Piehunter

Christmas turkey pie

2011-12-27T20:39:00.002Z

If you're looking for the perfect pie for your turkey leftovers, look no further than this recipe. Great hot with roast potatoes or cold with salad. Piehunter would recommend adding some creme fraiche to give the sauce some added creaminess and to go for the puff pastry.

Serves 6. Prep 45 mins. Cook 50 mins.

Ingredients

2 onions

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp fresh thyme or half tsp dried

2 tbsp chopped parsley

knob of butter

1 trimmed leek

1 heaped tbsp flour

1tbsp Dijon mustard

100ml dry white wine

200 ml stock or leftover gravy 600g leftover turkey

4 large slices of ham, approx. 150g

2 dessert apples

1 lemon

Approx 200g leftover stuffing or sausages

200g filo pastry and 100g melted butter or 300g all-butterpuff pastry and knob of butter, flour for dusting and 1 whisked egg

Method

Halve, peel and finely chop the onion. Soften inthe oil, stirring regularly to colour evenly.

Add thyme, butter and leeks, sliced into 1cmrings.

Season with salt and pepper, cover and cook,stirring a couple of times, for about 8 mins until leek is soft.

Sift the flour over the top, stirring until itdisappears.

Stir in the mustard followed by the wine andstock, stirring briskly.

Simmer for a couple of minutes to make a thick,creamy sauce.

Tip into a mixing bowl

Add turkey and ham torn into bite-size pieces.

Quarter, peel and core and chunk apples, tosswith lemon.

Add apple and juices to the mixing bowl.

Chop stuffing, and or, sausage and add to thebowl. Chop the parsley and add that too.

Season with salt and pepper, mix thoroughly andleave to cool.

Heat the oven to 200C/ gas 6.

If using filo pastry, butter a 2.5 litrecapacity 5cm deep gratin dish.

Keeping the pastry covered with a damp towel toavoid drying out, use half the pastry to make layers in the dish, spreadingeach layer with melted butter and leaving a generous over hang

Add the filling and smooth the surface

Fold the overhang in towards the middle andcontinue making layers of filo as before, tucking to secure, finishing with agenerous smear of butter

Use a sharp knife to cut portion –sized squaresor diamonds, going through a couple of layers of filo

Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes until crispand golden.

If using puff, heat the oven to 220C/ gas mark7.

Dust a work surface with flour and roll to makea thick lid.

Smear the surface with beaten egg and rest acarving knife lightly across the top making a small lattice. Make a few steamholes.

Bake for 20-35 minutes until puffed and golden

The Pie Room

2011-11-15T21:32:00.001Z

Piehunter marked the start of the new pie season with a visit to the Newman Arms on Rathbone Street, London. Walking through the very unassuming pub to the back, you take the stairs to the legendary Pie Room....

The Pie Room menu includes a unrivalled selection of eleven regular suet (£12.95) and standard pie (£9.95) options in addition to a number of daily specials. Choices for the evening included beef and Guinness, chicken, ham and leak and steak and kidney. All were served with good veg, but a small portion of roast potatoes. Extra mash sides are essential.

Bengal Lancer was the excellent guest ale. Rounded off with a round of traditional English desserts - spotted dick, rhubarb crumble, bread and butter pudding and a very good sticky toffee pudding.

Highly recommended.

Ambience 8/10
Value 7/10
Pie 8/10
Ales 7/10

Pie lovers can cook for glory

2011-07-04T09:10:00.002+01:00

Evesham has raised the bar with a pie making competition for all ages at its inaugural Pie and Ale Festival on Saturday 17 September 2011, as reported in the Evesham Observer.

There will be three different flavours to test your skills in - sweet, savoury and oddest - but these will be split into various ages and groups - under ten years-old, 11 to 13 years, 14 to 17 years, adults, and clubs, associations and villages.

Celebrating British Pie Week at the Founders Arms

2011-03-09T21:21:00.001Z

To celebrate British Pie Week we enjoyed a leisurely lunch by the river Thames at the Founders Arms with stunning views over St Pauls and the City of London.

To accompany our lunch time shandies, we all chose the Steak and Mushroom in Young's Ale pie at £10.95.

It didn't disappoint and delivered a meaty and tasty filling and gravy, topped by a puff pastry lid.

First reactions were that the gravy looked a little watery, but fears were proved unfounded. The mash was a tiny bit lumpy, but the vegetables were of a decent standard.

The service was efficient from the pleasant staff and all in all it was a very pleasant way to spend an hour out of the office.

Ambience 6/10
Value 7/10
Pie 8/10
Ales 7/10

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

British Pie Week

2011-03-08T14:53:00.002Z

The best week of the year is here. Have you found any great pies you'd like to tell us about?

The Pie is the Limit

2010-10-08T17:55:00.001+01:00

Tom Hood at the Queen's Hotel is famous for his monster pies. And rightly so.

The main focus of his menu is the 'wow' factor generated by the unbelievably huge steak and ale pie served with cheesy leak mash and peas.

Sure, I've seen a few pies in my time and some significant efforts designed for two to share, but for one person this is something else.

Simply called 'The Pie', it doesn't scrimp on the filling, using beef skirt and a mix of onions, celery, carrots, garlic, Tribute ale and seasoning.

The pastry is a full case which bucks the worrying trend of the puff pastry lid which disintegrate when touched.

This is great hearty food at a reasonable price. It's the kind of dish you want to see served at an English pub.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:St Ives, Cornwall

Pieminister

2010-08-28T12:56:00.001+01:00

Is there anything more cruel than a pie blogger being taken to a pie shop while on a diet?

Undaunted by this cruel treatment of her husband, Mrs Piehunter tucked into a Heidi Pie at Pieminister in Oxford.

"I was in search of a light lunch and the Heidi pie (goats cheese, sweet potato, spinach, onion and garlic) fit the bill. Let down by an inedibly tough pastry base and insufficient goats cheese, it was still a tasty lunch, especially the flavoursome mushy peas that accompanied it. Piehunter had a diet coke."

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Oxford

The Pie Lab experiment

2010-08-25T09:41:00.004+01:00

Crystal Beasley is an interaction designer from Portland, Oregon in the US, at Cheezburger Networks. Her pie cart is used as a space to observe human behavior. She changes the rules constantly to test out different hypothesis of why people make the choices they do in the hope of facilitating serendipitous interactions between strangers in silly, funny and memorable ways.

You can also follow Crystal on Twitter @PieLabPDX

Who ate all the pies?

2010-08-24T13:35:00.002+01:00

A great little story in the Leicester Mercury about how Leicester has been named the pie-eating capital of Britain.

According to Tesco, more than 250,000 hot pies were sold in the city over the last 12 months.

Favourite varieties include steak, steak and kidney, chicken and mushroom, minced beef and balti.

Respect.

Staff canteen upgrade

2010-07-15T21:44:00.001+01:00

Review to follow!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:London

Poll results shock

2010-05-10T20:06:00.002+01:00

While many have been riveted by the consequences of the voting in the recent UK election, the Piehunter team have been analysing fascinating results from the first ever live Piehunter poll which found that 60% of members rated steak and ale as their favourite pie, followed by 20% for rabbit and 20% for chicken and leak. Steak and kidney, that old war horse of a pie option, received no votes at all!

Keens Steak House in New York

2010-05-10T19:30:00.005+01:00

Piehunter rarely goes outside its pie remit, but Keens steak house in New York, 72 West 36 Street between 6th and 5th Avenues, is worthy of the occasion and a special mention.

Famous for its mutton chops, Keens offers a range of different eating areas and atmospheres including a great little bar with a good selection of ales on tap. I went for the T-bone steak and wasn't disappointed. Beautiful meat, perfectly cooked. Highly recommended.

And here's something you didn't know - Keens Steakhouse owns the largest collection of churchwarden pipes in the world. The tradition of checking one’s pipe at the inn had its origins in 17th century England where travellers kept their clay at their favorite inn – the thin stemmed pipe being too fragile to be carried in purse or saddlebag. Pipe smoking was known since Elizabethan times to be beneficial for dissipating “evil homourse of the brain.” Keens's pipe tradition began in the early 20th century.

The hard clay churchwarden pipes were brought from the Netherlands and as many as 50,000 were ordered every three years. A pipe warden registered and stored the pipes, while pipe boys returned the pipes from storage to the patrons.

The membership roster of the Pipe Club contained over ninety thousand names, including those of Teddy Roosevelt, Babe Ruth, Will Rogers, Billy Rose, Grace Moore, Albert Einstein, George M. Cohan, J.P. Morgan, Stanford White, John Barrymore, David Belasco, Adlai Stevenson, General Douglas MacArthur and “Buffalo Bill” Cody.

Mrs Kings makes the ultimate pork pie

2010-03-31T14:41:00.004+01:00

A special mention to local (London) Borough Market favourite Mrs Kings. A stall that has certainly not been distracted by temporary changes to the area as National Rail builds another line across the market.

This is a pie with some serious heritage - a hand made Melton Mowbray pork pie produced in Cotgrave, south of Nottingham, to a traditional recipe by Ian Hart and his family.

Elizabeth King started the business in 1853 and it was taken over by Ian's grandfather in 1962.

Pie recipes from BBC Good Food

2010-03-23T13:25:00.000Z

Pie recipes - Recipes - BBC Good Food Some excellent recipes for DIY pies at home from the Beeb.

The Guinea disappoints

2010-03-19T17:32:00.004Z

On paper, The Guinea pub and restaurant in the heart of Mayfair would have seemed to have been a certain winner for pie hunters. And yet I left slightly disappointed.

High expectations? Well the Pie Institute of Excellence (P.I.E) club heavily advertised on the website certainly had us expecting a premium pie experience. But when I asked the waiter about P.I.E it turned out to be nothing more than a mailing list for Youngs. Disappointing.

The downstairs pub had a nice atmosphere with a good selection of Youngs ales. We ultimately ate upstairs in the restaurant given the size of the party.

The majority of this week's pie hunters went for the three times national championship winning steak and kidney. It was of a decent standard, with a thick crust pastry. Improvements could be made to the amount of gravy and the portion size, which could have been more generous given the punchy £14.50 price tag. We had to order multiple sides.

The Guinea needs to up it's game to live up to it's own billing as the pie centre of West London.

Ambience 6.5/10

Value 4/10

Pie 7/10

Ales 7/10

Counting House pie platters at Christmas

2010-03-19T16:37:00.005Z

A belated review of our infamous Christmas pie hunter gathering at an old favourite, the Counting House in the City of London.

The venue didn't disappoint and we were offered a perfect long table on the balcony overlooking the pub.

There was a brief discussion over whether it was decent to buy a two person pie platter for one pie hunter. Of course it was.

(Health warning: One veteran colleague did however feel the effects after also taking down a crumble and custard with four pints of Guinness and was suffering for two days after the event).

The platter offered a range of pies, including steak and ale, steak and kidney, chicken and leek, a game pie and even a vegetarian option. It came in at about £15. Highly recommended.

A great selection of ales as always.

Ambience 7/10

Value 7/10

Pie 9/10

Ales 8/10

Roll out the pies!

2010-03-02T13:21:00.003Z

http://www.britishpieweek.co.uk/

1-7 March is officially British Pie Week, so tuck in!

World pie-eating contest leaves competitors choking

2009-12-15T17:20:00.001Z

Controversey strikes world pie-eating contest.

The world pie-eating championships proved once again to be a controversy-strewn battleground today as the sole woman competitor stormed out and officials banned gravy after rumours of doping with cough mixture.

Drama also engulfed Harry's Bar in Wigan, the contest's venue, as its owner, Tony Callaghan, entered a protest against the exclusion of Wigan pies in favour of rivals from nearby but "foreign" Adlington.

"We were stunned," said one of the Lancashire town's local pie-munching favourites, Andy Driscoll. "My mate and I have been practising for weeks on small, soft Wigan pies, and at the last minute, they've substituted these monsters."

Go to the Guardian for the full story...

Chicken Balti pie at the Emirates

2009-12-06T14:35:00.006Z

Branching out the scope of Piehunter pie reviews today, after a trip to see Arsenal play at the Emirates Stadium this afternoon. On a cold December afternoon, nothing works better than a nice hot pie at half time. As you can see from the picture, I'm showing my age by matching my pie with a cup of tea rather than a pint... but hey ho.

The pie was a chicken balti affair, wrapped in puff pastry (a bit too well done) and served in an Arsenal branded box. The pie was actually not bad at all, with plenty of chicken and a tasty, slightly spicy balti sauce. The pastry was a bit on the overcooked side, but this did not ruin the experience. The cup of tea was fantastic and kept my hands warm well into the second half.

Ambience: 10/10 for Arsenal fans, 8/10 otherwise

Value: 4/10 premiership grounds never the cheapest of places

Pie: 7/10 haven't had better at a football match

Ale: n/a although 7/10 for the cuppa!

Un Pithivier Monsieur? Oui Oui Oui....

2009-11-22T08:19:00.004Z

As foreign correspondent I have to search high and low for a pie that can be reviewed. I can’t just walk into my local Fuller pub and reel off a description of the house steak and kidney pie but this weekend I stumbled across a real beauty. Its not often you go to a top quality French restaurant and end up eating a fine incredibly tasty pie, but on a recent visit to the award winning Galvin Bistro on Baker Street I had the pleasure of doing just that. Galvin is regularly voted the best French restaurant in London and the prices for once don’t really reflect that. After opting for steak tartare starter over the dorset crab lasagna, I ordered a Pithivier of red leg partridge, foie gras, chantenay carrots with game jus and a side of the most delightfully smooth pomme puree. I have to confess when ordering I didn’t realise a Pithivier was effectively French for pie, but I wasn’t disappointed when the dish turned up and pastry was on show.

It really was one of the best Pithivier’s I have had. The pastry was cooked to perfection, the partridge pink and succulent and the sauces and accompaniments were as fine as you might find in a top class restaurant in Paris.

I didn’t see any Ale on the menu, but to be honest as I was not planning on having a pie night so didn’t wander far from the extensive red wine list. The starters are priced at £7-10 and mains at £13-19, and I would say is definitely value for money. A rich chocolate fondant capped off a memorable pie experience and one that I would have no hesitation in recommending.

Fish Pie Recipe - From The Billingsgate Market Cookbook

2009-11-18T15:29:00.000Z

Great fish pie recipe from Spittoon Extra

Rabbit Pie at the Wapping Project

2009-10-24T15:58:00.005+01:00

Let's make no mistake - the Wapping Project is no pie house. What it is however is one of only 2 UK restaurants in "Extreme Restaurants" - a guide to some of the world's weirdest and most unique eating places. The Wapping Project is housed in a former hydraulic power station in this corner of east London.

What's more unusual though, is that all the machinery has been left in the building, not to mention

the original (minimal) decor, fixtures and fittings. The result is a dramatic and effortlessly cool environment, with candles melting on old turbines and speakers hidden amongst the pipework. The staff are as minimalistic as the place itself and on our visit (a Saturday lunchtime) Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" gave the whole place a surreal quality.

So, onto the food and drink. The only pie on the daily changing menu was a wild rabbit pie with mustard mash and gravy. On arrival, the heavenly aroma of succulent rabbit (think chicken, but more moist and more flavour) and a rich gravy greeted me. Although we didn't venture onto the wine list on this visit, the great selection of reds would have been the perfect accompaniment to this dish. Creamy wholegrain mustard mash, little pearly onions and the tasty pie, crammed with well cooked rabbit and herbs, were a real treat - my only criticism being that a slightly larger pie would have finished the job in a single course!

The atmosphere was however pretty minimal, being very quiet and almost empty. This gave us plenty of time to savour the food and our surroundings though, so all in all a very different experience and a unique and very tasty pie. There is also a gallery adjoining the restaurant, which allows the diner to stretch his or her legs following their meal.

Value: 7/10

Ambience: 6/10

Ale: n/a but wine list looked good

Pie: 8/10

Tim Purdy, 24 October 2009

Canteen serves up the perfect package

2009-10-15T13:02:00.003+01:00

Piehunter went to Canteen at the Royal Festival Hall in London last night, a venue that prides itself on its traditional English food. It didn't disappoint.

Every day Canteen serves two pies of the day and we thoroughly enjoyed the steak and kidney, served with creamy mash and some crunchy greens.

The pie could have been bigger, but included a delightful soft pastry, thick gravy and good quality meat. It also left room for dessert.

Desserts included apple crumble with a vanilla custard, a chocolate brownie sundae and rice pudding. A tasty cheese platter was squeezed in too.

Sitting in a nice booth seat, we also enjoyed a broad range of interesting and sometimes punchy ales, including Black Cat from Morehouse and Dr Okell's IPA from the Isle of Man.

Recommended, but do book ahead.

Ambience 7/10

Value 7/10

Pie 8/10

Ale 9/10

Pie making course!

2009-10-08T22:11:00.002+01:00

Spotted this course on Gumtree today - worth a look:

http://www.gumtree.com/london/53/46878253.html

Time Out's best pie shops in London

2009-06-16T15:31:00.001+01:00

Time Out has published a list of top venues for the best pie and mash in London. Let's get involved:

http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/features/7721/London-s_best_pie_and_mash.html

The Counting House and the one and only Pie Platter

2009-04-14T08:57:00.004+01:00

Firstly, it is worth confessing that the Counting House is my favourite pub in the whole world, however I will try my best to give a fair and balanced review. From the outside, this pub could very easily be walked past. It is one of several innocuous looking finance type buildings on Cornhill. It is not until you step inside that you get the initial wow factor. It really is an old counting house / bank, with super high vaulted ceilings, wood panelled walls and lots of historic decor. The central bar is very large, with a decent number of bar staff always on hand.

In terms of beverages, they have a mixture of mainstream and Fuller's own draft ales. My particular favourite is the Honey Due, which is brewed with honey making it slightly sweet (beautiful). It is worth noting again that this is a Fuller's chain pub. Having been to several of their other venues, I'm guessing this is probably their flagship pub and a definite cut above the rest.

Back to the venue.... There is a decent amount of space and tables around the bar; however it's the other areas that really add the character. To the left of the bar is an impressive and ornate staircase, leading to a balcony style second floor with additional tables and tucked away rooms. Behind the bar downstairs there are additional rooms, with some you can hire. Some of these are excellent "gentleman's club" type rooms with wooden panelled walls. Note that these typically have to be booked.

I have saved the best until last - of course, the pies. Given that Fuller's specialise pies, you won't be surprised to learn that they are extremely good quality. What I think really stands out is the range - we're talking around 10+ different pies on offer. If this wasn't enough they have trumped this with the PIE PLATTER. This is a large plate with mash, peas, gravy and 5 (yes, 5) separate pies. It's meant for two but if you're hungry and into your pies I'd suggest taking one down on your own. Each of the 5 pies is excellent but it's the variety that really makes it. In summary, this is a thoroughly great pie venue, which I deservedly award 10/10.

Fullers Ale & Pie Houses

2009-04-13T21:39:00.006+01:00

We must apologise for not posting this entry sooner - the Fullers Ale and Pie Houses are the staple of all good London pie eating, delivering exceptional value and quality together with a very fine selection of cheeky ales. SWOTM's favourite and stock choice has always been the Counting House in the City of London (photo above) which features a range of seating and a very special private room in an impressive ex bank.

Full reviews will follow, including a blow by blow account of the legendary Pie Platter, but as an overview, this chain is a sub brand of Fuller's pubs. They all offer cask-conditioned Fuller's ale as well as traditional-style pub food. The menu for each venue is designed by the pub's own chef in collaboration with the Ale & Pie executive chef at Fuller's HQ. Each pub has its own "signature pie".

Here is a full list of the London pie 'Houses':

Steak pie for two at the Anchor & Hope

2009-04-13T21:21:00.003+01:00

Gastropub Anchor & Hope on the Cut by Waterloo station continues to win accolades for its British food in a very British setting and it served up a killer pie on my first visit to its legendary premises. Disappointed to see that the pigs head for two had sold out... we ordered a steak pie for two (£29) amongst other orders with a lovely Beaujolais. A thick pastry top hid a huge portion of brilliant beef and an incredibly tasty gravy.

With a no bookings policy we had to wait for our seat but the bar was warm and atmospheric (and gave us the chance to see the last 15 minutes of the Six Nation finale down the road) and served an excellent range of beers including Bombardier.

The pub, a Charles Wells tenancy, opened in August 2003. The same team opened the Great Queen Street brasserie opposite Freemasons Hall in Covent Garden. The menu at the Anchor & Hope changes twice daily with the seasons and we really enjoyed the passion the staff brought to the menu along with a lengthy list of specials.

Ambience 9/10

Value 6/10

Pie 9/10

Ale 9/10

A fine hare pie at the Blueprint Cafe

2009-04-13T21:08:00.003+01:00

I went to the Blueprint Cafe in London’s Design Museum last month with work to see off a colleague who had been visiting from the US. The restaurant offers spectacular views of the London skyline from Tower Bridge, the Tower of London and the Swiss Re building in the West, sweeping across and along the Thames to Canary Wharf in the East. As you would expect of a restaurant in a museum devoted to design, the look and feel is important and the dining area is light with the entire glass wall looking over the river. It's simple, unfussy and the home of a great European pie from chef Jeremy Lee.

I dived into the hare pie following a tasty starter of sardines and a fried egg on toast and wasn't disappointed. A tasty, generous and chunky pie with beautifully cooked meat in a rich dark gravy. It went very well with a side of greens.

Ambience 7/10

Value 6.5/10

Pie 8.5/10

Ales N/A but a very good wine list

Rugby pie exclusive

2009-02-09T15:12:00.001Z

A bust of Wales rugby star Shane Williams - made entirely of pastry - has been unveiled at the Millennium Stadium. Miss Wales, Chloe-Beth Morgan, posed with the pie of the winger. It will tour Wales until the end of the Six Nations, before being auctioned for the Toby Cockbain charity. Click here for the video on BBC Online.

Burek? Yes We Can.

2009-01-03T09:26:00.005Z

Buregdzinica Ahmo,18 Abadziluk, Sebilj Square, Sarajevo

Sarajevo's old town is littered with buregdzinicas, which essentially translate as "pie shops". A trip to one of these is advisable for all visitors, and non-negotiable for any lovers of food encrusted with pastry. The majority specialise in selling purely Pites (which they translate on menus and to foreignors as 'pies'), but some have cunningly tried to differentiate themselves by cross-selling other bosnian specialities.

Ahmo is a pure Pite specialist and concentrates on the standard 4 types;Burek (meat filled) Zeljanica (spinach) Sirnica (cheese) and Krompirusa (potato). You pay per kg of pie, with a kg of burek the most expesive at 10KM, just under £5. We sampled 250g of each which proved ample for 2, and with a total bill including drinks giving you change from a fiver, you can't argue with the value for money, and the almost instant service.

The spinach one would top my recommendation list, followed by the cheese, potato and finally the meat one. The meat one, although tasty, resembled a cornish pasty too much for my liking, and in such foreign lands was not what i was after. For any novice I would stick to the 'Pie Platter' option and sample all of the delights together.

There was no ale available, but there wasn't a local to be seen who wasnt drinking a thin yoghurt drink alongside their pie. Being lactose intolerant I had to give that one a wide berth (I made an exception for the Sirnica Pite) but by all accounts its a must have.

Ambience 8/10

Value 10/10

Pie 8.5/10

Ale n/a

A great game pie in the Cotswolds

2008-12-11T13:56:00.005Z

I stayed at the Highway Inn in Burford for a wedding last weekend and had dinner on the Friday evening, partaking in an incredibly delicious game pie. I can't say that I identified all of the meat, but it was beautifully cooked, the pie rich and full with a light puff pastry lid. It came with a tasty bubble and squeak together with roasted carrots. The inn has a good quality selection of ales and specials and I particularly enjoyed the Cotswolds lager. Extremely friendly owners. And a great English cooked breakfast in the morning. Highly recommended.

Pie Hunter Rating
Ambiance: 7/10
Pie: 8/10
Ale: 7/10

Baked on Baker

2008-12-08T08:40:00.004Z

For an upmarket, lunchtime pie in the west end, you need look no further than Canteen at 55 Baker Street. With a busy lunchtime trade right on Baker Street, you may wish to book ahead for a table, or sit at the counter as an alternative.

Although not a pie specialist, there is always at least one meat and one vegetarian pie on the menu, with chicken and mushroom being pie du jour on my most recent visit.

At £10.50 for a pie with mash and vegetables, it's at the pricier end of the pie market, but for a delicious, warming plate of food, it's not bad at all. The pie itself was full of decent pieces of chicken breast and mushroom in a creamy sauce, encased in a golden brown puff pastry exterior. Served with fantastic creamy old-school mashed potato and steamed cabbage (when did cabbage ever taste this good?) with a generous serving of gravy, this meal sits nicely with a pint of pale ale.

Afterwards, turning out into a cold December London day was not a problem, my pie and mash kept me warm for most of the afternoon.

With a buzzy, office-workers' atmosphere at lunchtime, but much quieter in the evening, Canteen doesn't have the cosy atmosphere of more traditional eateries, but the quality of the food is excellent, with other options like roast belly of pork also looking very tempting.

Pie Hunter Rating
Ambiance: 6/10
Pie: 8/10
Ale: 8/10

Great Queen of Pies

2008-09-06T21:18:00.002+01:00

We went to Great Queen Street (opposite the Masonic temple between Holborn and Covent Garden) for our wedding anniversary and it didn't disappoint.

GQS is run by the award winning team behind the Anchor & Hope in Waterloo, but you can book- Hurrah! Very nice, cosy and buzzy atmosphere and a very interesting daily menu that specialises in game and meats, including some mammoth lamb and beef options for up to six people.

My eye was obviously caught by the chicken and leak pie for two and I can honestly say it was one the greatest pies I have had the pleasure to sample since my appointment as a primary pie reviewer for Pie Hunter.

Wonderful gravy and substantial and tasty roast chicken pieces. Piping hot and fresh from the oven, the pastry was a fantastic suet-crust variety.

Suet-crust is a traditional British pastry that, despite being made with shredded beef suet, can be used for sweet or savoury dishes such as steak and kidney pudding or jam roly-poly. Suet-crust pastry is steamed, rather than baked, to give a light spongy texture and can also be used for dumplings. And it was bloody amazing.

I would recommend the new potatoes and greens on the side, but skip the starter - there is enough for three people at least!

Pie Hunter rating
Ambiance: 8/10
Pie: 9/10
Ale: n/a (there were some London ales, but would recommend the selection of French reds)

Mercer-ful pie

2008-09-06T21:02:00.002+01:00

In the heart of the city, most people come to The Mercer on Threadneedle Street for a power lunch and I duly obliged, meeting a journalist from the Guardian at what was once a banking hall. The world economy, we are told, is heading for a big recession. The credit crunch is already hitting the City's financial institutions - but that doesn't mean you should miss out on one of life's greatest pleasures - the pursuit of the perfect pie.

I'd heard good things about the Mercer Pie from colleagues and it certainly didn't disappoint. A delicious rump steak and mushroom option soaked in a London porter ale for a rich, dark and incredibly tasty gravy. A decent short crust pastry. Recommended.

Pie Hunter rating
Ambiance: 5/10
Pie: 7/10
Ale: n/a

Peckham Pie*

2008-08-04T21:28:00.007+01:00

Cooked by ace chef Dimitri this was pie was on a Desperate scale. Home cooked succulent beef, perfectly seasoned, with a magnificent pastry crust, this was pie worth travelling the breadth of South East London for.

Pie Hunter rating
Ambiance: 9/10
Pie: 8/10
Ale: 8/10

*technically an East Dulwich pie, but Peckham Pie rhymes ...

Pieminister

2008-05-21T16:42:00.003+01:00

A particularly fine pie merchant I would recommend is Pieminister.

Interestingly the founders took inspiration from the Australian pie market

My favourite is probably the Matador Pie - a heady mix of beef, chorizo and butter beans.

Locations include a stall at Borough Market in London. Look out for VIPie Membership.

Pies at the Newman Arms

2008-05-19T17:52:00.004+01:00

http://www.newmanarms.co.uk/newman.html

As well as a nice little bar downstairs, this proper London pub (i.e. with actual Londoners drinking in it) on Rathbone Street in Fitzrovia has a gem of a 'pie room' upstairs, where we ventured to try out the fare recently. But be warned - this place is not open at the weekend and its worth booking a table too, not that we did...

After a couple of pints of Pride in the bar, we headed upstairs, looking for pie as always. The pie room did not disappoint, and although we had not booked ahead - it was a Wednesday after all - there were a good number of tables taken. We got a table for 4 and sat down to select our pies.

2 Beef and Guinness and 2 chicken, gammon and leek pies later, we were all very satisfied. However, the sight of sticky toffee pudding on the blackboard forced us to reconsider our status and we ordered puddings with a heart-clogging combination of custard, cream and ice cream.

Here is James enjoying his pint and pie on the night...