6 September 2007

Canberra's Best Meat Pie?

| Kramer
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Pies. It’s a subject that can potentially divide the nation. Soft pastry or crispy? Chunky meat or smooth consistency? Plain beef or tandoori eggplant? So where’s Canberra’s best pie?

Although I haven’t been out there in a while, I think the pies from Charnwood Bakery would definitely be amongst the best. They have a great crispy lid, tasty beef filling with just enough gravy, and a firm but not too solid base.

Send in your recommendations, and I’ll organise a team of pie tasters (maybe once Mat Dunning is back in the country) to rate them and award Canberra’s best pie.

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screaming banshee4:54 pm 31 Dec 12

Beau Locks said :

What about Croissant D’Or in the interchange? Fantastic. Knead at the Belco Markets (which along with the organic butcher comprise the only redeeming features of the joint) makes some seriously good kit. And in winter there’s Silo, of course.

I think you’re looking for the worst pie thread, those three along with Elaine’s are a solid top 4 of overpriced underwhelmingness.

What about Croissant D’Or in the interchange? Fantastic. Knead at the Belco Markets (which along with the organic butcher comprise the only redeeming features of the joint) makes some seriously good kit. And in winter there’s Silo, of course.

I think the pies from Crust Bakery at Fyshwick Markets are quite good too. I’ve found the ones from Elaine’s at Fyshwick to be hit and miss. More miss than hit.

gentoopenguin11:24 am 31 Dec 12

The pies at the EPIC Farmers Market are pretty hard to beat (the stall in the far back corner). You can buy them on the spot to eat or frozen for later enjoyment.

Elaine’s is also I think in Fyshwick. They do a fantastic vegetarian (but not vegan) mashed-potato-topped pie, usually on offer in Fyshwick but rarely in Dicko.

c_c™ said :

mostly said :

McDonald’s new chicken and pork pies are delicious

Where, it’s not on their menu?

McDonald’s Gungahlin has it on their menu

poetix said :

Spykler said :

Weaselburger said :

elain’s in Dickson or the butcher at Griffith, I could live off them and practically do at times

+1
Two steak and kidney pies , one of their delicious sausage rolls and a large chocolate Oak milk make up my smoko most mornings.

You sound like a person (I am tempted to write man, but let’s not be sexist) who regards tomato sauce as a vegetable.

About once very two months I allow myself a quiche from the bakery in Braidwood. The non-bacon type, of course. If I looked at your smoko I’d put on about five kilos. Smelling it would weigh in at about ten.

Do you work outdoors though? If so, you probably burn it up. (She said, politely.)

Spykler is a male and does love to slather loads of the red tangy stuff on his pies..I do get outdoors sometimes , generally the commute from my car to the front door of my workplace..I would be lying if I said that doesn’t leave me a little puffed. I try to avoid stairs.

Spykler said :

Weaselburger said :

elain’s in Dickson or the butcher at Griffith, I could live off them and practically do at times

+1
Two steak and kidney pies , one of their delicious sausage rolls and a large chocolate Oak milk make up my smoko most mornings.

You sound like a person (I am tempted to write man, but let’s not be sexist) who regards tomato sauce as a vegetable.

About once very two months I allow myself a quiche from the bakery in Braidwood. The non-bacon type, of course. If I looked at your smoko I’d put on about five kilos. Smelling it would weigh in at about ten.

Do you work outdoors though? If so, you probably burn it up. (She said, politely.)

Antagonist said :

Spykler said :

Weaselburger said :

elain’s in Dickson or the butcher at Griffith, I could live off them and practically do at times

+1
Two steak and kidney pies , one of their delicious sausage rolls and a large chocolate Oak milk make up my smoko most mornings.

You sound like you are in the same kind of physical shape as me. Round.

A little on the soft side yes- thanks to Elaine’s pies, Regal Charcoal Chicken at Charnhood, King Fooks chinese at Florey, and the Lachlan court takeaway for great chips and lambs fry, bacon and onion rolls..

Spykler said :

Weaselburger said :

elain’s in Dickson or the butcher at Griffith, I could live off them and practically do at times

+1
Two steak and kidney pies , one of their delicious sausage rolls and a large chocolate Oak milk make up my smoko most mornings.

You sound like you are in the same kind of physical shape as me. Round.

Madam Cholet9:10 pm 30 Dec 12

Weaselburger said :

elain’s in Dickson or the butcher at Griffith, I could live off them and practically do at times

Does the butcher in Griffith still do pies etc? We used to get all of our meat there some time ago, however the ambience of the place seemed to change and we ditched it for the organic place at Fyshwick as it was more convenient anyway as we also get veggies and fish there. Got the impression that Griffith was running down the bakery side, unless that was just Saturdays?

I had a few pies from there and honestly thought they tasted a bit odd. Great butchery though.

Weaselburger said :

elain’s in Dickson or the butcher at Griffith, I could live off them and practically do at times

+1
Two steak and kidney pies , one of their delicious sausage rolls and a large chocolate Oak milk make up my smoko most mornings.

mostly said :

McDonald’s new chicken and pork pies are delicious

Where, it’s not on their menu?

Best pie… anywhere with Villis.

mostly said :

McDonald’s new chicken and pork pies are delicious

0_0 Something Mcdonald’s sells is delicious????

There’s a first time for everything.

mostly said :

McDonald’s new chicken and pork pies are delicious

McDonald’s and delicious is an oxymoron.

McDonald’s new chicken and pork pies are delicious

Weaselburger8:10 am 30 Dec 12

elain’s in Dickson or the butcher at Griffith, I could live off them and practically do at times

You Fat Barstard!

all the pies from the outback bakery cootamundra.dont eat the sausage rolls ,all breadcrumb

Woody Mann-Caruso3:50 pm 29 May 08

(The wine is better at the National Library, though, and the sandwiches are pretty good too – if only they did hot chips…)

Woody Mann-Caruso3:48 pm 29 May 08

Rose Garden does great chips and sandwiches (just get one of the $6.50 pre-mades – the salami and feta is good), and a generous glass of cheap, cheap wine – just the thing to get you through the afternoon. Haven’t tried the new gor-may pies, though.

Yeah, that’d be the takeaway behind the Lobby. See a lot of fluro-vest-wearers going there most lunchtimes.

A better feed can be had at the public cafeteria in the Treasury Building.

Ingeegoodbee3:18 pm 29 May 08

I’d say it was Mael. I’ll take the warning on board.

Not sure ingee, we cut across from JGB through the Canberra Free Camping site, no idea what the restraunt on the other side is called.

Ingeegoodbee2:51 pm 29 May 08

Rose garden cafe? Is that the place at the back of The Lobby?

Heh this makes me a 3 post nutbag – although its a good 5 months since I posted.

A nomination for Canberra’s worst pie – I even shudder to call this a pie, the party pie I received at the Rose Garden Cafe in the Parliamentary Triangle.

Call it a diet pie or whatever, the thing was only 1/4 the size of a normal pie, and at a genuine Sydney price of $3.20 for your efforts.

I counted 0% kidney in a steak and kidney pie – so many faults it cannot even be compared to a normal pie.

I’ve been nominating the pies for some time, yes.

A claim to frequency though, no – albeit if I were allowed to eat more pies without incurring the wrath of Mrs Maelinar and the junk food police, I would have been.

The best I can do on a regular basis (at least 1/month) is Maelinar’s home-made pie, proudly made by yours truly, ingredients tend to be responsive to the avaliability of local produce, so no fixed recipe.

Bert - Son of Bake11:56 am 21 Dec 07

Sorry to get your hopes up there Maelinar. Were you a frequent customer of the former Bakers Dozen.

Dammit ! I was going to head out to Spence until you changed not to now…

Bert - Son of Bake11:47 am 21 Dec 07

Sorry, above comment was meant to read “has now thrown in the towel”.

Bert - Son of Bake11:43 am 21 Dec 07

Hi Maelinar.

The original creators have long since gone. I left the trade in 1990 and my father passed away 5 years ago now. Ross, who purchased the bakery from us came and went a few times over the years and has not thrown the towel in on baking….sad, as he was the legend behind the pies. Spence has always had a good pie, having said that, it has been a few years since I have been out that way to see if this is still the case. Have a good Christmas all.

Are we to trust that the former Bakers Dozen Bakery in Kippax original creators have since moved to Spence Bakery, thus meaning that the Former Bakers Dozen Bakery pies from Kippax are now found in Spence ?

Holden Caulfield12:28 pm 17 Dec 07

I’m hungry.

Bert - Son of Bake11:27 am 17 Dec 07

Greetings to you all. I am the son of the original creators of the former Bakers Dozen Bakery in Kippax. The pies there are still pretty good but I trust you will also like the pies from the Spence Bakery, well worth the trip.

Ingeegoodbee9:22 pm 18 Oct 07

By Barton Cafe might you also mean the Barf Cart?

Ahh a man of distinguished tastes.

Cobblestones – Palmerston North. RIP unfortunately.

And your favourite pie was from Couplands Bakery in Christchurch?

To resurrect a thread from the dead – Barton Cafe just took my award for the best pie I have ever eaten in Australia, and the 2nd best pie I have ever eaten Internationally award.

Stuff the planet: I want $1 off my pies! 😉

is printing the entire thread earth friendly or carbon neutral ?

for the sake of a discounted pie ?

To be specific – Holt/Kippax are the westernmost suburbs in Canberra. Flanno wearing, hotted up holden territory, and lots of tradies.

Nice enough though – civic in 10mins until the new suburb goes in at Molongolo.

Danman_straight6_EB_Falcodore8:41 am 08 Oct 07

South central Los belcos.

Ahh I lie, its at the holt end of southern cross drive – across the rpad from Macgregor

Bloody hell. I’d love to try these pies but Kippax is in whoop-whoop! (not entirely sure where kippax is, offhand, but I know I’ve been there once).

Just read some more threads and wanted to clarify that we are COMPLETELY NEW OWNERS and re-fitted the shop inside the kippax fair. We are a EUROPEAN Style bakery.

Hey guys, I was just searching through google and came across this forum.
I am the new PROUD owner of the bakeries in kippax and found it very interesting to read the reviews you have written about us. To set all straight, We are a family business that owns both the BAKERS BEST bakeries in kippax which opened 5 months ago. We pride ourselves in providing good wholesome products and as you said in your postings, good old fashioned customer service. As for the best pie in canberra, we have the famous guiness pie and a large variety of other flavoured pies ranging from smooth mince to chunky beef, baked fresh daily. When you try our pie you really will forget the rest. If you have not been to our bakeries you have not tried our exclusive speciality product. For the people who don’t know, its called a burek. Burek is a hand-made fillo pastry dish wrapped with a variety of available fillings. Our bakers hand-make and hand-stretch the pastry until it is a tissue thin texture, and fill it layer upon layer with the topping of your choice. Toppings are savoury or sweet, include Fresh riccotta, Savoury mince, Riccotta and Spinach, or apple fillings.

We love all our customers and to show you some of that love I personally have made a new special.

SPRING SPECIAL
***** PRINT THIS THREAD TO RECIEVE $1 OFF YOUR PIES UNTIL THE 31/10/07************

I love cornucopia sausage rolls.

There used to be this little lunch place within Industry House, Barton, back in the late 80’s which sold THE most amazing pies. I haven’t seen their like since.

VIP Pies isn’t great, their tomato and herb quiches are ok.

The Oven Door bakery does quite good Ham and cheese pasties (Centrepoint, Civic, inside past the newsagency and chocolate shop), and their croissants are really huge, and usually very nice.

Ex

The 2 bakeries at Kippax are actually owned by the same family. The mother runs the one inside the centre while the son owns the one where bakers dozen used to be. They are both now “Baker’s Best”

Its good old fashion service and we got chatting to the guy one day waiting for some fresh pies out of the oven. Just like the temp shoe store inside Kippax too.. those guys go out of their way to serve you its quite shocking!! Didn’t know what to do at first – i’m too used to being treated like crap by teenagers acting like I’m the inconvience that gives them their paychecks.

Genie, it isn’t new owners as such, but good to know what happened. The people in there moved their shop from inside Kippax presumably because of competition from Woolworths. It is not like they brought it off the old owners. All the ovens, etc are from the shop in the centre.

The guys who ran the Kippax Baker’s Dozen decided to retire.. Have to admit I yell at them everytime i see them out and about.

The new owners are pretty good… but nowhere near as good as the previous owners.

Mmm – Kingston Bakery used to do a pretty good pie – I haven’t been there for a while though, since I used to do pie N pint lunches….

Granny’s bakery in Dickson is fantastic for light french pastry scrolls etc. Pity they hardly make any per day now that they were forced to move to the courtyard over near Zeffs, and turnover has gone way down, so you have to be lucky to grab one.

I don’t know about pies, but Canberra’s best sausage roll, bar none, is that sold by Pavlova Place in Fyshwick.

Tried them at Cornucopia.

I used to think Elaine’s was choice.

Cornucopia redefined that for me.

The Weston Creek place you refer to is called Sakeenas. The pie there varies a bit but is mostly above average. Someone mentioned the Hughes Bakery? Are you joking. It’s like someone threw up in their pies or put pal (you know, dog food) in it. Smells like goat’s vomit. But best sausage roll, try the asian bakery at the Mawson shops. Awesome!

I’m noting all this with interest. Next week, I’ll test the pies at the Kingston bakery. Their sausage rolls are pretty good.

Last year, I went to a little Viet. bakery at Dickson, and noticed the (giant) rum balls. I asked the young viet. seller if there were any nuts in them. She consulted the tough old viet. lady, who said “no nuts. Just RHHHUUUUMMMMM” with some relish. so I got 2, and they were the best rum balls in the entire universe.

The Bakery at Chisholm shops (Brindabella?) Has the best cheese and bacon pies in the world. I dreamed about them while overseas.

Maelinar, it hasn’t changed hands. Bakers dozen closed down/moved on (not sure which) and the bakery from inside Kippax propper moved into their old shop. The pies there are again the typical vietnamese bulk buy pies.

I have burbled previously on this. Erindale Bakery. A very fine standard pie, and some wonderful specialist items. (Try the palmiers as well, beautiful with coffee).

Guinness Pie from the bakery in Kippers, although its recently changed hands and I haven’t tried it under the new management

Charnwood? Has the bakery changed hands in the last 9 months? When I lived there they were the typical vietnamese pies that go to so many shops around town. The pastry may have been nice, but too thick and bugger all inside.

The best were at Kippax at the Bakers Dozen but that is no longer (anyone know where the team went). Spence are nice though. Wouldn’t mind one now actually.

Elaine’s in Fyshwick always pleases.. i think they started in the bay….?

I don’t know about pies, but Canberra’s best sausage roll, bar none, is that sold by Pavlova Place in Fyshwick.

A few years ago when I worked out at Weston Creek, there was a fantastic takeaway/pie shop at Cooleman Court.

Can’t remember the name, but it was opposite the newsagents…

1. Cornucopia (if there was a best spinach bread category, they would romp it in here too)
2. 210 Degrees Bakery at Hughes Shops. I swear just the presence of that one little cafe/bakery is good for the whole shopping centre

hairy nosed wombat10:35 am 07 Sep 07

My two votes are for:
1. bakery at Nuggets Crossing, Jindabyne, their chunky beef pie is well worth the drive, it has big chunks of cow in a gravy that is a little to runny for my liking
2. The bakery at Bungendore.

I know we have discussed alot of this recently, but the talk of pies just whet my appetite. So I figured we should make a proper story out of Canberra’s best pie.

BTW – we are talking about Canberra’s best pie, so the bakery must be within the ACT or very close proximity (ie. not Jindabyne, Bodalla, Goulburn, etc – maybe Bungendore, but it had better be damn good).

for the third fricking time in a month – gourmet pies at tidbinbilla space tracking station cafe.

the. best.

The pies from the Flute Bakery in Fyshwick are excellent.

Kramer, as an aside, the sausage rolls from Cornucopia are like velvet on the tongue. Fantastic but highly fattening.

The best pie I had was a Guinness pie (it counts!). Chunks of beef AND smooth mince and, of course, Guinness.

Conway frozen pies from Aldi. The best.

swamiOFswank8:26 am 07 Sep 07

Spence Bakery pies – beyond superlatives

Canberra’s best: Parliament House, Queens Terrace. The beef pie and Pumpkin and Lemon Myrtle pies are superb. Flaky crust and wonderful filling with real fillings. Washes down well with a Sanpelagrino Rosa.

Canberra’s worst: Two spring to mind. Both from major chains. Michelle’s Plain Beef. Their other pies are ok, but the plain beef is just vile. Starbucks, the pie has whole bay leaves which are indigestible and often, they serve it to you still cold in the center.

It might just be my proximity to them, but the pies from the bakery at the ANU aren’t too bad. I rather enjoy their mexican pies, actually.

Sorry i made it last night and its all gone…

b2, yeah, that’s it, Dickson Cakes. I’ll have to give Granny’s a go too.

have to say I’m quite impartial to Granny’s pies in dickson. although a bit out of the way (near zeffs), they are good and the mini cheesecake is fantastic!

dickson cakes, jemmy? the one near the fruit shop?

I don’t know its name, but it’s the pie shop in Dickson shops near Woolies (not Carries, the other one out the back). Great chunky meat and plenty of it, nice flavoursome gravy without swamping the pie, and a great firm pastry. Very tasty.

They’re the pies we eat on Grand Final day, and you can’t say better than that!

Wholemeal pastry? What variety was it?

Stuff the meat pie – the Asian Chilli Dogs from Campbell Bakery are awesome. Imagine – a Frankfurt smothered in chilli sauce and cheese baked into a bread roll with oven melted cheese on top. Nothing better!

I wasn’t going to mention the worst pie… OK it wasn’t the worst but it was the biggest let down. Yes, shortly after the abovementioned Cornucopia (Braddon) was named as Canberra’s best pie some years ago, I lined up with numerous others for a dry, wholemeal pastry, food which vaguely resembled a pie. A Four n’ Twenty out of the freezer would have been much better. Anyway if there’s any more recommendations for Cornucopia, I’d be willing to make a return visit, otherwise it will stay on my blacklist.

– Cornucopia

– Hughes Bakery

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