Wednesday 11 September 2013

Is Your Pie Half Full Or Half Empty?

Barmies - Potato & Mince Beef Pie Review

I thought I may have run out of small pie producers in Suffolk to review. Fortunately I found this Barmies Pie in a newsagent in Leiston. It was the only pie in the shop and I had some reservations initially as it was Potato & Mince Beef flavour. I am generally a bit sceptical about the displacement of meat in a pie by potato. It generally indicates a cheaper pie. Mince also tends to indicates worse quality meat otherwise surely it is preferable to use whole pieces of steak. Also, I cannot find anything online about Barmies pie company, I am not sure they exist!

Barmies - Potato and Mince Beef Pie Review

I was glad that my prejudices were proved (mostly) wrong on this occasion. The pie overall tasted delicious. The outside was soft and melty, pastry perfection. It quite reminded me of the soft, gooey pastry of a Pukka Pie. The whole pie, including the potato, was so soft that you barely needed to chew this pie at all, I felt I could have probably drunk the filling through a straw. There was a lovely thick, peppery sauce inside the pie which was really what made it taste so good. The meat wasn’t too bad either, the pieces of mince were plentiful and big enough to know they were there. At just £1.25 this pie was also quite Cheap so you might think I was onto a winner here until you see the cross section photo....

Barmies - Potato and Mince Beef Pie Review

Now for the criticism which stops it getting into the upper echelons of our pie rankings. There was quite a big Capacity as this was a tall pie, however, as can be seen there was a sizable air gap in the top of the pie. Call me a pessimist but I would say my pie was half empty rather than half full on this occasion. Also, while the meat tasted good, it wasn’t great quality and would have been overly chewy had it not been minced up.

So, a decent pie but I feel I would be letting standards slip if I endorsed a pie with such a big air gap, hence there is a glass celling on the score. You don't have to be Barmy to buy a Barmies pie, it is a solid little performer, but you might feel an air of disappointment.

P.S. I have just realised that the company is actually called 'Barnies' not 'Barmies' as I thought. They do actually exist and have a website, guess this explains why I couldn't find them! The logo isn't very clear!

Potato & Mince Beef (Barnies Foods)
4.99/7

SJL
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