By Amelia Cameron
What is more American than apple pie? Nowadays I'd say....A LOT! First off apple pie originated out of England. Across the pond it was served as breakfast. A nutritious and calorie rich way to start your day. Secondly, an average apple pie takes 1 1/2 hours to make with (on average) 25 steps. With our immediate gratification society, apple pie takes way too much time and effort! Thirdly, as our blog survey showed and from what I can find on the internet....pumpkin pie is the best selling and seemingly most loved pie in America.
With all that said, there is still something so very American about apple pie. It embodies free time well spent. It evokes memories of our past. Grandma during simpler times, dress & heels, in the kitchen showing us how to roll dough. It congers up images of luxury and affluence. We don't need this flour and these apples to sustain us...we need them to entertain us and our taste buds.
Apple pie did just that. It entertains us Taste Buds at Amanda's house October 23rd. First off let me say...the real entertainer of the afternoon was Amanda Rydell. That girl's creative decorating style is....is....sickeningly skilled. On the counter as we entered there was a Halloween bouquet of painted branches and spooky ornaments. It also displayed the apple pie contenders with informational signs about the bakeries from which they came.
Yum! Look at that sugary lattice work!
The table and counter was covered in two different apple pattern fabrics. Our table setting were apples with "apple pie facts" pinned to them. Seriously....this girl could have a magazine and a talk show. Watch out Martha Stewart!!!
This tasting was a two part competition. First and foremost, which bakery made the best apple pie. We also decided that who ever brought the taste winning pie was also declared the winner. Just a little friendly competition to make sure we all brought our A-Game apple pie.
And the contenders were...
Vanessa: Jerabek's Bakery
Betsy: Birchwood Cafe
Amanda: Betty's Pies
Shalee: Key's Cafe
Ameigh: Turtle Bread
I also "took one for the team" and brought our corporate entry Baker Square. My generosity and humility got me two entries. Someone had to do it. Ha!
First up was Vanessa. Jerabek's doesn't start making their pies until afternoon, so when Vanessa got there in the morning all the St. Paul classic had to offer her were mini pies (and a wide variety of delicious and reasonably priced breakfast baked goods). We were all very excited about the thought of anything "mini," but we found the pie very average. The crust and apple goop got very low scores, while the apple chunks and overall value scored high.
Next in line was Amanda who chose Betty's, a North Shore staple! Betty got hip to the fact the Twin Cities loved her and they really hate having to driving 3 hours to eat her pies, so she opened a location in White Bear. (That unintentionally sounds dirty.) Anyway, Betty's didn't do as well as any of us expected. The apple chunks, apple goop and crust all did average to slightly above average, but Betty's biggest downfall was the price. A small slice of apple pie cost $4.28! Maybe it would be best if Betty's stayed up north.
I can almost guarentee Shalee was making a sassy comment about Betty's Pies during this photo.
Betsy and Birchwood were up next. This Minneapolis staple had a bit of a head start/handicap, depending upon your taste. Birchwood's apple pie had cranberries in it. Betsy made a wise choice bringing this pie because it was a hit! Every thought it's visual appeal was top notch with it's sugared lattice work. The price was outstanding, especially for it's large size. It's apple chunks and apple goop got mixed reviews, but it's croissant like crust sparked every one's interest.
Now, any pie would have a hard time following Birchwood, but poor Baker Square didn't stand a chance. It got low to average scores in the apple chunk, apple goop, visual appeal, and price. Baker Square held it's ground when it came to the crust department, getting average to high scores. Overall, Baker Square does the job when you are out to lunch with you Grandpa, but it's not anything we LOVED.
My real entry was next. Located in South Minneapolis, Turtle Bread is (as I found out) a Saturday morning local favorite. The line was to the door!!! With the first few bites of it's apple pie, the Taste Buds found out why. The apple chunks were big and tender, the apple goop was filled with cardamom and the crust was beautiful with giant sugar crystals. The price was a little high, but it didn't seem to bother us too much.
Vanessa really liked Turtle Bread. Coincidence that it is located next to Vanessa's favorite ice
cream parlor, The Pumphouse? Hmm....you be the judge.
Lastly, but not leastly, Shalee and Rosevilles' Key's Cafe. First off let me say, when Shalee opened the box her apple pie looked more like apple crisp. The apple goop was way too runny and it sloped every where. Needless to say, it got very low scores in the visual appeal. It's big apple chunks got high scores, as did it's crust. It had lots of sugar on top of the crust, which pleased us all. Overall, it fared well despite it's visual disaster.
So, who won you as? Well let me tell you who didn't win. In sixth and last place was Baker Square. Fifth went to Betty's. Fourth place was Jerabek's. Third went to Key's and in second was Turtle Bread. And the winner was..........Birchwood Cafe.
Betsy shares her pie server win with Birchwood Cafe!
Apple pie, whether it's your favorite pie or not...eating it is a wonderful way to spend a beautiful fall afternoon with your friends!
Marinara sauce......you're next!
