Wafer-thin chipped chopped ham simmered in a sweet tomato barbecue sauce and piled on a soft bun. A Pittsburgh deli-meat tradition rooted in Isaly's chipped ham.
Where to eat it: 2 restaurants across 1 city.
Isaly's, the western Pennsylvania dairy and deli chain, gave Pittsburgh chipped chopped ham, a pressed ham shaved into wafer-thin ribbons. Home cooks and church kitchens simmered the chipped ham in a sweet ketchup-and-brown-sugar barbecue sauce and served it on soft buns, a cheap crowd-feeder known as a ham barbecue or a 'gob' sandwich. It remains a nostalgic Pittsburgh staple at home gatherings, picnics and old-school counters.
Common allergens: Gluten
Tip from the editors. Use real shaved chipped chopped ham if you can find it; regular sliced deli ham is too thick to soak up the sauce.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Why locals love it: A Polish deli, grocery and pierogi counter on the Strip that gets overshadowed by the bigger Italian market names.
Tip: Buy a dozen pierogi to go and a kielbasa. Ask about the monthly pierogi-making class if you want to learn.
Jimmy & Nino Sunseri is a third-generation Italian deli in the Strip District in Pittsburgh. Famous for two-pound pepperoni rolls and fresh-baked bread.
Tip: Order the pepperoni roll, the store's signature. Jimmy is the Strip's unofficial greeter.
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