When people travel to different parts of the world, whether it is for vacation or work and to other countries and continents or just to another state, they typically have an idea of things to see and do that they are expecting to be different. For example, when I traveled to Italy with my college, I knew that regardless of how "picky" I was when it came to food, that I had to try the food because I was in ITALY! Not the pizza parlor down the road or in town but Italy, home of Pizza! Some may feel the same way on their own travels. Well when I first decided on a college out by Pittsburgh, I honestly did not think anything of anything being different. Yes I heard rumors of words such as 'YINZ,' 'SLIPPY,' and "WARSH' but other than that I didn't have any thoughts, not even an idea about accents such as those you would hear going to Boston, parts of New York, and the South in general. However, I was completely wrong. For today I am going to focus on an experience I mentioned in my earlier post, a true Pittsburgh Salad.
Now some of you may be confused by me writing a blog about a Pittsburgh Salad because you live no where near Pittsburgh, and others may be confused because you are from Pittsburgh and want to know what is wrong with your salads. Well in the end there is nothing wrong with your salads, but they are unique and different.
For those who do not know, a 'Pittsburgh Salad' is a regular salad, however it is topped with French Fries.....Yes....I said FRENCH FRIES. I will give you a moment to any who may be shocked or confused about this bit of new information. You may be shocked, you may be disgusted, you may be upset thinking, "It's a Salad! How do you mess up a Salad! It's just lettuce and Salad Toppings like tomatoes, croutons, cheeses, onions, carrots, bacon! How do you mess that up!" Trust me, I understand your confusion, and I can empathize with anyone who has those thoughts, because I had those thoughts.
NOW FOR A FLASHBACK, 4 YEARS AGO, when it comes to my first encounter of the "Pittsburgh Salad," I was a freshman and out at dinner with some friends within my first month of coming to college. We all sat down, ordered our drinks and meals, chit-chatting like college kids do, and having a grand old time............and then it happened........the appetizers came out. Now I am typically not a salad person, however when it comes with my meal I will order it and dig in. Well the waitress.....sweet as could be, placed my "salad" down in front of me.........I just stared. It made no sense, nothing made sense. I just stared at my salad, French Fries and all, just chilling out in front of me.
The waitress asked if there was a problem, but I did not hear her at first. There were french fries....on my salad!!1 I couldn't believe it! I thought it was some strange joke! Who puts french fries on a salad right? I looked at my friends who had not idea what was going through my mind nor what my "problem" was. Everyone was staring at me as I stared at the thing they called a salad sitting in front of me. Finally a friend asked what was wrong, I leaned in close and asked
......"why are there french fries......on my salad?"
She responded......"why WOULDN'T there be french fries on your salad?"
I was shocked, I was confused, more importantly, I was horrified. I looked at my friends for answers and then the bulb clicked on in one of their heads and he looked at me asking, "Victoria......have you ever seen french fries on a salad before?" All I could do was shake my head, why would he ask me that? Again the waitress asked the problem and I responded, "I'm sorry, I'm just, there are french fries on my salad, why?" Again everyone was shocked.
Of course it turned out that I was shocked to see that out by Pittsburgh, you DO NOT order a salad without French Fries, and of course my friends learned that if they travel to other places they WILL NOT receive a salad with french fries. I still in shock and fear of trying the Pittsburgh Salads, always made sure that after that first encounter to always ask for my salads WITHOUT french fries.
NOW A FLASH FORWARD to the present. Two weeks ago I was at a HHEducators seminar hosted by Dr. Herbert Hunt with guest speaker, Dr. Bernie Hoffman. Well at this seminar, I learned that they would be serving lunch. Not knowing what to expect at something like this, I just let my mind wonder but figured it would be like any 'business/professional' dinner I have been to in the past and have the "typical" foods of salad and a choice of meat or fish but very 'low key' for say since admission was free.
After a few hours, lunch finally came and I was ecstatic because by that point I was starving. My new found friend and I practically leaped out of our chairs and made our way to the buffet. We each grabbed a plate and she started to pile the lettuce on. Again, I'm not a huge salad lover, so only put a little lettuce on my plate figuring on making a small salad and eating something else, but then I saw it, the big shiny metal 'buffet tray' keeping something hot. Again in my mind are thoughts of a meat, probably a chicken, but secretly hoping for chicken parm. I watch as my new found friend opens the lid and to my surprise....there is a pile of french fries! I lean into her and ask, "what's with the french fries?" and she responded that the lunch is a salad buffet, why wouldn't there by french fries. (By this point I have come to hate the phrase/response of "why wouldn't there be french fries") and gaped unimaginably at the steaming fries. Well, I thought as I stared at the fresh fries as they were piled on her plate, tomorrow I am signing my contracts to lease an apartment since I'm moving out here.........WHAT THE HELL? WHY NOT RIGHT? MINUS WELL TRY THEM SOONER OR LATER. So there I went, back tracking a little to grab more lettuce, and then stalling adding some tomatoes, croutons, grilled chicken, cheese, and then it came, I was back at the French Fries........I swallowed deeply, not truly wanting to try it for fear that something will happen (which is a ridiculous thought) and then I did it,I slowly lifted the tongs, put them in the pile, got a hold of, as the man said behind me, "A Good amount of Fries," and dropped them on top of my salad......lettuce and all. I gaped down at the fries in shock at what I had done.
Next I moved a little further and saw dressing. DRESSING! What do you do with that? The only condiments I had ever let my fries touch were honey mustard or BBQ sauce (sorry, I don't like ketchup) but salad dressing! on FRENCH FRIES! I looked at the gentleman across from me and studied as he picked up the ladle and poured the dressing all over the top of his salad, French Fries and all. Again I was amazed. I glanced at the man behind me with this confused lost child look on my face. He had heard earlier that I was from out of state so asked, "Is everything alright?" I responded, "I'm new to the 'French Fries' on salad thing.....which dressing should I use? I like both." The man looked at my lost face and then down at the dressing and back at my face, "Cesar" he said, "I like mine best with Cesar, Ranch is too thick and balsamic is not one I care for." I nodded in approval and decided to go for it so I slowly picked up the ladle and poured the SALAD, not french fry, but salad dressing on to my salad. On the inside it hurt so much to do, but at this point, I was curious. Down the line I also grabbed a cup of soup and lots of bread. In my mind bread and soup were great back ups if the salad was a no go for me.
I slowly traveled to my table, which in reality was only 15 feet or so from the buffet room but to me was a mile of me carrying that forbidden salad. I sat down and then just stared, not even sure if I should eat the french fries alone or actually eat them with the lettuce. I glanced around my table at my fellow educators and noticed how they ate their salads (yes, I really did do this), and of course being the normal people they are, they ate their salads like any other person would. Observing this I slowly lifted my fork and went for it, strategically placing the fork down so that it grabbed the smallest fry bit and a little lettuce (yes there was some dressing on it) and taking the plunge.......
.........OH.....MY.......GOD!!!!!!! The flavors! The textures! The taste! A party was going on my mouth! But not just any kind of party! A PITTSBURGH PARTY! I could not believe what was going on in my mouth. There were flavors flying around every which way, and this time it was only a small french fry with some lettuce and dressing. Next I need to add the crouton, and cheese, and tomato! The possibilities are endless! I took another bite, and then another, and another! I could not believe what I was doing, eating a salad with french fries, but more importantly I could not believe the flavors and textures I was experiencing.
All in All, as you can tell from the picture and imagine, the salad was positively amazing, and possibly one of the best I have ever heard. From this experience and past ones involving this salad style I have learned a few things.
The first was a reminder of the old phrase, "You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover," which is totally true.
The second is that even if it is strange, just try it. You may hate it but hey! You may love it as well!
And the third is less of a lesson to me but more of a lesson for my Pittsburgh friends, if you leave the Pittsburgh area and order a salad, do not become angry if there are no french fries on top. That it a unique quality and tradition native to you and your culture which adds to your uniqueness, and it is okay to eat a salad without french fries.
So at last, I would like to say goodbye for now. Until my next Pittsburgh Experience comes and goes, I will be silent, unless something else native to the area occurs. If you have any ideas or suggestions for things I need to see, do, learn, or try please let me know! I am loving it out hear and plan on staying and to truly fit in I need to see, do, learn, and eat what true Pittsburghers see, do, and eat!
Thanks for reading!
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