What would the proverbial pie taste like?

So I was doing a bit of paremiology earlier (that’s the study of proverbs to you and me), having just eaten a Steak and Ale Pie at The Proverbial in Harborne. No, really, I had. I hadn’t proverbially eaten a proverbial pie...I actually did eat it. Honestly, let’s not cry over spilt milk – I did eat the pie. How could I not of, for I can’t comment on a pie I haven’t eaten. Just like people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones (who lives in glass houses, I do not know...but I digress), a pierateer must seek and eat new pies to rate, not make reviews up!

Anyways...having ordered my British Steak and Batemans Ale Shortcrust Pie, with British steak and mushrooms and served with the classic curly fries and peas, the first thing to notice after cutting into the beautifully crafted rectangular pie case was that there was not, in fact, any mushroom in it! Alas, while feeling a bit cheated out of the content, the important thing was that the steak was very nice indeed and the ale-y gravy complimented the pie very well. While the crust was quite thick and solid, perhaps slightly too stodgy for top marks, the pie did come served in tip-top condition and the gravy boat on the side for adding your own extra gravy was a welcome addition. The pastry was golden, the content was delicious (bar the lack of mushroom) and not at all chewy, and the capacity was pretty spot on too. While not the cheapest meal on the menu, it certainly stood out as a decent pie.

Some people say that ignorance is bliss, but I wouldn’t want you to be ignorant about the pie on offer at this Smith & Jones pub in Birmingham. So while you can lead a horse to water but can’t make him drink it, you can certainly take a pie lover to The Proverbial and encourage him to eat pie. A warmly recommended meal with the lads - I enjoyed it.

Score: 4.5/7

(A special thank you to Wikipedia for providing such a random collection of proverbs to try and get into this blog post!)