BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- It's the food that put Binghamton on the map.
"A spiedie is really something that most people in the world already know about. They just call it something different - shish kabob, souvlaki, and in our area we call it spiedie," said Rob Salamida, Rob Salamida Co. president & founder.
Many believe the name spiedie was derived from the Italian word spedini.
"It came from Italy way back when literally shepherds brought, you know, cooked in the field on a stick over the open flame and then some brought it over from Italy and the next thing you know, they were cooking in front of the bars and restaurants and then the restaurants started picking it up," said Lupo's Co-Owner Stephen Lupo.
The best spiedie requires proper preparation, according to those who have been making spiedies for quite a long time.
"Two or three days minimum to marinate it, oil, vinegar, spices. But it's basically something served on a spit, which is a skewer over a grill, open fire, the spit," said Lupo.
"The juice that's been marinating comes out of the meat slowly, goes into the fire, and it smokes the meat, which makes it more delicious and the flavor is just phenomenal," said Salamida.
Over time, the spiedie evolved.
"It started with lamb and then pork, sirloin tip, and chicken is now the most popular," said Lupo.
People eat the meat in a sandwich, over a salad, and some even add on sauces and cooked vegetables.
"But a true spiedie are just the chunks of meat and you eat it on a slice of Italian bread," added Salamida.
Rob Salamida said he and his friend came up with the idea of having a spiedie festival back in 1983.
"It's just grown and grown it went from just doing spiedies, a few years later hot air balloons were brought in and it just got to be very big, and it's a great event for our community, which is exactly what we wanted to do to celebrate Broome County and around what we do best here, maybe outdoor cooking," said Salamida.
"It really is the premier event in the area," Lupo added.
Each year the three-day fest draws people from all over the country to celebrate this traditional food.
As for the spiedie itself:
"The smell is what draws people," said Lupo.
And the taste is what keeps them coming back for more.