Free Republic

If you ask anyone from Pittsburgh about the history of the city's beloved "Pittsburgh sandwich," they all tell you the same things: It dates back to the 1930s. It was originally a lunch for rushed steelworkers on a quick break from the mill. Its most recognizable feature—french fries and coleslaw piled inside the sandwich—came about so that workers could have their whole lunch at once, sides and all. Lauded food historian Donna Garbaccia wrote that the sandwich was likely made this way for the men who "carried their lunch to the mill." It's a mythology near and dear to Pittsburghers'...

Many American sandwiches can only be found in one very specific location or region (or restaurant), but even those that have ventured beyond their birthplaces are generally best enjoyed in their original context. Sandwich history can be layered and complicated, but, like a good sandwich, rarely dry. American sandwiches are often surrounded by unexpected controversy, and naming the definitive version of any one of these sandwiches will almost certainly spark an argument. Argue if you will, but let’s argue it over one of these 20 American regional sandwiches:

The Strip: 24 hours in Pittsburgh's revitalized warehouse district means 24 hours of feasting and fun. Get a taste of what awaits you in print from this compelling excerpt. Early one morning at Primanti Brothers, in the middle of Pittsburgh's Strip District, Antonia Corradetti is constructing a sandwich so big it would make Dagwood blanch. A fixture behind the long diner counter, she flips a wad of just grilled corned beef onto a thick slice of Italian bread. Then, yanking a basket of oil-dripping french fries directly from the deep fryer, she plunges her bare hand into the heap,...