates. They had to serve lunch so they just put the slaw and potatoes on the sandwich. This sounds disgusting but it was fantastic, probably the best sandwich I have ever had. I was amazed because before this summer I have not even been an eater of coleslaw.

Pittsburg was a fiasco, however, because of how incredibly lost I had gotten myself because of poor directions from Google Maps and the incontinence of Pittsburg. Google maps tells you to take a road or to turn onto a road but they do not tell you right or left in many cases and then you add to that Pittsburgh does not mark some streets and I totally missed the sign. I was driving around for about an hour and a half while Stan stood starving in the parking lot.

This sandwich looks disgusting, but growing up in Germany you learn to try things that you would not normally try. Half the time you throw up in the car on the way home and so the other half of the time it turns out okay, and usually is pretty good. It is probably the most disgusting thing I have put in my mouth but it was fantastic. If you are in Pittsburg, get better directions than mine and buy Stan lunch. So far, he is the most interesting person I have dug up or been dug up by from ‘back in the day.’

Stanley went on to save my life later in the day as he told me how to subscribe to the “Wait, Wait! Don’t Tell Me!” Podcast from NPR. The Penn Turnpike is death by boredom and without that on my iPod I would have surely died.

To experience Stan's cleverness click <- that link.

Comments

[liz]

I have also experienced the bliss that is Primanti brothers. I never thought I would eat one, but once I did, oh my God, I was hooked. When we lived there, we always went there as soon as we got off the airplane after a trip. It was the only palce open in Pittsburgh after, oh, 9pm.