Pie Report. Chicken With Peas.

There is a small café behind the Catholic church in Newcastle West serving a terrific selection of meals through the week. It's invisible from the street so you'll need to wander onto the grounds to find it. The chicken pie I had was moderately priced, delicious and generously proportioned. I even ate the peas.

Chicken with peas
4.50 Pastry
5.00 Filling
4.50 Tastiness
4.00 Structure
3.50 Value

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED | 4.30 

Pie Report. Leek & Fennel.

According to recent reports in the Newcastle Herald, Maitland is aiming to be the Melbourne of the north. It seems like council is pulling a long bow right now, but a trip to Maitland is always interesting. On the last trip I dined in the rather good café at the Maitland Regional Art Gallery devouring a leek and fennel pie in record time. It was a taste sensation from start to finish hidden under a slightly eccentric, but blinding salad, of rocket, bean sprouts and pomegranate pips. On the art front, Jaspers Knight's exhibition was an unexpected treat while across the road at Twig & Moss, a rather eclectic collection of hand-crafted goods were available in an eccentric display.

Leek & Fennel
4.50 Pastry
4.75 Filling
4.75 Tastiness
4.00 Structure
3.75 Value

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED | 4.35 

Pie Report. Mushie Goodness.

Georgetown Bakery in Newcastle looks reasonably unappealing from the street, yet it's not a bad bakery in the traditional Australian way. All the favourites are there: vanilla slices, neenish tarts, finger buns and apple pies. You're looking at a mushroom pie encased in tasty golden pastry here, a rather good lunch offering.

Mushroom Pie

4.00 Pastry
3.50 Filling
3.25 Tastiness
4.00 Structure
4.00 Value

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED | 3.75

Pie Report. Tompoes.

Pies are hard to come by in the Netherlands, so I'm stretching the definition of what a pie can be for the foreseeable future. First cab off the rank is the iconic Dutch sweet treat, the Tompoes (Tom Cat). It's a creamy custardy affair squished between two layers of puff pastry and topped with pink icing. Not only are they delicious, but they're cheap at just 75 euro cents each from the local Hema. Lekker eten!

Pie Report. Morello Cherry Pie.

At a bargain one pound fifty, this morello cherry pie from Robinsons Bakery's Manchester market stall was downright scrumptious. The near perfect pastry was light and crisp encasing a deep red cherry filling packed with flavour and actual cherries. Yum! I wished I'd been more piggy and ordered myself a couple of these taste sensations. This is the cherry pie that all future cherry pies will be measured against. I'm sure it would pass the Mary Berry test on The Great British Bake Off.

Morello Cherry Pie

4.75 Pastry
5.00 Filling
5.00 Tastiness
4.75 Structure
5.00 Value

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED | 4.90

Pie Report. Pie & Mash.

After walking past the Hoxton Pie & Mash shop for weeks now, I finally mustered the courage to enter yesterday knowing an eel pie may be in the offing. It was my lucky day, they didn't have any so I went with a traditional beef pie with mash and sauce at a bargain £3.48. It fared well, and if atmosphere and entertainment were criteria, it would have scored even higher. From behind her marble counter, the pie girl dished mash, danced and chatted to punters about music throwing in the occasional naughty word. More about pie girl in a later post.

Pie & Mash

4.25 Pastry
3.75 Filling
4.25 Tastiness
4.50 Structure
4.75 Value

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED | 4.30

Pie Report. Cherry Chomp.

Who can resist cherry pie? My mouth waters at the thought of juicy cherries encased in a lightly sugared golden pastry. Alas, that was not to be, and to be fair — the English love this phrase — at 85p I shouldn't be expecting miracles from a Hoxton bakery. The main problem was cinnamon; it can be overpowering. The cherries didn't stand a chance against cinnamon and sugar here. Shame really, it looked more delicious than the picture paints.

Cherry Pie

3.25 Pastry
2.50 Filling
2.50 Tastiness
2.00 Structure
2.50 Value

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED | 2.55

Pie Report. Steak & Guinness.

As a non Guinness drinker, I decided to try a steak and Guinness pie on a jaunt through Shoreditch. Given the £5 price tag, I was expecting big things. Despite a peely mashed potato winning points, this pricey bland offering disappointed.

Steak & Guinness

4.00 Pastry
3.00 Filling
2.75 Tastiness
3.00 Structure
1.00 Value

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED | 2.75

Pie Report. Spinach Roti.

Strictly speaking a roti is not a pie, but in this case I'm making an exception, no doubt the first of many. The friendly woman pictured on the side of the van above looked uncannily like the woman whipping up amazing roti inside. With her tales of late nights out, long days working and the lack of sleep she was suffering from, she relayed funny tales of life in Brixton. Delicious, and a bargain at just three pounds, I've got a craving. Another trip to Brixton is on the cards.

Spinach Roti

4.50 Pastry
4.75 Filling
4.75 Tastiness
3.25 Structure
5.00 Value

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED | 4.45

Pie Report. Lamb Squab.

The Wellcome Museum deserves a post all to itself, which it'll get soon. In the meantime, the Lamb Squab pie I had for lunch was delicious and well worth every penny. The runny filling was delicious and generously full of scrumptious lamb chunks, perfectly offset by a roasted vegetable salad and another with tomato and mozzarella. Structure was the only misgiving, though any pastry would have struggled to keep this pie's juicy goodness in.

Lamb Squab

4.25 Pastry
4.00 Filling
4.00 Tastiness
3.00 Structure
3.00 Value

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED | 3.65

Pie Report. Chicken Bake.

Hmmm. Doesn't it look delicious? Well, for £1.32 this pie was not only good value, but it helped to dissipate the effects of my hangover for a good ten minutes or so. With a rather high salt content, this chicken pie was just what I needed after unexpectedly seeing a strip show in a local pub the night before. I'll save that story for another post.

Chicken Bake

3.25 Pastry
3.25 Filling
3.25 Tastiness
3.50 Structure
4.00 Value

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED | 3.45

Pie Report. All Eyes On Deck.

Wikipedia tells me that pies originated in Egypt, though I think the Aussie version was built on the English tradition of pie making: potentially delicious filling encased by stodgy pastry. Yesterday's Fish Pie lunch was bland and unusual, made even more so with these little crumbed fish sticking out the top of an average cheesy mash. The filling was tasty enough, but the overcooked, watery vegetables were bland beyond belief.

 

Fish Pie

2.75 Pastry — cheddar potato mash topping standing in for pastry
3.25 Filling
2.75 Tastiness
3.00 Structure
1.50 Value

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED | 2.65

Pie Report. Mediaeval Meat.

A pie shop smack in the middle of a tourist strip can only mean disappointment. Yet in Tallinn it was all smiles with mediaeval theme thrown in. Four and a half euros bought a pie, a pear cider, a bowl of delicious soup and some elk jerky — the gherkin was free — with a euro thrown in for new shoes for the maiden pie seller.

Meat

5.00 Pastry — rather like a croissant
3.00 Filling
3.75 Tastiness
4.00 Structure
5.00 Value

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED | 4.15

Pie Report. Camel Adventure.

I should have known I was in for trouble by the pained smile on the pie seller's face. My adventurous spirit selected a camel pie from Fredo's bain-marie at Coolongolook — the location should have been a giveaway. It's safe to say this pie was one of the blandest ever reviewed here, and at $5 it was a steep price to pay for something resembling wet dog biscuits. I'm also at a loss as to why Fredo Pies — famous for their crocodile pies — use Marilyn as a mascot. Any answers?

Camel

1.00 Pastry
0.50 Filling
0.50 Tastiness
2.00 Structure
1.00 Value

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED | 1.00

Pie Report. Cheesy Custard.

The top came away from this pie rather easily, giving me a good indication of what to expect from this Bribie Island bakery in Queensland. I often risk unusual taste sensations when it comes to pies, but unfortunately this cheese, tomato and bacon offering was all round average.

Custardy...

2.50 Pastry
2.75 Filling
2.25 Tastiness
2.50 Structure
2.50 Value

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED | 2.50

Pie Report. Shady Offering.

I can't remember what flavour this pie was, possibly mushroom. The only impression the pie left was on the roof of my mouth, where it clung uncomfortably for the rest of the day. It came from a Tewantin bakery on the last day of my holiday. I recall the rain had started, few people were about and that the town was quite unlike nearby Noosaville or Noosa Heads.

Dry & Dusty

1.50 Pastry
2.00 Filling
1.25 Tastiness
3.00 Structure
1.00 Value

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED | 1.75

Pie Report. Pork & Apple.

The face on this pie looks a little piggish, perhaps alluding to the rather delicious content hidden within. I'd forgotten to eat before boarding the train to Sydney, and so when I arrived I was famished. I'm not one to eat from a fast food chain, but Pie Face was the first eatery I saw with any nutritious potential. I chose an experimental Pork and Apple pie, something I'd never heard of before, and I have to say it was tasty. Slightly peculiar I'll admit, but yummy nevertheless. How did it fare? 

Pork & Apple

4.00 Pastry
4.25 Filling
4.25 Tastiness
3.75 Structure
3.25 Value — they're a little on the expensive side

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED | 3.90

Pie Report. Lamb & Mint.

Pies and pullovers —not the knitted variety— go hand in hand. Stopped in a Newcastle park not far from Euro Patisserie, I slowly devoured my lamb and mint pie. The heart sitting atop the golden pastry was perfectly crafted, just like the delicious filling inside. A yummy offering.

Lamb & Mint

4.00 Pastry
3.50 Filling
3.50 Tastiness
3.75 Structure
3.00 Value

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED | 3.55

Pie Report. Chicken & Cranberry.

Levin was bustling on a Saturday afternoon as I was driving north with the Art Out and About fellow on a very brief tour of New Zealand. A pit stop before continuing our travels to New Plymouth called for a quick op shop visit and a pie. I'm a sucker for a gourmet pie, despite usually being disappointed by odd combinations. Wisdom suggested I choose something else, but I couldn't resist this festive offering from one of the friendliest pie sellers I've ever met. All up it wasn't bad, let down only by memorability.

Chicken, cranberry, brie and something else

3.50 Pastry
2.75 Filling
2.75 Tastiness
4.00 Structure
2.75 Value

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED | 3.15

Pie Report. Mince & Herb.

Heading north towards Napier, Greytown on New Zealand's North Island provided a perfect lunch stop. While the café wasn't too memorable, nor the pie despite a quite good score, Greytown was. Its cutesy Main Street and focus on trees provided a lovely lap of town.

Mince & Herb

3.50 Pastry
3.25 Filling
3.00 Tastiness
3.25 Structure
3.00 Value

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED | 3.20