Fork and Pie – Pie-ala-food!

Phil and Lois had invited me to lunch to a place I had never been, so I stuck my tablet in my purse to grab this week’s story. We went to Fork and Pie located at 811 Market Street. None of us are experts about the parking downtown and we saw this weird meter kiosk right where we wanted to park.  It wasn’t the kind on a pole, it was all fancy and we didn’t know if we could even park there because we didn’t see the usual parking space lines.

Phil let Lois and me out at the restaurant and he said he would take care of the car. Lois and I went inside and they told us we could seat ourselves.  We sat in the far corner by the door partitioned by another door that was nailed to the floor sideways. I give them a star for uniqueness. Lois and I started looking at the menu right away and forgot all about Phil who had taken off in the car and then ended up parking right in front where we were (if you go to Fork and Pie – yes, you can park in front by the weird meter kiosk).

Our server asked us what we wanted to drink and we all ordered sweet tea. The menu was sure different than what I expected. With the name, of course you would expect a desert place with great pie or… pizza. But Fork and Pie is a perfect name for what they serve, because it is basically “pie-ala-food” and all you need is a fork! My guess was that it would be casserole-type dishes, but it was even different from that. I was impressed with what I found.  

First of all – great prices! There were four categories with hand pies for $3.50 to $4.50, open-face pies for $7-$8, pot pies for $6.50 and $7 and skillet pies for $6.50 to $8. They even had a category for “not a pie person”. We just had to decide on what kind of food we wanted in a pie. Phil told the boy waiting on us that he was trying to decide and the boy said, “Can I clear anything up for you?” Phil pointed to his ear and said, “Well I have this fungus….”

I got it right away, but it took Lois a minute to replay the boy’s question in her mind before she got it (Either that or she was trying to pretend she didn’t know Phil). I am not sure the boy got it either. I choose the Thai Chicken with Curry pot pie for $6.50, Lois ordered the Curried Pork and Apple hand pie for $4 and Phil got the Shrimp and Grits Skillet pie for $8.

Whenever Lois and Phil have tagged along with me on one of my jaunts, they just ordered what they liked to eat and never thought a thing about it. This time, I think they wanted an adventure, so they ordered dishes that I don’t think they normally would have. This makes it more fun. My pot pie was supposed to have a fried egg on top. That sounded weird and that’s why I chose it. Now Lois and Phil were joining me in exploratory eating. 

Phil pointed to the gigantic fork on the wall and said, “I will eat my dinner with that!” and Lois said quietly, “It’s not big enough!” That got me tickled.

Just then we saw the meter-man outside the restaurant writing Phil a ticket! He had forgotten to put the receipt from the meter kiosk in the windshield. He ran out the door faster than I had ever seen him move! The meter-man smiled and waved at Phil, that it was okay while he put the receipt in the window.

Our food was brought to us and we were all quite surprised at the small portions, but to be honest, they were only ‘small’ in comparison with what most restaurants overdo in portion sizes. This was actually a regular-sized portion and it was perfect for a good lunch and the prices accommodated the size. I was pleased that I wouldn’t need a box to take home left overs that I wouldn’t eat …AND to have room for desert!

I expected a hot pyrex dish with covered pie like most places that serve pot pie, but it was actually those little tin pie pans when you buy pot pies in the store. It also did not have a top crust – but the fried egg on top, like it said. Underneath were the chicken and rice and carrots. It takes me a few bites to know if I like something – especially if it is strange to me. I liked the flavor of the over-easy egg mixed with the rice and I liked the curry flavor on the chicken and the crust was out of this world!

I was deceived by the portion because I was already getting full half-way through! When the boy came by to check on us, Lois said she couldn’t taste the apple. The boy went in the back and brought Lois a little bit of the mixture and made sure an apple was in it and had her taste it and she still didn’t taste ‘apple’. If the portions were not single servings, I would have tasted it too just to see if Lois’ taster was broken.

We were all ready for dessert and we ended up ordering the same thing! That’s no fun, but we were being selfish wanting the Chocolate Ganache all to ourselves with no need to share. Lois said, “I just hope the chocolate tastes like chocolate,” (she was still upset over her taster being broken).

The Ganache looked like a brownie with the top being flaky but the center being smooth like the filling in a Pop-tart. It was very granular and sweet. The whipped cream on the side was in-house made. It was a hit with us all – even Lois! We all gave it a thumbs up …and I think it even cleared up Phil’s fungus.

Open for breakfast M-Th at 7:30 a.m. until 9 p.m.

Weekends 8:00 – 10:00 Sun 9-3