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Saturday, December 17, 2016 • Page 1B
Out of this World No good-byes for Flying Saucer Pies By Kim Hogstrom For The Leader Since 1967, the Leeson family has been operating Flying Saucer Pie Company at 436 W. Crosstimbers Dr., and many in The Leader’s readership have made the store’s baked goods a part of holiday tradition. For the first time in 49 years, that tradition will be broken. On Dec. 1, an electrical surge blew up Flying Saucer Pie Company’s commercial dough machine. “We can’t make our pies without the dough for our special crust,” said Tania Imhof, general manager of Flying Saucer Pies. “Our buttery, flaky crusts are our signature element. We just won’t make pies without it.” The family-owned bakery is famous for the long lines of customers that stream for two or three city blocks before every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter holiday. Devoted fans of the Dutch apple pie, peach, pecan, and the best
Cooking with the Kids Christina Martinez Managing Editor
seller - Strawberry cream have been known to wait for up to four hours, and buy as many as $500 worth at one time. The bakery does not take orders; it’s a first-comefirst-serve situation. “We arrive for work between 2 and 4 a.m. to start baking in advance of each holiday. Sometimes we work 14-hour days to meet demand. We all do what it takes, and it takes a lot,” Imhof said, laughing. “I am guessing we sell about 40,000 pies over the course of a holiday season.” Heather Leeson Walker is the owner of Flying Saucer Pie Company and daughter of William Leeson, the founder. The older Leeson passed away in 2015, leaving his daughter in charge. The family remains committed to whole ingredients: fresh milk, cream, eggs and butter with no preservatives in anything. The recipes have not changed in years. “We don’t freeze our pies or the any of the ingredients that go in them, so there are no
To hear Alli Jarrett tell it, the recent decision to replace Alli’s Pizzaria with an expanded Harold’s Tap Room on the first floor of her building is a matter of providing guests with more of what they want
2150 W. 18th St. - Suite 206 713-862-5419 www.jvpjewelryco.com
Contributed photo Customers lined up for blocks over Thanksgiving to buy Flying Saucer Pie Company’s popular pies.
back-up pies (for sale over the holiday). We don’t even have a freezer,” Leeson Walker explained in a letter to her disappointed customers. There is some good news: the bakery ordered the same model of dough machine from Ohio. It requires assembly and shipping, which will take a month, so Flying Saucer Pies plans to reopen on, or around, Dec. 27. “We want to thank everyone for the overwhelming support over these last 49 years,” Leeson Walker continued. “Without our loyal customer base, we wouldn’t exist, so we are
feet, allowing for the extra seating, plus food and drink offerings Jarrett said has been needed. “We can now offer guests more and different kinds of seating,” she said. “Before we had a proper bar, high tops and lounge seats, and now we’ll have booths where people can
It’s about that time for our area schools to release for holiday break, and I’m just certain our young parents are bursting at the seams with excitement. While the kids are home, put a lock down on the electronics, momentarily, and get in the kitchen together. I came across this recipe on Pinterest, from Lovely Little Kitchen, for miniChristmas trees. I liked this recipe because it integrated fruit, a natural sugar, and wasn’t just artificial sugar, though we’ve got some of that, too.
Ingredients:
Note, if you can’t find candy melts, grab white chocolate pieces to melt and grab some green food coloring. This was the route I went. Rely on toothpicks for dipping your strawberries and lay out paper towels to catch your sprinkles. Lastly, embrace the mess that is sure to ensue and enjoy the time together. Merry Christmas and happy holidays, Leader readers.
Christina’s featured chocolate covered Christmas trees.
humbled and grateful to every one. Circumstances have halted all production - temporarily - but we will be up and running again as soon as possible. We will be back!” Tara Ortiz Connolly lives in the Heights and has been buying pies at Flying Saucer Pie Company for the last decade. “My family loves the pecan pies. We buy two or three every Thanksgiving and Christmas. They will not be happy about missing their pies this year, but we will just have to make do. I guess we’ll appreciate them even more next year,” Connolly concluded.
preparing for the things that need permits.” Jarrett hopes for an early 2017 completion to the work. She says that while she would have made the change to her business regardless, the opening of the Heights Theatre has been a boon to business on concert nights. “I’m glad to have them open,” said Jarrett. “There’s an uptick on those nights. There hasn’t really been anything at nighttime before this on 19th Street. It’s been really nice. We’ve seen people who already knew about us who have taken the opportunity to visit as well as those who didn’t and stumbled in to discover what we have to offer.” Photo by Christina Martinez Harold’s Restaurant and Tap Room owner, Alli Jarrett, behind the bar at the 19th Street Harold’s Tap Room.
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Christmas Trees 12 ounces dark green candy melts (found at Amazon, Hobby Lobby or Michael’s) 1 pound of strawberries, stems removed 24 Oreo cookies White Icing Sprinkles Candy Stars (order them from Amazon) Icing 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar 3 tablespoons heavy cream Add water by the teaspoon and whisk until the desired consistency is reached. You want it to be thick like toothpaste.
and rebranding more than anything else. “We wanted to consolidate our brand,” said Jarrett. “People who had Alli’s Pizza are still going to be able to get it, both in the Tap Room and by take out. Families will still be welcome to come in and grab a pizza or a bite to eat in the dining area of the Tap Room.” Although this will be the fourth tweak Jarrett has made to her enterprise, nothing will change with the Harold’s Restaurant upstairs. “That’s working really well,” said Jarrett. What will change downstairs, aside from the name branding and the expansion of the Tap Room menu, is the configuration. The existing Tap Room will expand 500 square feet into the Pizzaria, while the remaining 1,000square-foot front part of the Pizzaria has been sublet to Heights real estate agent Mary Wassef with Circa Real Estate. There will be a wall separating Circa from the Tap Room. “Mary was in the Cooley Mansion,” said Jarrett. “She’s excited to get to 19th and we are delighted to have her.” After the renovation, the bar will be about 1,800 square
Holiday Hours:
Mon – Wed : 10-5 • Thursday – Closed • Friday: 10-5 Saturday: 10-2 Christmas Eve: 10 – noon
Harold’s Tap Room set to expand, consolidating Alli’s Pizzeria brand By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com
Sometimes it’s OK to throw rocks at a girl
sit, drink and eat.” Since Jarrett was serving more pizzas in the Tap Room than she was in the Pizzaria, the new Tap Room menu includes those as well as new sandwiches like ham and cheese sliders and pulled pork sandwiches - and salads including a kale and cranberry and a classic Caesar. The highly addictive Cheesy Bread is a favorite. “We take our homemade pizza crust, butter it and bake it with a cheese blend,” Jarrett said. “It’s delicious.” There are two separate kitchens for the Tap Room and the upstairs Harold’s restaurant but Jarrett says Chef Antoine Ware drives everything food-related. The process for serving alcohol will remain the same, with the private club membership required in the Heights, but the beverage offerings will be expanded. There will be a total of 14 taps of craft brews on tap with 75 beers total. That’s in addition to eight different wines on tap and a full line of liquor drinks. Through the renovation they will be open for business. “Operations will continue,” said Jarrett. “We are doing the things we can do now and are
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