A regional habit more than a recipe: a salad topped with a pile of French fries, plus grilled meat and cheese. The city's love of fries on everything, plated as a main-course salad.

The Pittsburgh salad grew out of the same fries-on-everything instinct that produced the Primanti sandwich. Diners and bars across the city pile hot French fries on a chef-style salad of lettuce, tomato, cheese and grilled chicken or steak. There is no single inventor; it is a regional convention that visitors notice immediately and locals take for granted. It appears on menus from neighbourhood diners to bar kitchens citywide.

Where to eat The Pittsburgh salad in Pittsburgh

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Make it at home

Serves 230 minEasy

Ingredients

  • 1 head romaine or mixed greens, chopped
  • 2 cups hot French fries
  • 2 grilled chicken breasts or a grilled steak, sliced
  • 100g shredded cheddar
  • 1 tomato, diced
  • 1/2 red onion, sliced
  • Ranch or vinaigrette dressing

Method

  1. Make the French fries and keep them hot and crisp.
  2. Build the salad base: greens, tomato, onion and shredded cheese in a wide bowl.
  3. Slice the grilled chicken or steak and lay it over the greens.
  4. Pile the hot fries on top of everything just before serving.
  5. Dress with ranch or a sharp vinaigrette and eat at once, while the fries are still crisp.

Editor tip. Add the fries last and serve immediately; they go soft fast once they hit the cold greens.

Common allergens: Dairy.