Pie fans ahoy! With over 600 pie reviews, Pierate is surely the web's premier pie resource. We've been eating and rating pies according to the 'Seven Cs' since 2009. Follow us on @pierateers. pierateship@yahoo.co.uk
Saturday, 12 November 2011
3.14 pie
For all the pie loving geeks out there. (Apologies for the anatomically incorrect pie.)
Sunday, 30 October 2011
How much pie could a pie chucker chuck....
....if a pie chucker could chuck pies?
Check out this game on the Porters Restaurant website. It is quite simply an amazing opportunity to throw pies at France. Not to be missed! I managed 1328 miles.
http://www.porters.uk.com/tossthepie/
continue reading "How much pie could a pie chucker chuck...."
Check out this game on the Porters Restaurant website. It is quite simply an amazing opportunity to throw pies at France. Not to be missed! I managed 1328 miles.
http://www.porters.uk.com/tossthepie/
Friday, 28 October 2011
You call that a pie? This is a pie. Jumbucks Pie review
Jumbucks - The Kiwi Pie Review
Yet again the Pierateers have gone 'down under', but by no means have lowered their standards, by visiting the Aussie pie makers, Jumbuck's, in Shepherds Bush. Jumbuck's are always worth another visit because they have so many unusual pie flavours to try and with new ones arriving regularly even the Pierateers struggle to keep up. This time I went for a pie called, somewhat controversially for an Aussie pie shop, 'The Kiwi' which was mince and cheese. To me this is emblematic of how the power of pies can really influence people. Here we have two countries, more often caught in rivalry, uniting in spirit to bring a bit of joy encased in pastry to West London. Jumbuck's make their pies in what they call 'Jaffle Irons', which means the pie is encased in a metal mould while being cooked and hence the pastry can't expand so much and is more gooey. This is rather like the pie maker previously reviewed. An upshot of this seems to be that they can get more filling into the pie without risk of it exploding, hence a great capacity. This seems like a good thing although my main bone with it is that the filling taking up this capacity is mostly liquid. Admittedly the gravy was delicious and thick but I felt like I was pretty much drinking this pie rather than eating it. Seriously I bet you could suck it up through a straw and just leave a hollow pastry case. In fact that sounds like a challenge for the Pierateers! Given that the pastry is also gooey, mastication is barely necessary for this pie giving my teeth a well needed break and making it high scoring on the Chewiness-o-meter.
At £2.50 this was slightly pricey for what is essentially a quite small pie. However, for me if I had more of this pie I think the cheesy flavour would have become too much although I enjoyed it in the quantities I had. This pie seemed to have some benefits over the 'Bushranger Deluxe' previously reviewed in that the content wasn't taken up by excessive quantities of mash potato. Jumbuck's have a knack of producing their consistently fab pastry and the condition seems to be great at any time of day. They are open until 1am on Friday and Saturday which gives them a massive plus in my book. As they are open at 7:30am during the week the deliciously unique 'Bacon and Egg' breakfast pie is also well worth a look.
The Kiwi - Meat & Cheese (Jumbucks)
5.06/7
SJL
continue reading "You call that a pie? This is a pie. Jumbucks Pie review"
Yet again the Pierateers have gone 'down under', but by no means have lowered their standards, by visiting the Aussie pie makers, Jumbuck's, in Shepherds Bush. Jumbuck's are always worth another visit because they have so many unusual pie flavours to try and with new ones arriving regularly even the Pierateers struggle to keep up. This time I went for a pie called, somewhat controversially for an Aussie pie shop, 'The Kiwi' which was mince and cheese. To me this is emblematic of how the power of pies can really influence people. Here we have two countries, more often caught in rivalry, uniting in spirit to bring a bit of joy encased in pastry to West London. Jumbuck's make their pies in what they call 'Jaffle Irons', which means the pie is encased in a metal mould while being cooked and hence the pastry can't expand so much and is more gooey. This is rather like the pie maker previously reviewed. An upshot of this seems to be that they can get more filling into the pie without risk of it exploding, hence a great capacity. This seems like a good thing although my main bone with it is that the filling taking up this capacity is mostly liquid. Admittedly the gravy was delicious and thick but I felt like I was pretty much drinking this pie rather than eating it. Seriously I bet you could suck it up through a straw and just leave a hollow pastry case. In fact that sounds like a challenge for the Pierateers! Given that the pastry is also gooey, mastication is barely necessary for this pie giving my teeth a well needed break and making it high scoring on the Chewiness-o-meter.
At £2.50 this was slightly pricey for what is essentially a quite small pie. However, for me if I had more of this pie I think the cheesy flavour would have become too much although I enjoyed it in the quantities I had. This pie seemed to have some benefits over the 'Bushranger Deluxe' previously reviewed in that the content wasn't taken up by excessive quantities of mash potato. Jumbuck's have a knack of producing their consistently fab pastry and the condition seems to be great at any time of day. They are open until 1am on Friday and Saturday which gives them a massive plus in my book. As they are open at 7:30am during the week the deliciously unique 'Bacon and Egg' breakfast pie is also well worth a look.
The Kiwi - Meat & Cheese (Jumbucks)
5.06/7
SJL
Sunday, 16 October 2011
Killing two birds(eye pies) with one stone
Birdseye Pie Review
continue reading "Killing two birds(eye pies) with one stone"
So when it came
to the crunch and there were two Birdseye pies to choose from in the freezer
compartment of the local convenience store, there was only one choice for this
pierateer – I was going to have to choose them both and give them a thorough
taste test! So with a chicken pie in one hand and a steak and kidney pie in the
other, I set back to my friend’s house to heat them up and give them a go. They
weren’t the largest pies in Britain, so it was well worth eating them both, although
this did ramp up the price a bit and place question marks over the cheapness of
the pie.
So onto the
eating... As you can see from the picture, they aren’t easy to tell apart from
the outside! However the Chicken pie had a lighter, chicken gravy with nice big
chunks of chicken and the Steak and kidney pie – rather surprisingly – had a
darker, beef gravy with chunks of steak and kidney. (Yes, you do have to have a
degree in Rocket Science to do these pie reviews.) The short crust pastry on the
pies became a lovely golden colour but was a little dry, so it was good to have
a nice gravy filling in both. There was a little bit of carrot filler in the
chicken pie but the steak and kidney pie was just meat and gravy. Still, the fillings
in both were very nice and the major selling point of the pies. While they are
obviously mass produced pies, this does mean they are readily available in many
local convenience stores and most bigger stores as well, and the main criticism
was the smallness of the pie itself, which is why I’d recommend it is always
best to kill two birds(eye pies) with one stone (or at least eat two pies
rather than just the one!)
Score: 4.95/7
Wednesday, 12 October 2011
Not sure about Crawshaw? Have a butchers at this then...
After pie loving friends “The Senei” had very kindly brought a John Crawshaw Butcher’s pie all the way back from Sheffield, it didn’t take me long to stick the pie in the oven and have a butchers at it. One of your standard steak pies, the pastry turned a lovely golden colour upon heating up and I was looking forward to a highly recommended pie. And the fact it was straight from the handmade producer, rather than having been caught up in a mass-produced supermarket chain production, only added to the sense of anticipation as I delved in. Would it be worth the mileage to go back and have a butchers at another flavour? Would the pie be a cut above the rest?
Well firstly, there is no doubting the meatylicious content of this pie – it is full to the brim with very nice meaty chunks. Top quality meat comes as no surprise straight from a butcher. The main downside of this pie is that the pastry was a bit dry and there was not really any gravy – certainly no liquid gravy oozing from the pie as you ate it. This may in part be due to heating a pie straight from the butchers stand, but it is a significant downside to the pie as a whole. While I had the facilities to make some additional gravy to go with the pie as I was at home while eating, this is not an ideal situation to find yourself in. It certainly reduces the ‘grab and go’ appeal of this pie. It was however good to know that I wasn’t lining a large supermarket chain’s pocket with the pie purchase (even if, technically speaking, that’s because I didn’t buy the pie in the first place...but good to know the Senei were ‘going local’ in their purchase). For the butcher’s meaty goodness, it gets a good score.
Score = 5.1/7 (RAS)
continue reading "Not sure about Crawshaw? Have a butchers at this then..."
Well firstly, there is no doubting the meatylicious content of this pie – it is full to the brim with very nice meaty chunks. Top quality meat comes as no surprise straight from a butcher. The main downside of this pie is that the pastry was a bit dry and there was not really any gravy – certainly no liquid gravy oozing from the pie as you ate it. This may in part be due to heating a pie straight from the butchers stand, but it is a significant downside to the pie as a whole. While I had the facilities to make some additional gravy to go with the pie as I was at home while eating, this is not an ideal situation to find yourself in. It certainly reduces the ‘grab and go’ appeal of this pie. It was however good to know that I wasn’t lining a large supermarket chain’s pocket with the pie purchase (even if, technically speaking, that’s because I didn’t buy the pie in the first place...but good to know the Senei were ‘going local’ in their purchase). For the butcher’s meaty goodness, it gets a good score.
Score = 5.1/7 (RAS)
Sunday, 9 October 2011
These are not pies.
Don't be fooled. What's the definition of a pie? Not this:
Friday, 7 October 2011
I scream, you scream, pie-ce cream?
Cadwalader's Ice Cream Cafe Steak Pie Review
Now before you get over excited by the title I am sorry to say that I haven't made an ice cream pie... although now I think of it that would be an excellent idea for a future pierateer adventure.... This review is actually about a pie I purchased from Cadwalader's Ice Cream Cafe in Criccieth, North Wales. Even without the pies on sale this is a lovely place, perched half way up the hill towards the castle in this picturesque coastal town. They sell the best ice creams which have been made in this location since 1927 to a secret recipe, famously made with 6lbs of "shan't tell you".But enough with this twaddle about calories that aren't encased in pastry, I hear you cry! Don't take up our time talking about where you went on holiday. What is this, a documented suicidal canter towards pie related heart disease disguised as a pie blog or another tedious travel guide telling us about how everything is so fantastic everywhere that your not? Next we will be telling you the only way to get to Ulaanbaator is by pogo stick and the fermented yak's milk you have when you get there tastes so much better if you stick the straw up your nose.
Anyway, I have digressed far too much, so I will compensate by cutting right to the chase. This is a fantastic pie, especially for the price which came in at something like £1.50. The pastry was solid which made it especially portable. Handy to handle if you want to take it down to the nearby beach. This didn't detract from the taste, which was as golden delicious as it looked. The meat was tender and the gravy had a viscosity nigh on perfection. Cadwalader's pride themselves in making their own products and using local ingredients wherever possible and it shows. Fantastic, I just need them to open up a cafe nearer to home now.
Cadwalader's Ice Cream Cafe Steak Pie
Score: 6.11/7
SJL
Pierate is a pie review website charting a course to find the ultimate pie. For all the pies we have reviewed have a look at our Pie Rankings or find pies of a particular flavour under Pies: Categorised.
Make sure you Follow @pierateers
and let us know your thoughts!
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Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Pie-oneering pie reviews
Tesco Finest Chicken, Leek and Bacon Pie Review
We have here a first for Pierate - a video review of Tesco Finest Chicken, Leek and Bacon Pies which can be found in the frozen aisle of your local Tesco.
Apologies that our reviewers were confused over both the cost of the pie and the actual flavour, it had been a long day of pie reviewing.
Tesco Finest Chicken, Leek and Bacon Pie Review
Score: 5.56/7
SJL and TJP
continue reading "Pie-oneering pie reviews"
We have here a first for Pierate - a video review of Tesco Finest Chicken, Leek and Bacon Pies which can be found in the frozen aisle of your local Tesco.
Apologies that our reviewers were confused over both the cost of the pie and the actual flavour, it had been a long day of pie reviewing.
Tesco Finest Chicken, Leek and Bacon Pie Review
Score: 5.56/7
SJL and TJP
See where this pie ended up in the Pierate Pie Rankings or find other pies of a similar flavour.
Make sure you Follow @pierateers
and let us know your thoughts!
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Sunday, 17 July 2011
Eel-ly good pie
L. Manze - London Pie & Mash Shop Review
Eel and Pie Houses have been providing traditional London pies since the 19th century and although less of the historic shops can be found today the Pierateers certainly weren't about to let this noble tradition pass them by. The L. Manze shop on Walthamstow High Street came highly regarded as one of the oldest having been established in 1928. The Manze family are a famous name within the Eel and Pie world having 3 different members of the family still with shops bearing their names today.
It is so unexpected to see such a lovely old fashioned eatery stuck inbetween the pound shops of Walthamstow. Upon entering it is like stepping back in time. There is a lovely marble and tile interior with narrow wooden booths. It is good to see a healthy stack of empty pie dishes on the counter and also a sign saying they had sold out of eels that day, clearly business is good. Although saddened that I couldn't grab myself some jellied eel that is a story for another day as of course I had my eyes on the pies.
I grab myself a mince pie and settle down in a booth. I'm not sure I have ever sat in such an uncomfortable seat, they were so very narrow it seems hard to imagine they were designed for real people. Fortunately for Manze's 'comfortable' is not one of the 7 Cs and this will not affect their rating.
But the real question is, do these pies provide anything special? While the offer of jellied eel is special, are their pies any different from the local chippy? The answer is most emphatically yes. The pies are served with mash potato and a thick parsley sauce which they call 'liquor' and is allegedly made using eel stock. I loved the liquor and appreciated the uniqueness of the marine flavouring. The pastry itself had a crunchiness around the edges and a crispness in the middle which turned gooey and flaky in the centre. They must use pastry and cooking techniques that I haven't come across before because it really was different. However this worked in it's favour because it isn't often that a Pierateer finds something unique and I loved it. The meat seemed to be consistently good quality with plenty of gravy. Overall I think every pie lover should take the opportunity to try one of these pies if they visit London. If not you can also order online from M. Manze, a separate shop originating from the same Manze family who sell similar pies.
On the way out of this historic establishment I noticed they had put saw dust on the floor. This doesn't happen in my local McDonald's or any other eatery I frequent so I questioned the motivation behind it. They said it was done as tradition and it soaked up spills. This really summed up the experience for me, unashamedly traditional. Please find a pie and mash shop near you and keep this original 'fast food' alive.
Traditional Minced Beef (L. Manze)
5.96/7
SJL
continue reading "Eel-ly good pie"
Eel and Pie Houses have been providing traditional London pies since the 19th century and although less of the historic shops can be found today the Pierateers certainly weren't about to let this noble tradition pass them by. The L. Manze shop on Walthamstow High Street came highly regarded as one of the oldest having been established in 1928. The Manze family are a famous name within the Eel and Pie world having 3 different members of the family still with shops bearing their names today.
See our article on traditional Pie & Mash Shops to understand more about the history of these quaint old establishments
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It is so unexpected to see such a lovely old fashioned eatery stuck inbetween the pound shops of Walthamstow. Upon entering it is like stepping back in time. There is a lovely marble and tile interior with narrow wooden booths. It is good to see a healthy stack of empty pie dishes on the counter and also a sign saying they had sold out of eels that day, clearly business is good. Although saddened that I couldn't grab myself some jellied eel that is a story for another day as of course I had my eyes on the pies.
But the real question is, do these pies provide anything special? While the offer of jellied eel is special, are their pies any different from the local chippy? The answer is most emphatically yes. The pies are served with mash potato and a thick parsley sauce which they call 'liquor' and is allegedly made using eel stock. I loved the liquor and appreciated the uniqueness of the marine flavouring. The pastry itself had a crunchiness around the edges and a crispness in the middle which turned gooey and flaky in the centre. They must use pastry and cooking techniques that I haven't come across before because it really was different. However this worked in it's favour because it isn't often that a Pierateer finds something unique and I loved it. The meat seemed to be consistently good quality with plenty of gravy. Overall I think every pie lover should take the opportunity to try one of these pies if they visit London. If not you can also order online from M. Manze, a separate shop originating from the same Manze family who sell similar pies.
On the way out of this historic establishment I noticed they had put saw dust on the floor. This doesn't happen in my local McDonald's or any other eatery I frequent so I questioned the motivation behind it. They said it was done as tradition and it soaked up spills. This really summed up the experience for me, unashamedly traditional. Please find a pie and mash shop near you and keep this original 'fast food' alive.
Traditional Minced Beef (L. Manze)
5.96/7
SJL
Friday, 15 July 2011
What's the matter[dor]? Pieminister Review Matador Pie
Pieminister Pie Review - Matador
I find myself yet again reviewing a Pieminister delight. They have a fascinating range of interesting pies - each one is so different that you just have to review them all. Today's review is on the Matador pie - which contains the distinctive combination of beef and chorizo amongst other ingredients. After baking in the oven for the appropriate amount of time, the classic pieminister pastry is crunchy and browned. Opening the pie up, you can really appreciate the pie's density and premium content. This isn't a light pie for a summer's day - this is a manly solid pie for the British weather. On eating, I note the delicious exotic taste of the chorizo and savour the moment as the smooth gravy oozes inbetween the soft melting fibres of the steak.
This pie is original and taste excellent. A little on the expensive side, but you get what you pay for.
Pieminister Matador Pie - Steak, Chorizo, Olives, Butter Beans and Sherry Pie
Score: 6.03/7
TJP
continue reading "What's the matter[dor]? Pieminister Review Matador Pie"
I find myself yet again reviewing a Pieminister delight. They have a fascinating range of interesting pies - each one is so different that you just have to review them all. Today's review is on the Matador pie - which contains the distinctive combination of beef and chorizo amongst other ingredients. After baking in the oven for the appropriate amount of time, the classic pieminister pastry is crunchy and browned. Opening the pie up, you can really appreciate the pie's density and premium content. This isn't a light pie for a summer's day - this is a manly solid pie for the British weather. On eating, I note the delicious exotic taste of the chorizo and savour the moment as the smooth gravy oozes inbetween the soft melting fibres of the steak.
This pie is original and taste excellent. A little on the expensive side, but you get what you pay for.
Pieminister Matador Pie - Steak, Chorizo, Olives, Butter Beans and Sherry Pie
Score: 6.03/7
TJP
See where this pie ended up in the Pierate Pie Rankings or find other pies of a similar flavour - as well as all the other Pieminister pies.
Make sure you Follow @pierateers
and let us know your thoughts!
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Pie excitement on the Apprentice
You may well have watched the latest episode of The Apprentice. Here at Pierate we were thrilled to see that two of the contestants, Tom and Helen, decided to set up at British-themed (Christopher Columbus??) pie shop as part of the Fast Food Challenge. Naturally, they won...
Available on BBC iPlayer for UK viewers.
continue reading "Pie excitement on the Apprentice"
Available on BBC iPlayer for UK viewers.
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
A bonza pie on my Walkabout Birmingham
Walkabout Pie Review
So I was casually walking about Birmingham with a friend, looking for a good place to stop and have a pie (and ideally watch the football on TV too), when we stumbled upon an Aussie eatery which is taking the UK High Street by storm. The warm, Aussie welcome you get entering Walkabout Pubs is great to see, and noticing kangaroo burgers and springbok on the menu adds a spice of originality to the establishment... but the real question we need to ask is: Do they serve up a bonza pie? (that’s an excellent, attractive, pleasing pie to us British folk)
As you can see from the photos, this food screams out “pie!” as it is clearly a pastry base with a separate pastry lid stuck on top. No denying that! Onto the taste, and the pie pastry was golden and crispy, the steak (as sadly they didn’t have a kangaroo pie) was very nice too. The gravy seemed to have an Aussie twang to it and the mushy peas side order was quite unique, but all in all this was a very nice pie that I would happily have again. Shows that you can still get top quality pies, even from the other side of the world!*
Score: 4.6/7
*Okay, so admittedly this pie is unlikely to have been flown over having been made on Aussie shores, but the recipe was probably created by Sheila or someone (you know, Sheila – Sheila from Australia...)
So I was casually walking about Birmingham with a friend, looking for a good place to stop and have a pie (and ideally watch the football on TV too), when we stumbled upon an Aussie eatery which is taking the UK High Street by storm. The warm, Aussie welcome you get entering Walkabout Pubs is great to see, and noticing kangaroo burgers and springbok on the menu adds a spice of originality to the establishment... but the real question we need to ask is: Do they serve up a bonza pie? (that’s an excellent, attractive, pleasing pie to us British folk)
As you can see from the photos, this food screams out “pie!” as it is clearly a pastry base with a separate pastry lid stuck on top. No denying that! Onto the taste, and the pie pastry was golden and crispy, the steak (as sadly they didn’t have a kangaroo pie) was very nice too. The gravy seemed to have an Aussie twang to it and the mushy peas side order was quite unique, but all in all this was a very nice pie that I would happily have again. Shows that you can still get top quality pies, even from the other side of the world!*Score: 4.6/7
*Okay, so admittedly this pie is unlikely to have been flown over having been made on Aussie shores, but the recipe was probably created by Sheila or someone (you know, Sheila – Sheila from Australia...)
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