Destroyers head down the Mon

Tom Crombie is bringing a fleet of destroyers and battleships to the North Shore.

Armed with decades of tradition and some lunchmeat, Crombie's armada intends to blast out of the water the other restaurants he'll soon compete with in and around PNC Park.

Crombie runs a semi-legendary Swissvale workingman's bar and grill known as the Triangle, which sits on Monongahela Avenue in the shadow of the truly legendary Carrie Furnace complex. The furnace has been idle for years. The cook at the Triangle one recent lunchtime was anything but.

'We do pretty good business here, always have,' said Crombie, 35, of Penn Township, Westmoreland County, whose family has owned the 55-year-old establishment since 1982. 'People seem to love the destroyers and battleships.'

For the uninitiated, destroyers and battleships are the Triangle's signature sandwiches, hoagies of intimidating proportion named after the vessels pictured on the tavern walls.

The destroyer is the smaller of the two, coming in at a relatively paltry 12 inches. At a gargantuan 27 inches, the battleship could comfortably feed the inhabitants of a minor third-world country were you also to include a bag of 3-D Doritos and a 2-liter Dr Pepper.

Step into the Triangle and you essentially have stepped back into the 1950s, when the Carrie belched smoke and Triangle patrons belched after finishing their subs. The place sports a bright orange ceiling, red-and-blue formica tables and a weathered linoleum floor.

'We haven't even changed the chairs since we bought the place,' Crombie said proudly.

One would expect to leave the Triangle and take a trolley into Oakland to watch the Pirates play at Forbes Field. The second Triangle, now under construction on Federal Street across from the Pirates' new ballpark, will sport a more modern decor.

Crombie and two partners - Pete Shell and a cousin with the familiar name of Tom Crombie - are investing $750,000 to renovate an old beauty supply store. The trio hopes to be up and running in June.

The Triangle will feature an all-glass front, brick walls and a 50-foot stainless steel bar. But the cooking setup will be the same as in the Swissvale locale.

'There won't be any back kitchen,' Crombie promised. 'Just like it's done here, everything will be cooked on the grill right in front of you.'

Crombie will have considerable competition: the world's largest Outback Steakhouse in PNC Park, Castellano's next door, Hi-Tops and Firewaters just down the street. He's apprehensive, but optimistic.

'Most of those other places are chains, or have a chain feel to them,' he said. 'We're from Pittsburgh. We're going to bring a little bit of Swissvale down to the North Shore.'

Just like she's done frequently for the past 37 years, Marcia Rouse of Swissvale walked in the Triangle to pick up a destroyer. She has no doubt the Triangle II will be a hit.

'It sounds like it will be an exciting place. I know I'm coming down when it opens. I can't wait.'

Crombie won't know for certain how business will be until those destroyers and battleships sail down the Mon, then up the Allegheny to their new North Shore locale.

But between regulars such as Rouse and new customers soon to discover its cuisine, prospects for the Triangle and its flotilla of near-famous food appear unsinkable.

Eric Heyl is a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review staff writer. He can be reached at eheyl@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7857.