A Pittsburgh salad is a layered

salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed, mostly natural ingredients with at least one raw ingredient. They are typically served at room temperature or chilled, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a va ...

, often composed of

lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable, but sometimes for its stem and seeds. Lettuce is most often used for salads, although it is also seen in other kinds of food, ...

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

s, grilled meat, shredded cheese, riviera dressing, and most notably, French fries. It is a regional dish from the

Western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, covering the western third of the state. Pittsburgh is the region's principal city, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic ...

area, although it can be seen in other places around the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The salad is customizable in terms of the quality of the ingredients. The fries themselves can be curly, waffle, or shoestring. The fries add warmth, texture, saltiness, and bulk to the salad. In

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, it was not historically referred to as a “Pittsburgh salad”. It is often on menus as "steak salad" or "chicken salad".

Pamela's Diner Pamela's Diner is a prominent chain of diners in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Its specialties are crêpe-style pancakes, omelets and Lyonnaise potatoes. It is "treasured" and is considered to be in the "pantheon of pancake purveyors". In 2013, P ...

, Whitfield, and

Eat'n Park Eat'n Park is a restaurant chain based in Homestead, Pennsylvania, with 59 locations in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The chain is known for its Smiley Cookies and has adopted the motto, "the place for smiles". History In the late 1 ...

are local restaurants that serve or have served this dish. Pittsburgh salmon salad

The origin is not known, but one story involves Jerry's Curb Service in

Beaver, Pennsylvania Beaver is a borough in and the county seat of Beaver County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located at the confluence of the Beaver and Ohio Rivers, approximately northwest of Pittsburgh. As of the 2020 census, the borough popula ...

. Legend has it that one night in the early 1960s, a customer ordered a steak sandwich without the bun but with added fries and salad dressing. Donna Reed, Jerry's wife, made another similar version on lettuce. Hilltop Grill in

Rochester, Pennsylvania Rochester is a borough in central Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located northwest of Pittsburgh, it is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population was 3,480 at the 2020 census. Like many places around Pittsburgh, ...

also claims to be the salad's creator. Similar to the Pittsburgh salad, the Pittsburgh-style sandwich contains meat, cheese, and fries. However, the salad is more manageable to eat and less heavy.

References

{{reflist Salads Cuisine of the Mid-Atlantic states Cuisine of the Midwestern United States