Several years ago during a fund-raising effort, Albuquerque’s PBS television station KNME aired a program called “Sandwiches That You Will Like.” The documentary was produced by the exceptionally talented Rick Sebak of Pittsburgh station WQED. The entertaining travelogue featured delicious sandwiches (and the folks who make and enjoy them) served by shops, stands and diners from across the USA. This program originally aired in 2002, also the year a companion book titled Sandwiches That You Will Like was published. The book was written by fabulous food author Becky Mercuri.
I was well aware of most of the sandwiches showcased in the documentary and the book. There were several, however, I had not tried. The most intriguing sandwich to me was the “Beef on Weck” from Schwabl’s in West Seneca, New York, just outside of Buffalo. Schwabl’s claims to have invented the beef on weck. The segment on the beef on weck featured Becky Mercuri, one of my very favorite food authors. Becky’s enthusiasm for the sandwich was so heartfelt and genuine that I wanted to visit Buffalo to sample one (or ten) of them. Moreover, I hoped to share a few beef on weck sandwiches with Becky.
What, you ask, is a beef on weck and why do you find it so intriguing? Picture THE classic Buffalo, New York sandwich featuring thinly sliced, rare roast beef piled high on a special “kummelweck” roll, topped with coarse salt and caraway seeds, and usually spread with pungent horseradish and dipped in beef au jus. It’s a regional staple, known for its soft interior and crusty roll, distinguishing it from other roast beef sandwiches by the unique seeded and salted roll. Alas, I was destined to make it well into my forties without ever having sampled the sandwich which dominated my curiosity. Wherever we traveled I scoured restaurant menus online to see if perhaps a Buffalo transplant had a restaurant in which the beef on weck was on the menu.
In 2025, my Indiana Jones-like quest would come to an end in Glendale, Arizona. Puliano’s Wings & Pizza not only listed the beef on weck on its menu, it did a darned good job describing what it is. Even better, our server was a Buffalo transplant who raved about its authenticity. Although you can’t find kummelweck in any Phoenix area bakery, she explained the process for converting an otherwise ordinary bread roll into a kummelweck roll. It’s a process that involves an egg wash followed by the application of carraway seeds and coarse salt. She told us Buffalo transplants get together for Buffalo Bills football games, ordering all the pepperoni pizza, Buffalo chicken wings and beef on weck they can eat. If you’ve never had Buffalo-style pizza, Puliano’s is a good place to try it. One of its distinguishing features is “cupped” pepperoni.
Puliano’s, it turns out, has been serving the Valley of the Sun since 1979. The restaurant started out in Phoenix, but relocated in 1987 to Glendale. Puliano’s is certainly not one of those obscure and hidden gems only regulars know about. Sure, it’s got its regulars, but newcomers continue to pour in thanks to a four-star review from the Arizona Republic. Channel 3 viewers also voted Puliano’s “best mom and pop Italian restaurant.” It’s not all about wings and pizza at this terrific restaurant. The menu includes a phalanx of sumptuous starters, some o the most intriguing salads in the Valley, superb Subs, behemoth burgers, shrimp and wings, pizza (including a number of specialty pies), stromboli and calzones, Italian entrees and desserts.
I had so hoped someone in our party of four would order a pepperoni pizza, but that’s a pizza for another day, another visit. My brother-in-law Tim and his comely bride Lola along with my Kim, all Chicago area transplants, had Italian beef sandwiches, a Chicago area staple. Ask any Chicago transplant in Albuquerque or anywhere else to list the five things they miss most about the Windy City and it’s a good bet the list will include Italian beef sandwiches, a staple in Chicago. Citizens of the Toddlin’ Town are almost as passionate about this sloppy sandwich as they are Da Bears. Chicagoans grow up worshiping at high counters on which they prop their elbows as they consume Italian beef sandwiches–sometimes because the restaurant has no tables, but more often than not, because no matter how careful they are, they’re bound to spill shards of beef, bits of giardiniera and drippings of spice-laden beef gravy onto their clothing. An Italian beef sandwich is made with roasted sirloin tip which is massaged with a blend of herbs and spices (oregano, black pepper, basil and more) before roasting. The beef is sliced Nicole Ritchie thin and is so tender it shreds into pieces. Both Kim and Tim declared Puliano’s Italian beef authentic and outstanding.
Here’s how the menu describes the beef on weck: “Beef On Weck. (Bella Bella) Just Like Buffalo, But Better! Loaded With Tender Beef Marinated In Our Delicious Homemade Italian Beef Juice Served On Our Homemade Kimelweck Roll With Caraway Seeds And Coarse Salt Baked On Top. Served With Our Homemade Horseradish Sauce And Au Jus. Served With Fries. A Buffalo Staple. Try It With A Side Of Giardiniera (Jard-en-air-a) Delicious!!” Until I make it to Schwabl’s, I won’t know if this claim is audacious bragadoccio or if this sandwich really beats Buffalo’s best. I do know I thoroughly enjoyed it. Admittedly the horseradish could have had more napalm, but that’s just this fire-eater talking. The giardiniera does have plenty of bite and the roast beef is superb. Thanks to the coarse salt on the kummelweck, I was grateful the au jus wasn’t overly salty.
There are only four items on the dessert menu, one of which is a pullookie which the menu describes thus: “Pullookie. Oh Yea Baby! Chocolate Chip, White Chocolate Chip, Macadamia Nut Cookie Dough, Slightly Baked In A Pizza Pan Topped With Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. Michelle And Gigi Say You Need To Try This!” A pullookie is likely a variation of a pizookie, which is a portmanteau for a large, deep-dish, or “pizza-sized” cookie baked in a skillet and typically served warm with ice cream. We were all too full to enjoy dessert, but will keep that pullookie in mind next time.
I’m not one to have a “bucket list” but if I did, it would be overstuffed with different foods I’d love to try. It’s heartening to remove beef on weck from that bucket list though a visit to Buffalo would still be nice.
Puliano’s Pizza & Wings
13848 North 51st Avenue
Glendale, Arizona
(602) 978-1234
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LATEST VISIT: 23 December 2025
# OF VISITS: 1
RATING: N/R
COST: $$
BEST BET: Italian Beef Sandwich, Beef on Weck, French Fries, Cheese Sticks
REVIEW #1504