We’re thinking of moving to Pittsburgh in the next 1-5 years.

[Rabshakeh]

6 hours ago, felser said:

Best wishes, and have a Primanti Brothers Black Angus Garbage Sandwich to celebrate your new life!

https://primantibros.com/ 

Some unique branding there. 

[Kevin Bresnahan]

6 hours ago, felser said:

They are.  Welcome to Pittsburgh.  They also put fries on salads.  And wash it down with awful Iron City beer.

I guess Pittsburgh is aiming to be the heart attack capital of the US?

[JSngry]

Hold the fries or else I walk. Sorry.

[felser]

1 minute ago, JSngry said:

Hold the fries or else I walk. Sorry.

Yeah, I actually used to pull them off the sandwich and eat them on the side.  I do the same thing with pickles.

6 hours ago, Kevin Bresnahan said:

I guess Pittsburgh is aiming to be the heart attack capital of the US?

And largely succeeding.  UPMC Presbyterian (in the Oakland section, where Pitt and Carnegie-Mellon are) has 900 beds and sees 360,000 inpatient/observation cases each year.  I think that is very close to where Rooster and wife are living if I recall.

[JSngry]

Fries are not juicy. Why would anybody put them on an otherwise juicy sandwich? That's a Burger King stunt:

https://theweek.com/articles/460471/why-burger-kings-french-fry-burger-bust

[Rabshakeh]

Gyros classic but chips or cooked potato in any form of sandwich just works.  

[JSngry]

Haven't seen that here, and we have an abundance of Greek/Mediterranean places here. As a side dish, maybe...

[Rooster_Ties]

Discovered yesterday at breakfast (on a handbill posted in a diner right in our neighborhood), that this probably/presumably amazing group is playing here on Sunday night (3/1) at a coffeehouse less than a 15 minute walk from our new digs…

http://joefonda.com/eastern-boundary-quartet.html

> The EASTERN BOUNDARY Quartet is a collaborative quartet featuring the Hungarian master musicians drummer Balazs Bagyi and saxophonist Mihaly Borbely and the long-standing bass/piano partnership of New York City bassist Joe Fonda and pianist Michael Jefry Stevens (co-leaders of the Fonda/Stevens Group).

further in their band bio:

> This unique collaboration is a mixture of avant-garde jazz and ethno music from Hungary, like a cultural bridge between the USA and Eastern-Europe.

Needless to say I’m def going! 

[jlhoots]

6 hours ago, JSngry said:

Fries are not juicy. Why would anybody put them on an otherwise juicy sandwich? That's a Burger King stunt:

https://theweek.com/articles/460471/why-burger-kings-french-fry-burger-bust

Fries should be crispy!!

[JSngry]

And served on the side.

[Rabshakeh]

3 hours ago, jlhoots said:

Fries should be crispy!!

 

26 minutes ago, JSngry said:

And served on the side.

There are more things in heaven and earth, fellow members, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

[felser]

10 hours ago, JSngry said:

Fries are not juicy. Why would anybody put them on an otherwise juicy sandwich? That's a Burger King stunt:

https://theweek.com/articles/460471/why-burger-kings-french-fry-burger-bust

Actually Burger King stole it from Primanti Brothers.  

This is from the article you linked:

Never mind that Pittsburgh's been putting fries between bread for decades now, this is the future of fast food: Take some things you already have in house, gussy them up a little into a sandwich, then sit back and watch the Internet sizzle over the news. [Grub Street]

And this is from an AI  search:

The idea of putting fries on a sandwich is attributed to Joe Primanti, who, during the Great Depression, began serving sandwiches to truck drivers in Pittsburgh. The concept reportedly originated when a trucker brought a load of potatoes, leading to the addition of fried potatoes to the sandwiches, creating the now-famous Primanti sandwich

 

36 minutes ago, JSngry said:

And served on the side.

Amen.  Or pulled and placed on the side if served on the sandwich.

[Rabshakeh]

Chips or cooked potatoes in a sandwich is very common worldwide! It is definitely not a Pittsburgh thing. Any sort of soft chip or fried or boiled potato is a natural with bread because it adds a fluffiness and texture that is different to what the bread itself is bringing. Putting chips (i.e. soft fries) is very common in Greece or in Spain or in the North of England (in the last of these sometimes just on their own, as a nursery snack, with ketchup, which is less exciting).

Whilst it won't work with American style fries, try it next time you have roast or boiled potatoes and don't mind the extra carbs. You'll see that they really enliven an otherwise good sandwich. 

This conversation slightly reminds me of American friends' mystification at the idea of eating fries with mayonnaise, despite that being the condiment that fried were invented for, or with malt vinegar, despite it being so normal that it was the first crisp/chip flavour invented. 

Edited 28 minutes ago by Rabshakeh

[JSngry]

I like fries with tartar sauce. When I have fries that is...

But my dad was a big meat & potatoes guy for damn near every meal and I grew to dislike potatoes in general. The years have softened me on that, but only some. Even now, 

Mom otoh was from Louisiana, so we'd catch a break once in a while and get rice.

Give me rice over potatoes any day and any meal. 

But just not on a burger. Ever.