From the “Doh! Nut” to the “Firebird Chicken Sriracha,” PYT is known for its tasty and quirky burgers. But the popular Northern Liberties restaurant, which made its debut in 2009, may have finally “topped” itself with its latest creation, the Donut Cheesesteak Burger.
“We already have a donut burger on our menu,” said PYT owner Tommy Up. “We were looking for some flavors to balance out the sweetness of the burger and we decided to do it cheesesteak style. It’s a perfect balance of your essential flavors.”
The burger, which made its official debut Tuesday, consists of a split and grilled glazed donut, cheddar cheese, beef patty, and a Philly cheesesteak with cheese wiz on top.
“Somehow it works together really well,” Up said.
While it hasn’t even been out for a full day yet, the burger has already garnered plenty of attention.
“Customers have been coming in and ordering it all day,” Up said. “We got a lot of feedback. I have a feeling this burger has got some legs on it.”
Not all feedback has been positive however. While PYT burgers have never been known for their nutritional value, some have said that the newest addition has crossed the line when it comes to unhealthiness.
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“Every time we come out with something that’s pretty extraordinary we get a lot of comments from people online about how unhealthy it is,” Up said. “But I know those are the burgers that’ll do really well when we get extreme reactions.”
In response to the health critics, Up says that just like anything else, eating a PYT burger should be done in moderation.
“Personally, for a guy who runs a burger joint, I eat very healthy 90% of the time,” he said. “The 10% of the time I want the craziest thing I can eat.”
Up credits his executive chef Kim Malcolm, as well as an unorthodox creative process with helping him come up with the eye-popping recipes.
“We’re open to suggestions from everyone who works here and our customers,” Up said. “At the end of the day the best idea wins. I have a really talented chef who’s been with us since day one. We’ll come up with an idea or concept or we’ll see something. Then I might say, ‘this donut will look really good on a cheesesteak. Kim you’ve got to make this happen!’”
Up admits however that his latest burger will be a hard one to beat.
“Honestly, I don’t think we can top every burger that we come out with,” he said. “Sometimes the answer is in the air. At some point we’ll figure out how to top it and that’ll be the next burger we come out with.”
