Come To Indiana For A Slice
ALL CULINARY INFORMATION COMES FROM THE AUTO CLUB.
Every month I can count on our “letter carrier” cramming the Auto Club’s magazine into our mailbox along with the usual mass of catalogs, political drivel, and other ads – and the occasional letter.
A week or so ago the latest edition of the Auto Club magazine had an article called, “Indiana’s Pie Trail.” It listed seventeen places in Indiana where you could get a good piece of pie. None of these places were in Terre Haute (That’s French for, “Would you like some pie?”). I’m sure this is taken as a personal slur by the folks who run a café here called, “The Pie Company.”
After listing the seventeen oases of pie the article padded itself out with a number of slices of trivial information about pie, courtesy of the American Pie Council. Such as:
“One out of five Americans has admitted to sitting down and eating a whole pie by themselves.” OK, big woo. The other four Americans were never teenagers?
“7% of Americans have passed off a store bought pie as being ‘homemade’.” This same 7% actually thinks that the other 93% gives a rat’s patoot, as long as the pie keeps coming.
“The Top Five Favorite Pies are: Apple, Pumpkin, Pecan, Banana Cream, and Cherry.” Personally, the pie I eat most often is Marie Callender Chicken Pot Pie, but I don’t think that’s what they’re talking about here.
There is a pie that I have seen offered on menus in Terre Haute that I have found nowhere else – “Fruit of the Forest Pie.” I just don’t think of pies coming from the forest. Groves – yes, Orchards – yes, Berry Patches – yes, but Forests – no. When I imagine a slice of “Fruit of the Forest Pie” I picture crust covered pine cones with twigs sticking out. It just doesn’t sound appetizing.
A couple of times a year I actually have some pie (other than the pot pie). Around Thanksgiving I find myself forking into a slice of Pumpkin Pie somewhere, although I am more likely to be spooning into a carton of Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream from Baskin Robbins. My other excursion into the “Wide World of Pie” comes while we are in Texas. Pie is big in Texas. Contrary to what I expected, which was Pecan, the favorite pie seems to be Peach Pie, often disguised as “Cobbler” (An excuse to make a really BIG pie in a cake pan).
The article in the Auto Club magazine did provide one other slice of information that could come in handy – Coming up very soon – on January 23rd – is “National Pie Day.” I may just go out to celebrate by tracking down a piece of “Fruit of the Forest Pie” and giving it a go – twigs and all.
I feel a little sad for the local café that specializes in pie, but was passed over and shoved aside like a piece of week old meatloaf by the Auto Club. I’ve been there (It was a couple of years ago I must admit) and tried their pie – I think it was apple – and, by all accounts, I’ve gone on to lead a normal life. Perhaps things have gone downhill since my visit, or maybe they came in at number 18 and the editor cut the story back to only the top 17 pies. In any case, I feel a bit sorry for them, being excluded like this.
It kind of makes me want to go down to the Pie Company, get a slice of pie to-go and take it to the local Auto Club offices and eat it while standing next to their display of Indiana travel brochures.
I’m a rebel.
Down the Hall on Your Left 