Top 5: Savory Pies

TOP 5

savory pies

by DANNIELLE KYRILLOS

Dannielle Kyrillos, a series judge on Bravo’s Top Chef Just Desserts and expert on all things food and entertaining, shares her five favorite Savory Pies from around the country.

Portrait by Peter Hurley

1escargots de bourgogne en croûte

CHURCH AND STATE 1850 INDUSTRIAL ST., #100 LOS ANGELES, CA 90021 212.405.1434 WWW.CHURCHANDSTATEBISTRO.COM

One of the innumerable reasons potpie is so beloved by so many is that by definition, it can encompass almost anything. It is a stew of leftovers, of vegetables and often meat, with crust. Anything needing saving from waste gets thrown under the lid. Which is why a slight twist on a traditional escargot preparation becomes like six tiny potpies, fancifully fit for forest gnomes and brunch-lovers alike. The butter and garlic are the broth, and the escargots definitely prefer these hats to their old shells. Church and State is one of the best American iterations of the French bistro, a pioneer in downtown Los Angeles. It is somehow industrial, airy, cozy and convivial, and by giving each snail in an order its own pot and piecrust, it makes two antique peasant dishes fresh and frisky.

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lancaster-style “sticky” pot pie

PLAIN & FANCY FARM RESTAURANT 3121 OLD PHILADELPHIA PIKE BIRD-IN-HAND, PA 17505 WWW.PLAINANDFANCYFARM.COM 1.800.669.3568

Anyone from anywhere near Central Pennsylvania will describe the horror they felt upon learning that most of the country thinks “potpie” has a light, flaky crust. In our minds, potpie has no light or crust-related aspects, and its defining characteristic is thick, wet, dumplingesque noodles that are like kisses from a very snuggly Labrador. These doughy ribbons swim in a very yellow, gravy-like chicken broth that simmers for hours on end with shreds and chunks of chicken, carrots, corn and celery. It might be where the phrases “stick to your ribs” and “cure what ails you” originated. The charming and old-school Plain and Fancy is in the heart of Amish country and its potpie exemplifies this style. Fair warning: It is hard to recalibrate potpie perspective after tasting this kind.

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Classic. Crusty. Colonial. Fitting descriptors of both chicken potpie and perhaps the very best setting in which to enjoy it, Fraunces Tavern. Potpie is one of America’s oldest culinary marvels, and it’s rumored to have been George Washington’s favorite dish. In this very spot, one of New York City’s longest-standing structures, the founding father bid his loyal officers farewell in 1783. It’s debatable whether potpie was served that evening, but it is now, and it’s everything the category should be: flaky, creamy and hearty. The very traditional version stands on its own merit, but taken in these woody, fireplace-strewn environs it is an archetype. Food snobs might care that a Dublin-based mini-chain runs the restaurant, but that in no way detracts from an authenticity every new restaurant seems to try so hard to create from whole cloth.

fraunces tavern pot pie

FRAUNCES TAVERN | 54 PEARL ST. | NEW YORK, NY 10004 | 212.968.1776 WWW.FRAUNCESTAVERN.COM

SMOG (steak, onion, mushroom, gruyère)

DANGEROUSLY DELICIOUS PIES | 1339 H ST. NE | WASHINGTON, DC 20002 | 202.398.7437 WWW.DANGEROUSPIESDC.COM

If, like front man and head baker Rodney Henry, you toured with a rock band and also knew how to make extremely choice piecrust, SMOG is precisely what you’d whip up after a long stretch on the road. It tastes like home: sweet roasted onions, earthy mushrooms, soothing cream, meaty steak, melty Gruyère. To work with that lineup, the crust has to be substantial but giving,

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and it is. It is toothsome crust perfection. SMOG envelopes you and gets stuck in your head and is what you crave on a cold or sad day, catchy but substantial like a good song—not surprising coming from a musician such as Henry. His pie empire has grown to include outlets around DC and in Baltimore and he’s taken a spin on TV, but everything he sells is still made by hand.

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shepherd’s pie

THE FAMILY WASH 2038 GREENWOOD AVE. NASHVILLE, TN 37206 615.226.6070 WWW.FAMILYWASH.COM

Kind of like the musicians who play every night at The Family Wash in uberhip East Nashville, savory pies are the underappreciated heroes of supper. There’s nothing flashy about them, they haven’t brought anyone riches or fame (Marie Callender does NOT count!) and their guts are a hodgepodge of yesterday’s glory, but they make your soul warm. Served in those crinkly tin pans and hatted with luscious mashed potatoes and an endearing amount of really sharp cheddar, these shepherd’s pies turn the dive-y setting and accompanying tunes into the spiritnourishing backdrop for a really good alt-country movie. Especially on Tuesdays, when a pint of good beer and a pie are ten bucks. There’s a lamb and beef version and a lentil-based vegetarian pie that has turned more than one carnivore, and like every other situation in life where roasted garlic is an option, “yes” is the right answer to that one.