“We have our own bakery where we bake our own bread in house,” he says. The Triangle website takes it a step further by boasting that they bake over 800 loaves a day.
Triangle was officially opened in the late 1940s by the Catezano family, and the Crombies purchased the establishment from them in 1982. Since then, the shop has become known for its giant hoagies, dubbed “Home of the The Battleship,” referring to the whopping 27-inch sandwich they sell.
Locals will recognize the shop for its iconic “Battleship & Destroyer Sandwiches” sign above the exterior door of its corner building in Swissvale. Besides the Battleship, hoagies also come in the smaller Torpedo and Destroyer sizes, as well as the Super Battleship.
The best selling hoagie is also Crombie’s favorite on the menu, the Italian Battleship. All sandwiches are served with lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese, oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and oregano.
If customers have enough appetite left over after chomping down on over two feet of sandwich, they can also enjoy sides like soup, chili, coleslaw, or salads of the potato and macaroni variety.
Triangle also offers more than hoagies as a full-service sports bar where patrons can have a beer with their Destroyer while watching a Steelers game.
Crombie says he cares about the customers and their happiness, and shares that if what they have been doing is making customers happy, then they don't want to change anything.
Crombie adds that, although the goal is simply to serve customers and keep them satisfied, it is nice to be recognized for what they do. Not only did Pittsburgh City Paper readers vote their shop as Best Hoagie this year, Triangle has also been mentioned in local news shows, and in 2019, was listed as one of the 33 best sandwich shops in America by online media site, Thrillist.
The Thrillist article says the 70-year-old restaurant “remains a Pittsburgh legend on par with Fred Rogers, Jerome Bettis, and copious amounts of potholes on every street.”
“We love the acknowledgement,” Crombie says. “It always comes as a surprise.”
Triangle Bar and Grill. 2122 Monongahela Ave., Swissvale. trianglebarswissvale.com
