Primanti Bros: Tourist Trap or Pittsburgh Cathedral? Yes.

Let's just get it out of the way: yes, the fries go inside the sandwich. Yes, the coleslaw too. No, it's not a gimmick. Or, fine, it started as one, and then it became something closer to scripture.

The story goes that the original sandwich was built for truckers in the Strip who needed to eat with one hand and didn't have time for a side. So they put the side in the sandwich. That's the most Pittsburgh thing I've ever typed. Efficient, unpretentious, slightly unhinged.

The honest review

Is it the best sandwich in the city? No. We have Gaucho. We have Tram's. We have a dozen places doing more interesting things.

Is it a sandwich every single person who visits Pittsburgh should eat exactly once? Absolutely, no question.

It's not about whether it's the best. It's about whether it's Pittsburgh. And nothing is more Pittsburgh than this.

How to do it right

• Get the Almost-Famous with capicola, or go cheesesteak. Don't overthink it.
• Eat it at the counter at the original Strip location, elbows on the bar, an Iron City in reach.
• Do not, I'm begging you, pull the fries out and eat them on the side. That's a crime in this town.

Tourist trap? Sure, technically. But some traps are worth getting caught in. This is one of them.