“The Wedgie” sandwich is the best comfort food you’ve never eaten

Trying to craft the ultimate comfort food is like a game of Tetris. It’s not enough to just pile tasty-sounding things on top of each other without a plan – everything has got to fit seamlessly into its place. There’s a fine line between delicious and disgusting. 

Carefully balancing between good taste and obscenity, the Pittsburgh “Wedgie” might just take the title for the most outrageously incredible comfort food on the market. Part pizza, part sandwich, all awesome, this little known dish deserves all the fanfare of its more illustrious relatives, yet still slips under the radar. If we all want to up our dinner game, this has to change.

Although it might look like a regular, if admittedly more angular sandwich to the untrained eye, the wedgie has a secret ingredient that takes it to the next level. Instead of using a traditional loaf, wedgie buns are made from freshly baked pizza dough, effectively creating a dish made from two pizza slices stacked on top of each other. 

Unlike its Italian cousin, the wedgie typically doesn’t involve lashings of tomato sauce and melted mozzarella – though options are available, depending on the establishment. Instead, the triangular treats can be stuffed with everything from fresh lettuce and salami, to bacon, beef patties and cheddar cheese. Imagine your favourite deli counter crossed with Domino’s, and you’ll quickly realise why wedgies are in the God-tier of handheld snacks. 

Although it’s been popularised in Pennsylvania, the exact origins of the wedgie sandwich remain clouded in mystery. One North Carolina-based business claims that the sandwich was invented by a golf-loving restaurateur, who was allegedly inspired by “the ‘wedge’ shape created after the pizza crust is cut,”  as well as his decision to sell the sandwich “in the Golf Capital of the World.”

Wherever it was invented, it seems only a matter of time before the whole world comes to realise just how brilliant cheese-stuffed pizza sandwiches can be.