Bakery Review: Pies ‘n’ Thighs

Posted on May 20, 2010 by Kiesha

Pies ‘n’ Thighs
166 S. 4th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
(347) 529-6090

I’ve been on a bit of a pie kick lately. I’ve been baking a lot of pies, thinking about pies and even took a pie baking class at the Institute of Culinary Education (more on that in a later post). So in my pursuit to master all things pie, I’ve been trying to hit up some pie shops in my borough.

Last Friday, a friend’s band, The Kyle Sowashes from Columbus, Ohio, came out to play a set at Pete’s Candy Store in Williamsburg. Before we went out to see the show, my husband and I decided to hit up Pies ‘n’ Thighs, a restaurant we’d been hearing and reading a lot about lately.

We both decided to order the fried chicken box, which consisted of three pieces of fried chicken, a big ‘ol biscuit and one of about eleven possible sides. We both went with macaroni and cheese.

The dinner was fantastic. The chicken was crisp on the outside and juicy on the inside, and arrived piping hot. The biscuit was dense and old-fashioned with a delicious saltiness. The macaroni and cheese was creamy and decorated with a splash of hot sauce (which I ate around…I’m not a big fan of hot).

All this came to $11. Best fried chicken deal in town.

Then came pie time. I was super excited, and out of the six or so pies we had to choose from, I selected a slice of Key Lime and my husband got Chocolate Peanut Butter.

Out came the pies.

After that showpiece of a dinner, I was disappointed with the pie. It just didn’t look that good. The presentation was just lacking. The pie tasted fine (although I wish the lime flavor had been amped up; I prefer tartness in my citrus baked goods to sweet), but it was just so anticlimactic. When ‘pies’ is the first word in the name of your restaurant, I feel like the pies should be real showstoppers.

My husband’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie had a little more visual interest, with the decorative peanuts on top, but it still seemed lackluster. He enjoyed it, although I found that it tasted more like a piece of fudge than a pie. I was hoping for a silkier texture in the chocolate.

I have no doubt that we will go back to Pies ‘n’ Thighs in the future. I want more of that chicken, and the other side dishes (creamed spinach!). And I’m hoping that next time, an apple pie will be the on the menu, because as far as I’m concerned, you can’t accurately judge a pie maker until you’ve had their apple pie.

(I apologize for the poor quality of the photos. I forgot to bring a camera, and just had my phone AND the lighting was pretty bad for photos.)

Washington, D.C. Cupcake Tour

Posted on April 22, 2010 by Kiesha

About two weeks ago, my husband and I packed a bag and jumped on the Bolt Bus to Washington, D.C. for a long weekend. We went to a couple of museums and spent six hours walking the Mall, stopping at the major monuments for photo opportunities. At one point, President Obama himself flew right over our heads in his helicopter heading for the White House (we didn’t actually see him in the helicopter, but he was just coming back from somewhere that day, and his helicopter was flanked by two other helicopters, so we’ll just keep telling ourselves it was really him).

Before we left, I gathered up a list of bakeries that I wanted to check out. Our days were so packed that I only got to hit one of the bakeries on my list, but two other cupcakes fell into my lap without me trying at all. Continue reading →

Bakery Review: Almondine (Park Slope)

Posted on April 6, 2010 by Kiesha

Almondine Bakery
Park Slope Location
442 9th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215
(718) 832-4607

Almondine Bakery is a small, cozy bakery in the style of a classic French patisserie. It’s nestled under a row of traditional Brooklyn brownstones, with French doors that open up to busy 9th Street.

The bakery case features an array of ever-changing pastries, cookies, cakes and tortes that can include anything from macaroons to apple tarts to decadent mousses. On a previous visit, I had one of those apple tarts, which was a lightly sweetened four-bite pastry that let the apple flavor shine.

On this visit, I decided to go for something chocolately, and what could be more chock-a-block with chocolate than Chocolate Mousse?

The mousse itself was rich and creamy, its small size belying its impact on the tongue. It was the sort of pure, unadulterated chocolate that makes a person instantly happier. The mousse was, however, hidden under a layer of chocolate shavings that, upon first bite, were delicious and fun to eat, each twig melting as soon as it hit the mouth, but after the third or fourth bite, became tiresome and annoying. I wanted the mousse, but had to make my way through the forest of shavings to get to it. I feel that two bites of chocolate shavings would have gotten the point across, been fun to eat and would have served as a beautiful garnish. Four bites were just too much.

My husband also decided to go the chocolate route and got himself a large chocolate macaroon.

The bite I had was the epitome of French macaroon, the almond flavoring ever so subtly present, but the chocolate flavor taking center stage. My husband proclaimed it to be “delicious and filling”.

Almondine also features fresh baked breads, which seem to be ever popular, as well as Chocolate Chip Cookies which I’ve never seen, but have heard many rumors about. Both times I’ve been to Almondine, the cookies have been long gone, so I hope someday to taste them and see what all the fuss is about!

The Park Slope location is Almondine’s second, the first can be found on Water Street in DUMBO.

Magnolia Bakery’s recipe for success

Posted on March 20, 2010 by Kiesha

Investors.com posted an article about Magnolia Bakery, its rise to success and its plans to expand into several cities (including Boston and Chicago) by 2012.

If you’ve spent fifteen minutes talking to me, you’ll know that I love Magnolia Bakery. It’s the reason I started baking. And say what you will about dry cupcakes (I personally think the cake part is amazing, but there’s too damn much frosting!), but if you try something other than cupcakes, you’ll find an amazing assortment of homey baked goods, including an ooey-gooey lemon bar that is just awesome.

I don’t know how I feel about the expansion though…especially a certain line in this article that explains that each bakery will produce the exact same cupcakes as the original NYC location with no local variations. No variations? Ever? That seems weird to me. I firmly believe that every city has its own distinct tastes and flavors that it loves and support. By making the same exact things everywhere, Magnolia might as well rename itself McMagnolia.

I wish Magnolia all the success in the world, and I’m not one of those people that gets upset when her favorite things become accessible to all people, I just want this amazing bakery to become as much a part of their new local neighborhoods as they are in New York.

Bakery Review: Bubby’s Pie Co.

Posted on March 14, 2010 by Kiesha

Bubby’s Pie Co.
120 Hudson Street, New York, NY
(212) 219-0666

Bubby’s Pie Co. is a piece of the American South right smack in Tribeca. The unassuming dark storefront is accented by pastel Adirondack chairs that seem to invite the weary traveler to sit a spell and have a piece of pie.

Bubby’s is a full service restaurant, but as my husband and I had just polished off turkey sandwiches at 30 Rockefeller Center, we opted for just dessert. The staff had no problem seating us for just pie (it being four o’clock in the afternoon may have had something to do with that), and we quickly looked over our options on the menu.

The pies included Coconut Custard, Sour Cherry, Apple, Chocoalte Peanut Butter, Lemon Meringue, Banana Cream and Key Lime. Cakes included Devil’s Food Cake, Coconut and Red Velvet. Bubby’s also offers a variety of cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies.

I immediately chose the Mile High Apple Pie. Apple pie is my absolute favorite dessert and I knew I couldn’t pass it up. My husband chose the Devil’s Food Cake. At $7 a slice, it’s a little steep, but I knew it had to be worth it.

Making the pie a la mode, however, was not worth it. A scoop of ice cream was $3, so I skipped it. Vanilla ice cream does make everything better, except your financial situation, I guess.

Our desserts arrived, and my beautiful slice of pie came with a bowl of vanilla ice cream. I certainly didn’t order ice cream, so I figured the apple pie must just come with ice cream. My husband didn’t get ice cream with his cake.

The pie was amazing. The apples were tender, but with still just a teeny tiny bit of crunch, just the way I like it. The filling was perfectly spiced – hints of cinnamon and clove, but nothing that overwhelmed that incredible taste of apple. And the crust was delicious as well, slightly crunchy with caramelized sugar. And did I mention the whole thing came out still warm? Amazing.

The ice cream was pretty good too. It’s hard to top homemade vanilla ice cream.

When the bill came, however, I realized that I had in fact been charged for the ice cream that I hadn’t ordered. I didn’t say anything, but packed that information away for future stops, which there will be. I must try the Lemon Meringue.

At $10 for a slice of apple pie a la mode, Bubby’s is a bit expensive. I’m more of a $5 and under per slice kind of girl, but for a once in a while mind-blowingly delicious pie experience, Bubby’s is at the top of the list.

And, as an aside, we happened to see Harvey Keitel sitting in the restaurant! I think he was being interviewed. It was pretty awesome.