"We love football, meat pies, kangaroos and Holden cars" Aussies love pies, it's true. Winter is the perfect time of year to get your pie on. So, with the shortest day of the year rapidly approaching, we checked out pie shops around Sydney and here's five of the best that we found.
1. Harry's Café De Wheels have to have the most famous pies in Sydney. This is where to get that traditional Aussie meat pie with tomato sauce. It's also how Sydney got its introduction to a (pie and peas) floater, the best version of which is the signature dish with gravy named after founder Harry ‘Tiger’ Edwards. Operating since as far back as 1945, Harry's pies are 98% chock-full of beef, baked daily and now supplied exclusively by Hannah's of Ultimo. They also do a bunch of other flavours from beef with cheese and bacon to curry chicken through to seafood. Not only have they expanded to a bunch of locations, Harry's are now also franchised.
Harry's Café De Wheels is located at Woolloomooloo, Broadway, Bondi, Burwood, Haymarket, Liverpool, Parramatta, Penrith and Tempe with a retail outlet at the bakery, Hannah’s Hot Pies 562 Harris Street, Ultimo open Monday to Friday 7.30am - 8pm, Saturday 9am - 7pm, Sunday 10am - 6pm.
2. Pie Society makes and delivers hand-crafted dinner pies that are made from all natural ingredients that are often organic too. Their pie range includes Chicken Leek & Thyme, Chunky Beef, Smokey Pulled Pork, Minty Lamb and a vegetarian Mushroom & Cheese. RRP $25 (4 serves).
They also feature a regular Pie of the Month - in June it's Port Braised Beef with Free-Range Speck and Mushrooms.
The July Pie of the Month will be a Cheeky Beef and Stout - containing organic grass-fed beef cheek and Sydney’s best local stout from the 4 Pines Brewery in Manly.
Pie Society creates these goodies in their Manly kitchen, which can be ordered online at www.piesociety.com.au to be delivered Monday to Friday all over Sydney. Products are sent chilled to be heated at home.
3. Blackstar Pastry has a reputation that precedes thanks to social media, and this winter we're seeing lots of snaps of their unctuous Lamb Shank and Red Wine Pie but if you prefer beer to wine Blackstar Pastry will win your heart with the Young Henry's Beer and Brisket Pie.
Blackstar Pastry is open seven days 7am - 5pm at 277 Australia St, Newtown and 8am - 3pm weekdays (until 4pm weekends) at C1 85-113 Dunning Ave,Rosebery.
4. Alpha Foodstore is located next door to Alpha Restaurant and offers a broad selection of artisan Greek products. Their signature offering features a variety of freshly made pies, hot and ready-to-eat or pre-prepared to cook at home.
The Foodstore sells three large cook-at-home pies with flavours lamb, chicken and three cheese with caramelised onion and mint for $16 each. They also offer small ready-to-eat pies in the famous Alpha spanakopita, lamb, chicken, and three cheese for $6 a piece.
Alpha Foodstore is located at 238 Castlereagh Street, Sydney and is open Monday to Frid ay 7.30am - 5pm.
5. Shepherd's Artisan Bakehouse make free-form, rustic pasties with lots of different flavours, including Mexican Chilli Fiesta (beef mince, kidney beans, spices, chilli) Thai Chicken Curry (chicken breast, curry paste, coconut cream) Scottish Shepherd's Lamb (lamb mince, carrots, herbs).
They're sold in their two stores (Castle Towers and Eastgardens, 8.30am - 5.00pm) and through numerous farmers market stalls.
And news just in Miss Lilly pie maker Stuart Masters (who sells pies at Bondi and Warriwood Farmers markets) is just finalising a lease on a site in Surry Hills with his pie shop to open in July.
Photo courtesy of The Pie Society
