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
2401 NE Fremont St.
Portland, OR
Read more reviews at Yelp!
Related posts:
RSS
Emily
/ August 16, 2010wow! I just went to Pix on Division and had the tiniest piece of chocolate cake for 8.00!. I am not sure I understand what is wrong with 7.50 for this amazing pie out of the oven, topped with local ice cream.
You are more than welcome to have your opinion. And yes, that is REAL butter that we use for our crust. If you only saw the process we go through to make it, I think you would be amazed.
Thank you for your negative post. That doesn’t bother us at all. We have some amazing customers, who know how to communicate to us, when they feel something is a little off, if service is not right, etc. We are human. And we love that our filling runs out of the crust.
Joel
/ August 16, 2010Understandable you’re not thrilled with the review. I try to make it clear in all my reviews, though, that I am merely sharing what my experience was and what I tasted. I recognize that tasting one pie is not an overall reflection on the establishment… which is why I happened to mention that other people might want to sample other pies at your restaurant for themselves. Pies be with you.
patty
/ August 17, 2010Dear Joel,
I think you have been hanging out at Applebee’s too long…this is the best pie in all the world and you really really missed the mark my friend.
I worry about your tastebuds. They are off and you should have them looked at.
You are a good writer but a bad reviewer. And when reviewing it is always helpful to try more than one dish in case personal preference gets in the way of the overall…which is the only explanation I can think of since again I will close with ‘THIS IS THE BEST PIE I HAVE EVER EATEN IN ALL MY 64 YEARS OF PIE EATING!!!!