You may remember a few weeks ago when my comrade Dan and I last sampled the pie based delights from Eat in Windsor. Learn from this experience did I. Today, with new Pieday Friday comrade Chris, I went for a pie for an Eat pie which I wisely opted to have without what they claim to be “mash” and gravy.
This proved to be the wisest of choices as without the “mash” to sully the experience the Eat chicken as mushroom pie oozed exquisite gastronomical goodness into my waiting belly.
4/5
Tasted like a small meat grenade
What: Steak and Stilton Pie (with mash and gravy)
Where From: EAT.
When: 7th October
We were on a mission. We were to acquire multiple Steak and ale pies from the local EAT (I shall remove the pretentious full stop in the official name as it will only make this confusing) for the new recruits to Pieday Friday. Before we had time to worry about the logistics of how to give everyone the correct change when everyone had given us ten pound notes, we were met with the big board above the counter informing us of the tragic news that there was no Steak and Ale pie this Friday.
Things didn’t get much better when we got to the front of the queue where the guardian of the culinary delights informed us that everyone’s (apart from mine) second choice, – the Chicken and Mushroom – while emblazoned upon the big board, also not actually on sale this day. Now as I mentioned not one sentence prior, I had already decided upon another pie, the Steak and Stilon. One wasn’t always a fan of blue cheese, but I prefer not to think back to those days prior to my eyes being opened, but for some the mention of Blue Cheese in their meal is not enough to make them immediately say “yes please” . I pity these people.
We sent word to our fellows back at the office of the Pie situation by modern-day carrier pigeon enquiring as to what they would like done with their pound notes as Dan (my previously and subsequently un-mentioned companion on this mission) and I procured our Pies, which we went “all in” with and ordered mash and gravy to accompany, this would prove to be a mistake.
The pie was delicious, the meat succulent and the stilton providing an exciting after taste. The matter which was provided under the name “mashed potato” which I question if it had ever seen a spud was pointless, bland, offensive, and caused me to think less of the meal as a whole.
3/5
Epilogue – When the recruits back at base heard there was no pie of their first or even second choice, they were unhappy, the exact communication of this is unfit for public viewing
So, how would this week’s effort rate on the Terry-ometer? Given that this pie had a troubled birth my expectations weren’t high, in fact my fears were such that I worried Big Terry would deem it to be about as good as a cat flap in an elephant house. The birth of said pie had been preceded by a bizarre conversation – “Please can you make me a pie?”, to which the response was “What do you mean ‘make me a pie’, I’m right in the middle of Glee”. Despite the fact my statement was plainer than a Bulgarian pin-up, it took us a while to reach an agreement, however reach an agreement we did and Marie’s steak pie began to take shape (I’m looking forward to watching ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ in return for fulfilling Richie’s pie-day wet dream).
So my saucy young trollop, what have you delivered in return for an evening of watching self-congratulating narcissistic idiots impress upon me how fabulous they are and how sofa-ridden and unworthy I am? Well, in truth, the ‘Strictly’ steak pie has turned out rather well. Despite being slightly burnt (she forgot she’d put a pie in the oven, something to do with hormones I reckon), what we have here is a pie that would do Big Terry proud. Nice flaky pastry combined with proper man-sized chunks of meat and tasty gravy, with that un-mistakable homemade freshness thrown in for free. A fine effort that will be hard to beat.
4/5
Review by Turner
Being that this is my first review for “Pie Day Friday” I thought it only appropriate that I purchase my Pie from Windsor premier Pie retailer “EAT”. Many of you might not be familiar with “EAT” but for those of you that are you will know that “EAT” is a somewhat popular restaurant chain that others a selection a relatively unsatisfying sandwiches, noodles, wraps, drinks and cakes at oddly high prices, but does this remark hold true to their selection of Pies? Let’s discover.
It was a cold October afternoon and myself and fellow Pie Day Friday contributor Richard Churchill were on our way to the Windsor branch of EAT. The cold air pierced my coat as we approached what I believe is garishly titled the “Windsor Royal Shopping Centre”. Which is differentiated from the rest of Windsor’s shopping district by having a roof similar to the sort of thing you would see atop a conservatree (please don’t point and laugh if I’ve spelt that wrong). In the distance I saw it there, as if smiling at me. The warm glow of EAT radiated out onto the streets of the “Windsor Royal Shopping Centre” and I was powerless to resist its charms.
On entry into the venue I was over whelmed by the sterile decor and the scent of ground coffee beans. Had this been the Pie shop I had dreamed of in my youth? Only time would now tell.
There were a total of 3 pies available for me to purchase, the first “Cheese and Onion”, followed by “Chicken and Mushroom” and finally “Steak and Stilton”. Without a moment’s hesitation I selected my Pie. “Chicken and Mushroom” I said gleefully to the man behind the counter.
“We don’t got no Chicken and Mushroom” the man replied.
Stricken with my newly found sense of lose I stumbled. What was I to do, now that my preferred Pie was no longer available. “Cheese and Onion” is not sustenance enough to sustain me throughout the afternoon and the idea of “Steak and Stilton”, initially at least seemed repulsive. But then I remembered. Today is not just any day, today is “Pie Day Friday”. And is not the discovery of new Pies the very reason we do this? “I have considered your options, and I have made a decision” I say confidently.
“Today I will dine on Steak and or Stilton, joined in Pie.”
“Would you like Mash Potato and Gravy with that?” the man behind the counter asked.
“Make it so” I reply, making sure to pause for any laughter that my seemingly obvious Stat Trek The Next Generation quote would generate. No laughter was supplied, but instead I was greeted with brown parcel, which inside housed Gravy, Potato which had indeed been mashed and the “Steak and Stilton” Pie. The review for which is below the photo documentation.
It was alright. 3/5
Thanks for reading.
Brains4Trains
Waitrose pie effect
What: Pork pie topped with fig and apple chutney
Where From: Waitrose deli counter
Cost: £1.49
DISGUSTING
Pastry had so much oil even Red Adair couldn’t have handled it.
Had to cleanse pallet with pate.
1/5
What? Steak and Stilton Pie
Where? The Windsor Castle
I’m a steak and kidney pie guy for the most part, however this classic was not an option at the Windsor Castle today so I settled for another classic, steak and stilton.
When it arrived the first thing to strike me was the contemporary presentation. This was a “pie” in the way Lady Gaga is a “Lady”, which is to say in the loosest possible sense. It was served on a flat plate with the steak and stilton “filling” pretty much laid bare and only covering its modesty with a sliver of puff pastry. To continue with the Lady Gaga analogy, despite me liking dirty meat of dubious origins I prefer it to at least put up a pretence of modesty and be covered up.
The quality of the “filling” was fairly decent. There were several chunky pieces of tender meat, some whole button mushrooms and bits of stilton all swimming in a rich gravy. The first mouthful was pretty pleasant. There was a definite hit of stilton, and what seemed to be a mild taste of ale (although that’s what I was washing it all down with so there may be a bit of crossover going on there). The mushrooms were pleasant enough and so was the meat.
Despite the rather shaky start with the presentation the initial bite was promising, however it just didn’t go anywhere. The pastry wasn’t helping things by being utterly drowned out by the taste of the filling. Every mouthful became the same, and with nothing to look forward to from the next bite I was left longing for something more substantial. Ultimately I was left unsatisfied and frustrated.
3/5
A fully satisfying pie from the Waitrose collection. The flavour from the ham pours through making the combination of meats a delight to taste. The pie crust perfectly formed and hardened makes for a wonderful backdrop to the meat infusion of pork, chicken and ham.
The only thing missing was some kind of sauce and mash to complete the pie ensemble. A good lunch time offering that will be hard to match in the coming weeks.
Where From: Waitrose
When: 30th September
Cost: £1.39 per 100g
4/5
Brought up on pies bigger than King Kong’s first dump of the day, my first experience with a RAH RAH Waitrose effort left me feeling deader than flares with pockets on the knees. This thin slither of turkey, pork and apricot pie would not have pleased big Terry (owner of ‘Terry’s Plaice’ fish and chip shop in Bognor), the man who has been meeting my pie needs for many years.
Putting aside the sheer minuteness of this effort, I was left with a taste experience that left me longing for big Terry’s Pukka Steak & Kidney. The turkey and pork combination was akin to the flavour delivered by those turkey sheets you can buy in Morrisons, the 50 packs which cost 19p. While the pastry was OK, this tasteless experience was a big letdown.
Waitrose Turkey, Pork and Apricot Pie – 1 out of 5
Review by Turner
To kick-start the first Pieday Friday what better pie to start with than the pie which started it all, the Pork, Chicken and Apricot pie for Waitrose.
T’was a not unpleasant lunch time a little over two weeks ago when three men, legends some would say, stepped up to the deli counter in Waitrose Windsor. They were here to order the traditional quarter of spit-roast chicken when something caught their eye. It looked like a pork pie, but should pork pies have fruit on the top of them? Upon closer inspection there was more than just pork in this pork pie, there was chicken in this pie too!
What madness was this?
There were other pies too, chicken, pork, bacon, turkey, some with egg in them, all shapes all sizes. Not perturbed by this paradigm shift a decision was made, to sample these intriguing savory delights and mark the occasion. Pieday Friday was born.
It took two weeks for enough of us to be in the same place on a friday to begin this glrious venture, but today is that day and I now share with you my thoughts on the pie that started it all.
What: Pork, Chicken & Apricot Pie.
Where From: Waitrose
When: 30th September
Cost: £1.49 per 100g
The pork and chicken were delicious, seasoned wonderfully and the apricot was a juicy addition to moisten the ensemble. The crust was a bit dry, too solid, almost had to get a knife out. Would still highly reccomend it in spite of the crust. I’m going to give it a 4. As this is the first review i’m frankly not sure what to compare it to, so it may be that we have a re-review or an altenrate review up in the future, watch this space!
4/5
PIEDAY FRIDAY! 