[OT] "Pittsburg Burnt"

We were eating at Chili's tonight (Allegedly a "Tex Mex" restaurant, but I
don't believe that for a minute http://www.chilis.com.au/) and Joel ordered
a steak.

When the server asked how he would like it, he said (as he always does)
"burnt" because he doens't want to see *any* pink in his steak whatsoever,
and often "well done" still has pink in it.

Thw aiter said a confused "OK" and went back into the kitchen

She returned a minute later asking Joel whether he wanted it just plain
burnt or "Pittsburg Burnt". We asked what the difference was, but she
shrugged and said she didn't know, she'd never heard of it either.

So, not knowing what he was ordering, he asked for "Pittsburg Burnt" and the
steak came out exactly how he liked it (first time ever at Chilis).

Can anyone explain what "Pittsburg Burnt" actually means or how it got its
name?

Ta,

Yowie

Yowie wrote:

Can anyone explain what "Pittsburg Burnt" actually means or how it got its
name?

Since I don't know what I'm talking about I'll give it a stab, heh.
Pittsburgh is/was a steel town so if you smelt a steak :-) it's bound to
be well-done. Norm

PS: To put the food topic back in Oz I once ordered mutton rare in a
favorite NYC restaurant and it came medium/well. I sent it back with
misgivings and, sure enough, the next one was raw. I suffered it and
haven't been back.

--
"In 2005, the refining margin...has exceeded $20 per barrel, far above
the long-term average of $6. That has meant record profits for oil
companies and refiners" NYT 2005/09/11

In article , Norm
wrote:

Yowie wrote:

Can anyone explain what "Pittsburg Burnt" actually means or how it got
its
name?

Since I don't know what I'm talking about I'll give it a stab, heh.
Pittsburgh is/was a steel town so if you smelt a steak :-) it's bound to
be well-done. Norm

PS: To put the food topic back in Oz I once ordered mutton rare in a
favorite NYC restaurant and it came medium/well. I sent it back with
misgivings and, sure enough, the next one was raw. I suffered it and
haven't been back.

I also fight the battle of getting meat truly well done.

Still, I had a NYC anecdote that, in a weird way, puts ordering to taste
in perspective. It was a classic Mexican (i.e., not Tex-Mex, a separate
cuisine) restaurant, which did range widely on its appetizer page. One
item was "genuine American nachos, adapted for the Mexican palate.".

Norm @

Since I don't know what I'm talking about I'll give it a stab, heh.
Pittsburgh is/was a steel town so if you smelt a steak :-) it's bound
to be well-done. Norm

Aaaaaaarrrrrrrggghhhhh!

Yowie wrote:
We were eating at Chili's tonight (Allegedly a "Tex Mex" restaurant,
but I don't believe that for a minute http://www.chilis.com.au/) and
Joel ordered a steak.

She returned a minute later asking Joel whether he wanted it just
plain burnt or "Pittsburg Burnt". We asked what the difference was,
but she shrugged and said she didn't know, she'd never heard of it
either.

The server should have asked the line-cook or expeditor what the heck they
meant by this.

So, not knowing what he was ordering, he asked for "Pittsburg Burnt"
and the steak came out exactly how he liked it (first time ever at
Chilis).

Can anyone explain what "Pittsburg Burnt" actually means or how it
got its name?

Ta,

Yowie

The city now known as Pittsburgh was partly destroyed in a horrendous fire
back in the mid 1800's. Perhaps the term refers to that, which to me would
indicate more well done than simply well done.

Jill

"Howard C. Berkowitz" wrote in message
...
In article , Norm
wrote:

Yowie wrote:

Can anyone explain what "Pittsburg Burnt" actually means or how it got
its
name?

Since I don't know what I'm talking about I'll give it a stab, heh.
Pittsburgh is/was a steel town so if you smelt a steak :-) it's bound to
be well-done. Norm

PS: To put the food topic back in Oz I once ordered mutton rare in a
favorite NYC restaurant and it came medium/well. I sent it back with
misgivings and, sure enough, the next one was raw. I suffered it and
haven't been back.

I also fight the battle of getting meat truly well done.

Still, I had a NYC anecdote that, in a weird way, puts ordering to taste
in perspective. It was a classic Mexican (i.e., not Tex-Mex, a separate
cuisine) restaurant, which did range widely on its appetizer page. One
item was "genuine American nachos, adapted for the Mexican palate.".

LOL! That is funny!

Joy

Yowie wrote:
Can anyone explain what "Pittsburg Burnt" actually means

Medium well, burned on the outside. Burnt would be charred all
through.

-L.

Yowie wrote in message
...
We were eating at Chili's tonight (Allegedly a "Tex Mex" restaurant, but I
don't believe that for a minute http://www.chilis.com.au/) and Joel
ordered
a steak.
Steak goooooood; Chili's not good. Tex-Mex? The stuff is baby food compared
to the fire we're used to eating. In Buffalo we do shots of hot sauce for
fun, and Chili's is mild to the point of blandness. The little hot-pepper
logo of theirs amuses me. Frankly, you haven't done hot until you've either
had suicide wings (I'll see if I can find a recipe that'll make smoke curl
out of your ears) or you've gone to an Indian joint run by Punjabis and tell
them to "make it like you'd fix it at home."

As for the Pittsburgh Burnt thing, I'm inclined to believe the fire story
mentioned elsewhere, or attribute it to the city's steelworking history;
there probably were a lot of refineries or smelting holes or whatever you
call the places where you burn the crud out of iron.

Louie and I also like there to be no pink at all, whatsoever, and we get
horrified looks when we specify this to the table staff at better
restaurants (that is, any place where an employee is not required to wear a
paper hat.)

Blessed be,
Baha


When the server asked how he would like it, he said (as he always does)
"burnt" because he doens't want to see *any* pink in his steak whatsoever,
and often "well done" still has pink in it.

Thw aiter said a confused "OK" and went back into the kitchen

She returned a minute later asking Joel whether he wanted it just plain
burnt or "Pittsburg Burnt". We asked what the difference was, but she
shrugged and said she didn't know, she'd never heard of it either.

So, not knowing what he was ordering, he asked for "Pittsburg Burnt" and
the
steak came out exactly how he liked it (first time ever at Chilis).

Can anyone explain what "Pittsburg Burnt" actually means or how it got its
name?

Ta,

Yowie

In article , Singh
wrote:

Yowie wrote in message
...
We were eating at Chili's tonight (Allegedly a "Tex Mex" restaurant, but I
don't believe that for a minute http://www.chilis.com.au/) and Joel
ordered
a steak.
Steak goooooood; Chili's not good. Tex-Mex? The stuff is baby food compared
to the fire we're used to eating. In Buffalo we do shots of hot sauce for
fun, and Chili's is mild to the point of blandness. The little hot-pepper
logo of theirs amuses me. Frankly, you haven't done hot until you've either
had suicide wings (I'll see if I can find a recipe that'll make smoke curl
out of your ears) or you've gone to an Indian joint run by Punjabis and tell
them to "make it like you'd fix it at home."

Unfortunately, I've lost them, but I used to have little notes that I
could keep in my wallet. There were several, but I just remember Thai
and Hindi, reading "This crazy American really wants it hot by our
standards."

Alternatively, we knew we were regulars at a Thai restaurant when the
server would say, "we know how you want it. How hot should we make it
for the American?"

Having lost my note in Thai, it occasionally works to say "Bangkok hot,
but not Lao hot." Thais who like it extremely hot think the Laotians
are just suicidal.

I also fight the battle of getting meat truly well done.

Still, I had a NYC anecdote that, in a weird way, puts ordering to taste
in perspective. It was a classic Mexican (i.e., not Tex-Mex, a separate
cuisine) restaurant, which did range widely on its appetizer page. One
item was "genuine American nachos, adapted for the Mexican palate.".

My dad and I like our steaks medium rare, but we're afraid to ask for
that at restaurants after having way too many "medium rare" steaks come
to us raw. We usually just ask for medium and most of the time it's
pretty good (though I still get the occasional bloody-in-the-middle
one).

--Fil