Liver and onions \u2014 three words that elicit joy or dread from folks when asked if they\u2019re fans of the classic, hearty meal with origins in various global regions, including Rome, England and Germany.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt tastes like shoe leather,\u201d said Karen Barker of Leechburg. \u201cI\u2019m not a fan. I have bad memories because my mom used to make it and even the dog wouldn\u2019t eat it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barker recently enjoyed a dinner out with friends at the Bonfire Restaurant and Lounge in Alle\u00adgheny Township when the subject of liver and onions sparked heartfelt opinions at the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t like it, but my husband and mom are fans of it,\u201d said Olivia Kelly of Brackenridge. \u201cBut he has to go out and get it. I\u2019m not cooking it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, I love it. Oh, yes I do,\u201d said Myra Kjanica of Tarentum. \u201cWe always made liver and onions growing up in Creighton. My dad made it. It\u2019s a good memory for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The one-pan meal ($14.49), most often featuring beef liver (liver is the largest organ found in all animals with a backbone) cooked with caramelized onions, is a staple at several area restaurants in Western Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
The Bonfire Restaurant server Josie Medved has never tried liver and onions but serves a \u201cdecent amount\u201d of the dish in the Western-themed casual eatery\/bar.<\/p>\n
\u201cI sell a lot of it. I think it surprises me because I don\u2019t eat it, but we have tons of people who come here specifically for the liver, and they say it\u2019s always good,\u201d Medved said. \u201cI\u2019ve even had kids eating it. Maybe they think it\u2019s steak.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bonfire customers Richard and Cheryl Pavetto of Allegheny Township are anti-liver and onions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t had it in years because my mother used to make it for my dad,\u201d Cheryl Pavetto said. \u201cI\u2019m the oldest of eight children, and none of us like it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy parents made it occasionally. I never ate it. Never liked it, and the taste of it is just different to me,\u201d Richard Pavetto said. \u201cI don\u2019t see it much on menus either.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Pavettos\u2019 daughter Tara Miller of Upper St. Clair chimed in on eating organ meat.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t like it, and I remember trying it when I was a kid and I didn\u2019t like it,\u201d Miller said. \u201cBut there are people that really, really like it, and it\u2019s really good for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Butcher Roger Fouse has sliced up beef liver since 1976. He works at Sprankle\u2019s Neighborhood Market in Leechburg. <\/p>\n
He\u2019s not a liver fan.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, thank you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Fouse said demand for the organ meat among customers has waned.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s affordable and there\u2019s not too many \u2018old school\u2019 people asking for liver anymore, but we do have our regular customers,\u201d Fouse said. \u201cWe get customers asking me if eating liver will raise their iron.\u201d<\/p>\n
A half-pound of thin-sliced liver is priced at around $2.50 at Sprankle\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Nutritional benefits of liver include a high iron content and plenty of protein and B vitamins, according to Fouse.<\/p>\n
Andrew Ferri is all about promoting liver and onions as manager of The Lamplighter Restaurant in Delmont.<\/p>\n
Lamplighter server Donna Eakman of Claridge has been delivering the dish to customers there since 1972 and said she loves liver.<\/p>\n
\u201cI sold a lot of it back then; now, not so much. A couple here and there to older people,\u201d Eakman said. \u201cThe kids say it\u2019s an old people food. I order it and I like it. I get it here and I give blood all the time and I eat liver the day before I donate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Customers can order Lamplighter\u2019s liver and onions ($12.99) anytime. It\u2019s cut, sauteed, finished in a broiler and served with pan gravy and sides, most often mashed potatoes.<\/p>\n
Server Anna Byerly of Jeannette has worked at The Lamplighter since 1971 and doesn\u2019t dig liver and onions, but her customers do.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople really like our liver here \u2014 it\u2019s mixed who orders it \u2014 but not the kids,\u201d Byerly said.<\/p>\n
Customers are asked for their preferred liver temperature. It\u2019s prepared similarly to a steak.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have been here since 1967 and the clientele have been coming here for decades, older folks, but they know the food and they know they\u2019re gonna get a good home-cooked meal,\u201d Ferri said. \u201cI sell several meals of it on any given day. The staples still sell and are in demand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ritter\u2019s Diner co-owner John Velisaris walked out of the kitchen during a busy lunch shift with three plates of liver and onions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always been on the menu. Never changed it, never took it off,\u201d Velisaris said. \u201cPeople either love it or hate it.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Ritter\u2019s, regular weekly customers arrive to order up the liver and onions ($12.95) meal served with a roll and two sides.<\/p>\n
\u201cCustomers will order it for breakfast, lunch or dinner,\u201d said Velisaris, who goes through about a case of liver per week.<\/p>\n
Ritter\u2019s liver and onions isn\u2019t floured and is prepared on a flattop grill. The liver is covered with a lid while steaming along with onions and served with homemade gravy.<\/p>\n
Some customers add bacon to their liver and onions and get creative with toppings.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not going anywhere,\u201d Velisaris said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Liver and onions \u2014 three words that elicit joy or dread from folks when asked if they\u2019re fans…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290290,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-290289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290289"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290289\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/290290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}