A city flavor: Pittsburgh’s new food tour

Bon Appetit’s purveyor of all food trends, the Foodist, wrote in an article saying that Pittsburgh was the next big food town of 2014. Pittsburgh has taken the title in stride and recently opened a new food tour under the Pittsburgh Tours and More group called “The Flavor of Pittsburgh.” Known for its former steel giants and a booming industry, Pittsburgh has begun to transform. Students of culinary arts programs online would do well to follow the Foodist’s advice and make their way to Pennsylvania for some top-notch grub.

Steel bites
Chef Kevin Sousa, a semi-finalist for the James Beard award, has already opened four restaurants in the city. Salt of the Earth, Harvard & Highland, Union Pig & Chicken and Station Street all bear the ambitious and bold flavors for which Sousa is known. Using local ingredients from his own Pittsburgh farm, he attempts to build the city into his dishes in unique ways. Sousa is not alone in keeping Pittsburgh hip – Other chefs have also made the jump to the town and have built in a lot of variety.

“Well, I think that the market was always here and we didn’t, as restaurateurs, give them enough credit,” Sousa told Rico Gagliano of The Dinner Party Download when asked why he thinks Pittsburgh is just now becoming a food hub.

A tasty tour
The food tour of Pittsburgh hopes to please tourists and locals alike, teaching the history and cultural traditions of the city that built the Heinz condiment dynasty. The tour begins in Market Square with a taste test of a few baked goods and then heads off to the famous Primanti Brothers sandwich shop.

Primanti began as a sandwich stop for truckers. Serving gigantic subs off of a little cart, the owner Joe Primanti was celebrated by both the 18-wheeler drivers and the locals. One of the most famous meals from Primanti is its version of the Philly cheesesteak. This colossal sandwich is not only loaded with hoards of cheese, but fries as well.

The tour continues on to four more stops and finishes at a coffee shop to help those overloaded with food find the energy to make it home. Hosted by Kim Adley, owner of the non-profit tour company The Fork in the Road, the tour donates a portion of each $75 ticket to local food banks.

“This tour is a delicious way to learn about the city,” said Adley to Lorri Drum of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.