I am desperately clinging to summer.
Every distant patch of blue sky and every waft of barbecue smoke from family picnics at Ambleside Beach elicit in me the naive hope that autumn might still be a ways off.
However, I must concede, it is getting darker outside when I finish work every day, and just the other morning there was dew on the grass outside. Faced with the inevitable transition of seasons, I struggle to find something to assuage my longing for more summer.
And then it hits me.
I need a pie. A glorious, meaty, stick-to-your-ribs pie of the traditional British variety. Meat pie is a food that creates a positive association with cooler weather. So rather than fight autumn, why not celebrate it? Fortunately, the North Shore has some exceptional pie options. Despite the disappointing closure of Peter Black and Sons Butchers at Park Royal, there remains a handful of top quality butchers in North and West Vancouver that offer rich and satisfying meat pies that can make the arrival of fall feel slightly less disheartening.
To celebrate the onset of hearty food season in proper style, I decided to assemble a group of tasters to determine the best meat pie offering on the North Shore. These tasters were drawn from the restaurant industry, dining professionals both past and present, who know their way around classic pub fare. The recent pie tasting took place around my dining room table, which was outfitted with tasting criteria checklists and a variety of British Columbian craft ales selected to complement the pies.
On the menu were four steak and kidney pies that were purchased from The British Butcher Shoppe's Queensbury Avenue location, Sharkey's Chophouse at Lonsdale Quay, Windsor Meat Co. in Edgemont Village, and Price Smart grocery store, which stocks Delta-made Piper's Pies.
I selected steak and kidney pies for this tasting because I believe they are a true test of a pie-maker's mettle and, for me, they represent a responsibility that comes with eating meat: the consumption of more than just the choice bits of the animal. Though production of meat products continues to increase in the West, the appetite for tougher cuts of meat and offal consistently diminishes.
Kidney, properly butchered and carefully prepared, can be a succulent and delicious meal. Mixed with tender morsels of beef and vegetables, covered in a thick and rich sauce, and baked in a classic lardbased pastry, kidney is elevated to the status of culinary art.
Pies were identified to the tasters only by number, so as not to foster any prejudices or false expectations. Below are the rankings of the pies we tasted, from favourite to runners-up.
1. Sharkey's Chophouse This pie was the handsdown, undisputed top pick of the tasting event. Bursting with succulent, tender filling, impeccably spiced, and wrapped in a light, buttery pastry, Sharkey's pie prompted a rock, paper, scissors deathmatch to determine which taster got the last morsels.
Sharkey's effort is what steak and kidney pie is all about: a perfect ratio of quality beef to heady kidney, suspended in a mouth-watering gravy, counterbalanced by flaky, golden pastry. Simply divine.
2. The British Butcher Shoppe This was, not surprisingly, a very good pie. I have enjoyed dozens of pies from this butcher in the past decade and the steak and kidney sampled at the tasting was no exception. Theirs was the only pastry to feature an egg-wash, resulting in a deeper brown crust than the rest. For the panel's taste, the filling was a touch too salty and the kidney had a more chewy quality than the Sharkey's version.
3. Windsor Meat Co.
Though heavy on the kidney content and featuring well-made pastry, this pie was regrettably marred by a rather gelatinous, shiny gravy, suggesting the liberal use of a thickening agent. Overall, a tasty pie that was simply overshadowed by the top two.
4. Piper's Pie For a grocery storebought, comparatively mass-produced item, this pie definitely punched above its weight. Generous steak content makes it a buy-again item, though it suffered from underseasoning and the pastry remained decidedly doughy despite nearly an hour in the oven.
Sharkey's Chophouse is located in Lonsdale Quay Market. Phone 604-980-9870. The British Butcher Shoppe has two North Shore locations. One is located at 703 Queensbury Ave., North Vancouver.
Windsor Meat Co. has two North Shore locations, including one at Edgemont Village.
Chris Dagenais served as a manager for several restaurants downtown and on the North Shore. A self-described wine fanatic, he earned his sommelier diploma in 2001. Contact: hungryontheshore@gmail. com.
