Category: Sweet

Pie Review: A Splendid Dessert, Vegan Cherry Cherry Pie

Vegan Cherry Cherry Pie - A Splendid Dessert

I came upon this pie-purveyor at the Tigard Farmer’s Market, which is held every Sunday from 9-2 p.m. from May to October.

A Splendid Dessert (ASD) specializes in Gluten-Free, Dairy Free treats; primarily cupcakes. Dawn Galli started up the bakery because she had worked with many students with Autism that were on gluten-free, casein-free (GFCF) diets (casein is found in milk). I think it’s great that she’s bringing delicious sweet-treats for people that can’t have them otherwise.

Like I said, ASD specializes in cakes primarily, but she did happen to have a gorgeous looking Vegan Cherry Cherry Pie when I spotted them at the market.

From the picture, you’ll be able to tell that the presentation on this pie was really nice. It had great shape and a nice gold colored crust.

The crust wasn’t bad at all, but was a bit plain as far as flavor goes (not surprising, given it’s vegan). I also don’t recall much flakiness. But, it was a nice wholesome crust and there was a good crust to filling ratio.

The filling seemed very wholesome, it was seriously very cherry. Whole, fresh cherries for sure and they had a great flavor. It wasn’t runny at all, either (a pet peeve of mine with cherry pies). In fact, it was so NOT runny that I thought it was actually a little too dry. The cherries didn’t seem all that juicy.

Overall Rating: My personal rating of this pie is 3 out of 5 slices. But hear me out on this… this is just my personal assessment of the pie and where it stacks up against other pies that I’ve had. If I were vegan or on a gluten free diet or something, I’d probably rate this at like 4 or 4.5 slices… it was a good pie, good presentation, good crust… good all around. Kudos to ASD for bringing pie to people with special dietary needs.

A Splendid Dessert at Tigard Farmer's Market

A Splendid Dessert
Tigard Farmer’s Market
1131 SW Pacific HWY (HWY 99W)
Tigard, OR
Young’s Funeral Home Parking Lot

No Comments by Joel on September 1, 2010
filed in Oregon Pie, Pie Reviews, Pie in Portland Oregon, Sweet, portland
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Pie Review: Perry’s on Fremont – Peach Blackberry

Blackberry Peach at Perry's on Fremont

Perry’s on Fremont has been around since 1984 (hey, we’re birthday buddies). Despite our similar ages, I hadn’t yet been to this neighborhood bistro that some have described as a Portland “institution”. Perry’s boasts a wide variety of pies on their dessert menu. I should also add that they have chicken pie on their menu, and one Yelp reviewer made it sound amazing (perhaps I shall return for dinner).

Being a fruit pie enthusiast, I went with their Peach Blackberry.

The presentation was ok. The top crust was very nice with a little design on it made from extra pieces of dough. But the cleanliness of the slice was lacking. They said they gave us extra filling since we were sharing; nonetheless, it looked kind of runny and sloppy.

The crust had a good level of flakiness and seemed like it should be a really good crust. But… there was something off about the flavor. My wife and I agreed that there seemed to be some kind of artificial buttery aftertaste. Like… movie theater butter or something… just an unnaturally high level of butter flavor. Take my opinion with a grain of salt, because I have zero culinary training and I am not a foodie; but in my mind there was something slightly peculiar in the taste of the crust. Update: Emily from Perry’s writes-in (see comment below) and assures us that there’s no artificial butter flavor added – all real butter. Like I said, take my opinion with a grain of salt (or a slab of butter).

The filling was, meh, I don’t know, nothing to write a blog about (oh,oops). It wasn’t bad, but like I said, it was quite runny. We also felt it was a little too heavy on the blackberry. I think a good peach blackberry pie has just enough berry to balance out the peach (Read: peach blackberry pie at Bipartisan Café).

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 slices. For all of the negatives I listed above, they were still relatively minor imperfections, it wasn’t a BAD pie… it just wasn’t a high-performing pie. I also list it as 3 out 5 because I still think Perry’s is a place you SHOULD try… you might like it more than me & who knows – their other pies might be amazing (for example, their Peanut Butter Pie with Chocolate Pecan Crust may be a winner).

Other Notes: While I say that it is a good place to try pie, it might not be the best place for you frugal pie-tasters. This was one of the priciest pies I’ve had in Portland… our slice was $7.50 (and don’t forget to tip). It was a very generous helping of pie, though.

Perry's on Fremont

Perry’s on Fremont
2401 NE Fremont St.
Portland, OR

Read more reviews at Yelp!

3 Comments by Joel on August 13, 2010
filed in Oregon Pie, Pie Reviews, Pie in Portland Oregon, Sweet, portland
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Pie Review: Lauretta Jean’s, C/O the Sugar Cube – Cherry

Cherry Pie at the Sugar Cube

The Sugar Cube, located on Mississippi Ave. in Portland is a lovely little food cart in a great neighborhood. Kir Jensen serves up creative dessert concoctions, including the Amy Winehouse cupcake (boozy yellow cake) and has also been known to serve up milkshakes w/ Captain Crunch in them.

The Cube doesn’t specialize in pie, but the one pie that they do offer regularly is Jensen’s Kate McMillen’s ‘Best Cherry Pie Ever!’ McMillen bakes pies under the moniker “Lauretta Jean’s” (which was her grandmother’s name) & Jensen serves it up to the sweet-loving masses.

And you know what, now that I think about it… it probably is the best cherry pie I’ve ever had.

The presentation was lovely, particularly the large glop of delicious whipped cream (whoop, as Jensen calls it). The whoop comes free, but you can opt for vanilla bean ice cream & caramel sauce for an extra buck fitty (I should have, but I’m cheap).

The crust was amazing. This was one of the flakiest crusts I’ve had in recent memory, it had multiple layers of flakiness.

The filling was solid as well, it wasn’t runny at all, which is a big pet-peeve of mine when it comes to cherry pie. I don’t want filling that seems like it came from a can. The filling to crust ratio was also up to my standards.

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 slices. What’s my reasoning for the rating? I’m not really sure… I’m trying not to hand out 5 out of 5 ratings like candy, and I guess my thing is, this was a super-excellent pie, but I don’t know that I’d seek it out on a regular basis. If I’m in the area, I’d stop by fo’ sho, though. Maybe it’s just because cherry pie isn’t my favorite.

Other Notes: The Sugar Cube was recently named to Sunset Magazine’s Top 10 Portland Food Carts list. I haven’t tried any of the other desserts there, but I’m sure they’re super amazing!

It looks like you can order Thanksgiving pies from Lauretta Jean’s and pick them up from the Sugar Cube. Visit http://www.laurettajean.com/ for more info.

Lauretta Jean’s c/o
The Sugar Cube
4237 N. Mississippi Ave.
Portland, OR

Read more reviews at Yelp!

The Sugar Cube cart

No Comments by Joel on August 6, 2010
filed in Oregon Pie, Pie Reviews, Pie in Portland Oregon, Sweet, portland
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Pie Review: The Dessert Tray – Marionberry-Rosewater

Marionberry Pie from the Dessert Tray

The Dessert Tray, located in Beaverton, Oregon, is more of a cake specialist, but I noticed that they offer a few pies, including Marionberry-Rosewater, Key-Lime and Coconut Cream. They’ve been around for as long as I can remember, so I figured they have something to offer.

The Marionberry-Rosewater sounded interesting, as it gives a bit of a different twist on a Northwest classic. It was also Rose Festival time in Portland, so this was a perfect “City of Roses” pie.

However, when I went in and ordered the pie, they said “it’s frozen, so you’ll need to come back in 3 hours”. This alarmed me, of course, as frozen isn’t usually a good sign.

Nonetheless, this pie didn’t disappoint. The presentation was definitely up to par, nothing spectacular, but it sliced nicely and held up well.

The crust was really nice, good thickness and very flavorful. It was more of a shortcrust style, which I’m not always fond of, but it worked. They also sprinkled some sugar on top, which I always support.

The filling was solid as well, good berries and not runny at all. The touch of rosewater added a floral and aromatic touch.

The best part about this pie, though, was its durability. It was frozen and then defrosted by the Dessert Tray, then we ate a few pieces and it sat in the refrigerator for close to a week and it was still in great shape. And, you could literally pick up a slice of this pie and eat it with your hands (if you were so inclined).

It was hardy, so hardy in fact, I could have easily packed it for lunch in a sandwich bag. In my mind, that’s the way pie was meant to be, because, as you know, pie was the original lunchpail.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 slices. I was thinking 3.5, but this is by far the most durable pie I’ve seen so far, so I give it another half slice for that.

No Comments by Joel on July 13, 2010
filed in Oregon Pie, Pie Reviews, Pie in Portland Oregon, Sweet, portland
tagged , , , ,

Pie Review: Shari’s – Sour Cream Lemon

Guest Review by Kurt “the pie-tamer”

The Sour Cream Lemon Pie [from Shari's] is a conundrum. It is both incredibly rich and surprisingly flavorless. With its combination of light yellow and bright white it is also not much to look at …and yet, I cannot bring myself to say that I would not order it again. It has an undeniable quality that cannot be explained in words. It must be tried. Do I suggest you try it? Yes. Do I expect it to be anyone’s favorite? Nope. But when is that a requirement for pie?

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 slices

Editors Note: I have to say, I find it humorous that people feel the need to use pseudonyms for pie reviews. Pseudonym or not, keep the reviews coming!

No Comments by Joel on June 22, 2010
filed in Oregon Pie, Pie Reviews, Sweet, portland
tagged , , , ,

Pie Review: Costco Bakery- Peach

This is a pie that happened to cross my path a couple of times in the last month. Costco has a reputation of producing pretty decent pies in its bakeries. A lot of people often opt to get its pumpkin pies instead of making them for Thanksgiving. I put them in the category of “pies that work, but don’t amaze.” I’d say their peach pie falls in that category as well.

Presentation-wise, this was a good looking pie, it had the classic criss-cross top crust and sliced fairly clean.

The crust was pretty decent. It was on the thicker side, which I tend to prefer. However, in the two instances that I had this pie, I noticed that there was definitely some sogginess in the crust and it was a little mealy. However, this may have had to do with how long the layover from purchase to consumption was, and I don’t know what that was since I didn’t purchase them.

The filling was fine, nice plump slices of peach and that’s about all there was to it. Pretty sure they came from a can, though. They probably added a little bit of spices and syrup, but it was pretty much all peach. The peach slices were a little thicker than I’d like, but they were cooked to a point that was nice, not too crispy and not too mushy.

Overall Rating: 2.5 out of 5. When I get stumped on rating a pie, I try to think, if someone gave me five slices of this pie – how many of them would I eat? I would probably eat 2.5 slices of it. For a large-scale commercial bakery like Costco, this wasn’t a bad pie. They do a good job of giving the pies a touch that makes it feel homemade, but the soggy/mealy crust was definitely an issue I can’t look past.

No Comments by Joel on June 14, 2010
filed in Pie Reviews, Sweet
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