There's No Such Thing As A PF Chang's Apple Tort

There are some menu items that you should never order from P.F. Chang's, including ho-hum offerings like kung pao chicken and fried rice. However, there's another dish that customers are deterred from ordering — but not out of concern for its quality. Claims of P.F. Chang's secret menu apple tort have been around for a while now, and this unofficial dessert, which has been likened to apple pie, has garnered lots of interest from diners eager to try it for themselves. Sadly, we've confirmed that no such sweet treat exists at the chain — or elsewhere in the world of appley confections. 

Mashed reached out to a public relations representative with P.F. Chang's, who informed us the apple tort is not on the menu. In fact, there's no real evidence that apple torts are actually a thing that exists. There are apple pies, of course, and apple tortes, which are cake-like Bavarian confections, and classic apple tarts that are similar to apple pies but without the top crust. Some online recipes use the word "tort" to describe a traditional torte confection, and it's likely that the two terms became merged over time. The word tort also describes an incident of civil wrongdoing, in which case, concocting an online rumor about a delicious apple dessert that doesn't exist should be an actionable offense. 

You can't blame diners for wanting to believe that P.F. Chang's served warm apple pies to in-the-know customers, but a question remains: Where and how did the rumor ever pop up in the first place? Currently, the dessert lineup at the restaurant includes banana spring rolls, the great wall of chocolate cake, a chocolate souffle, and other selections. However, the restaurant's menu did feature an apple crunch dessert on Facebook back in 2023, and this item bears a striking resemblance to what could be considered an apple torte/pie. 

The Facebook post doesn't offer many details about the dessert, but it appears to consist of wedges of fried dough stuffed with diced apples and sprinkled with powdered sugar (plus a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side). Based on the caption of the post, this dessert was part of a holiday menu and as such, is not currently available. And according to a separate X post, apple crunch made its debut in 2022, which is about the same time that the "apple tort" rumor appeared online. While it can't be confirmed, it's possible that the apple crunch was mistaken for a pie or a torte, and the rest is P.F. Chang's history. If you're seeking a savory secret menu hack that actually works, try ordering P.F. Chang's popular Mongolian beef dish with chicken instead.