BINGHAMTON, NY – (WIVT/WBGH) This year’s Spiedie Fest, and the sandwich it’s named for, got some exposure today in one of the world’s most important newspapers.

Robert Simonson wrote an article in the New York Times titled “Can This Festival Keep a New York Sandwich Tradition Alive?” The premise of the piece is whether the recent closures of spiedie mainstays Sharkey’s and Lupo’s S and S Char-Pit indicate waning interest in Greater Binghamton’s prized delicacy.

Simonson and photographer Bryan Gardner visited this weekend’s festival, including Sunday’s annual spiedie cooking contest. While there, they interviewed contest winners Ray Parkes and Hollie Malinovsky Isom as well as 13-year-old competitor Andrew Chudacik . Simonson also spoke with Rob Salamida, the creator of Salamida’s State Fair Spiedie Sauce and one of the co-founders of the festival.

While the consensus was that spiedies won’t likely ever rival other regional foods like Buffalo-style chicken wings that have gone international, they’ll probably remain popular locally for a long time to come.