Each Day Already is a Challenge

Devonshire Sandwiches???

Yesterday, I had the Travel Chanel on for some reason. I found a show that talks about regional foods.

My hometown - Pittsburgh, PA - was mentioned in the show and it really surprised me. Why, you ask? Well... It turns out that there's a special Pittsburgh sandwich that I don't think I've ever eaten. Or even heard about. Ever. The Devonshire.

The guy who first created it did so in the 1930's, so I should have at least heard of it. I didn't leave the 'Burgh until 1974 and my folks didn't move from there until 1984. My last visit was in about...1999. Weird.

What's especially strange is that the creator was Frank Blandi. There is a bunch written about the Blandis. The family's first venture in Pittsburgh was The Blandi's, a restaurant and nightclub in Fox Chapel. Frank Blandi also opened the Stratford Club in Oakland, where - by most accounts - Pittsburgh's Devonshire sandwich was born.

In the 1950s, James Blandi, Sr. owned the Fox Head Grill, Dormont, and was a partner with his uncle, Frank Blandi, in the Park Schenley, Oakland. He also operated the Lemont Restaurant in Mount Washington.

And my mother knew Karen Blandi. I'm not sure how she was related...I think the wife of either James Blandi Sr. or Jr. In fact, I think that my mother and dad attended Karen's wedding or wedding reception at The Lemont on the night before (or maybe the same night, I'm not real sure...) that my youngest sister was born.

Since I lived in Mt. Washington, and since my mother had some friendship with a Blandi, you would think that I would have at least have heard of this sandwich. Hmmm.

The original Devonshire was composed of crisp bacon and slices of turkey placed on a single piece of toast and then covered with a rich creamy cheese sauce and served bubbling hot from the oven. According to the TV show last night and the web sites that mention this sandwich, now there are variations with other meats and seafood.

Sounds yummy. And not very healthy.

In my internet travels I came across this list of other foods for which Pittsburgh is "famous." It includes Clark Bars, Heinz Ketchup, Iron City Beer, and Klondike Bars.http://pittsburgh.about.com/cs/diningtraditions/

I also found this page by the Pittsburgh-Tribune Review called, "Souls who enriched our lives, our region." The names include: Jimmy Stewart, Willie Stargell, Gene Kelly and Perry Como. Lots of others too, of course. http://pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/specialreports/10year/s_105329.h...

Okay, class is over. Pop quiz coming soon.

By the way...

I discovered that last month there were a few days when I had twice as many viewers as usual. The only thing different about those entries was that I mentioned some famous folks. And a few of our other WDC bloggers.

So, I've covered the famous folks - above.

About the WDC bloggers...do keep clicking on some of my favorites seen at the left:

Budroe
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Ta
Angela's Niece needs Praye
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