Pie fries and pockets full of sweet and savory goodness for on-the-go meals at UNC’s Pie Cafe

[swift-snippet id=”364575″]You might not have known this, but pie is a Colorado food. In fact, National Pie Day owes its existence to a teacher and brewer in Boulder named Charlie Papazian.Papazian, who loves to celebrate his birthday with a slice of pie lit up with candles, also was the driving force and founder of the perhaps equally celebrated Great American Beer Festival held each October in Denver. Dedication rights aside, pie is beloved around the globe. [swift-infobox title=”Other spots to grab a bite at UNC that are open to the public:“] Bear’s Bistro offers quick lunch and dinner options. Build a bowl of pasta with your choice of toppings, order a grinder or barbecue sandwich for dinner, or grab a cookie. The Bistro accepts cash or credit, along with student Dining Dollar and meal plan options.Popular chains like Einstein Bros. Bagels, Subway and Sushi with Gusto are also open to the public. Check UNC’s website for other retail dining locations campus wide.Pie Cafe is open Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. There may be extended hours during UNC School of Performing Arts events.[/swift-infobox]That is one reason why University of Northern Colorado’s shiny new restaurant Pie Cafe at the equally shiny and new Campus Commons spotlights pies of the sweet and savory variety.Savory meat pie shops in the United Kingdom and Australia, along with similar hand-held pies in France (quiche), Spain (empanadas), Africa (Nigerian meat pies) and good old chicken pot pie from the USA, are very popular today, in part because – pun intended – they are filling meals.Another reason dials into our busy lifestyle: These portable, handheld bundles of tender crust encasing savory goodies are a meal staple that can be tucked into a backpack or briefcase. No knife or fork is required.UNC Dining Services staff did their fair share of globetrotting to test how pie is served. From Seattle to Atlanta, New York to Nashville and even Australia and the UK, UNC tasters scheduled personal vacations and hopped planes to eat pie, all in the name of research. Executive Chef Aran Essig and pastry chef Jen Moore spent four days learning about pie crust at the French School of Pastry in Chicago.Dining services personnel also partnered with the College of Natural and Health Sciences, Nutrition and Dietetics, where students performed “intensive testing on various types of flours, fats, bake times and mixing methods” to create the most tender pie crust ever, according to Pie Cafe officials.After tasting Pie Cafe’s crust, there is no doubt they succeeded. Essig said they had anticipated selling 100 per day, but since opening Jan. 23, about 300 pies have gone out the door daily.

“One of the biggest differences between our crust and the crust I tasted in London (is) theirs is tough and mealy. Ours is tender and flaky – it’s an American-style crust. It’s not layered like a French croissant, it’s more flaky than a European crust. We use butter, not lard. That could be the reason,” Moore explained.There are two dough types: the flaky, buttery, regular dough and a gluten-free, vegan pie dough prepared from a Longmont flour, vegetable shortening and vegan margarine. Hal Brown, director of Dining Services, calls the product, “Gluten-friendly, because the pies are prepared in an environment that has flour.”If you’re wondering whether there are there gluten-free options around the world, the short answer is no, according to Chef Aran. Both gluten-free crust and enclosed fruit pies like apple and cherry are unique to the United States. France has its tarte tatin (an open-faced apple tart), but Essig believes the fruit pie topped and sealed with crust is an American invention.

Look for an assortment of filled, individual pies at the cafe. Perfect for eating out of hand, the sturdy 4-and-a-half inch bundles replicate American-style pies, with crimped, fluted edges and holes to allow steam to escape while baking. Whether enjoying a savory or fruit-filled pie, the crust isn’t sweet. Flaky and light, the crust provides a neutral background perfectly setting off the fillings.The menu changes weekly, although standards like chicken and beef pot pies, alongside a quiche du jour make regular appearances. From a broccoli smoked cheddar with sun-dried tomato, a rosemary pork with sweet potato, chicken cordon bleu with chunks of ham and a hint of mustard, or a maple bacon cream pie, to name only a few, the choices are tough.Fruit and cream pies are on the menu for dessert. You can order your pie a la mode, choosing from three flavors of locally produced Longview Creamery ice cream, but you’ll likely need a spoon for that. To get some Colorado flavor and a sweet heat, try the peach and green chili pie made with Pueblo chiles and Palisade peaches when in season.For the fun and quirky, there are pie fries. Yes, there is such a thing, possibly only at UNC’s Pie Cafe.”It’s like those scraps Grandma saved from pie crusts,” Brown explained.

Reimagined as “fries,” the fried dough strips are sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar and served in paper bags with vanilla or cherry sauce for dipping. As a riff on the french fry, “we thought about having the vanilla sauce tinged yellow to look like mustard and the cherry sauce – it’s supposed to look like ketchup,” said Brown. Instead, they went with vanilla, giving snackers an opportunity to use their imagination. In case you’re wondering, the condiments don’t taste like mustard or ketchup.You can travel around the world and find food encased in dough, but, “this is American style pie; it’s like your very own miniature pie,” said Jen Moore. You can eat it without a knife and fork or use them. The choice is yours.– Award-winning author Emily Kemme – Musings, recipes, and a touch of satire. Follow her on her blog, Feeding the Famished or on Twitter @emilykemme.