The Portland Tribune will have a story about Portland’s growing pie-culture in next Friday’s edition. They’ve been interviewing and photographing a slew of important players in this growing movement. I provided my perspective, but I wanted to expand on it here. I’m new to the scene, so keep in mind that I’m speaking to this from an outsider’s perspective.
Background
First, a little background. If you haven’t noticed, over the last few years, pie has become more prominent in the Portland area. Several retail shops have sprung up, notably, Whiffies Fried Pies, Pacific Pie Co., and most recently, Immortal Pie & Larder. Not to mention numerous bakeries, cafes and restaurants that include pie on their menus. There also appear to be a few other pie-makers looking to open their own shops in the future (Meat-a-la-mode and Pie Spot).
Also, in the same timeframe, we’ve seen two prominent pie contests arise, the Portland Pie-Off, and Pietopia (a writing/pie contest). The Portland Pie-Off is run by a group that has named itself the Portland Pie Commission.
Add into the mix a pie-writer, potential pie-reality TV star, and pie-making party host, Beth Howard, over at theworldneedsmorepie.com, and you’ve got yourself quite the pie-culture.
Oh, and don’t forget the pie-loving masses.
Why Pie? Why Portland?
In my interview with the Tribune, I discussed several factors that I think this growing pie-culture can be attributed to:
1. Locavores/Foodies: Pie was made for these movements. You can buy all of the ingredients locally and pie-makers can be as creative as they want to be. Random Order and Pacific Pie Co, for example, are sticklers for using all local ingredients, right down to the flour. Also, the food culture in Portland means that people are willing to embrace pie (sweet and savory), a food that, in my mind, has probably been overlooked in some culinary circles.
2. The Economy: The economy sucks. We need cheap food, cheap fun, comfort and community; pie provides all of that. A slice isn’t expensive, it’s the ultimate comfort food, and pie is best when shared with friends.
3. Food Carts: Whiffies is one of the champs of the ever-growing, first-class food cart scene in Portland. I think the rapid growth of food carts here can be tied, in part, to the economy. It’s cheap and fun, it’s comfort food, and most of all, it creates a sense of community. A lot of friendships have been made over a warm-handheld pie from Whiffies.
4. PIE is WEIRD: Portland is weird and so is pie. I firmly believe there’s something intrinsically silly about pie. That’s why you always see pie referenced by comedians.
Is Portland Becoming Pie Town?
That’s not really for me to say, I don’t have any facts to back it up. I doubt we have the most pie-per-capita or anything like that, but, I think it’s safe to say that Portland has a steadily growing pie-culture. Portlanders are a creative, food-loving people, and pie fits in perfectly.
Keep an eye out for the story in the Portland Tribune next Friday, it should be good!
Original image of Portland skyline by StuSeeger, via Flickr, and remixed by me.
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