Pie Eyed: Seven takes on a classic comfort food

Pie Eyed: Seven takes on a classic comfort food

Savoury pies, the ultimate winter comfort food, are popping up in imaginative new variations. Here are some of our favourite meat, potato and lobster pastry pockets.


Savoury pies, the ultimate winter comfort food, are popping up in imaginative new variations. Here are some of our favourite meat, potato and lobster pastry pockets.

Best Pies in Toronto
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1 Pork Pie
The best option at Gino Amodio’s new midtown lunch spot, Pie Squared, is the PK— a pastry pocket stuffed with lightly spiced pulled pork, sweet corn kernels and ribbons of caramelized onion. $5. 366 Bloor St. E., 647-350-2743.

2 Aussie Rules
At Kanga, the hot takeout spot in Queen West run by Erynn Mayes and Megan Chan, Oz expats swear by the traditional ground beef pie. The gravy has a smidge of Vegemite for salty tang. $7.25. 65 Duncan St., 416-324-9174.

3 Fowl Play
At Mabel’s Bakery, Jenny Zollerano upgrades the humble chicken pot pie by swapping the pastry for crumbly chive scones to soak up the creamy filling. $8.50. 1156 Queen St. W., 647-748-4700; 323 Roncesvalles Ave., 416-534-2333.

4 Sea Change
Andrew Carter’s fish pie at The Oxley is filled with wild salmon, scallops, whitefish, mussels and lobster, with glugs of luscious lobster velouté to glue it all together. It’s topped with thick drifts of mashed potato. $24. 121 Yorkville Ave., 647-348-1300.

5 British Invasion
The east end’s Dough Bakeshop makes a moreish meat pie with caramelized ground beef and pork drenched in a rich gravy and capped by a buttery crust. $8.50. 173 Danforth Ave., 416-465-2253.

6 Butter Up
Hidden behind a mini-mall in Etobicoke, the Pie Commission turns out a dense butter-chicken pot pie loaded with hunks of cauliflower and chickpeas in a fragrant coconut-tomato curry sauce. $7.45. 935 The Queensway, 416-848-7424.

7 French Connection
Patrick Alléguède of the Kingsway’s Ma Maison makes a stick-to-your-ribs tourtière. Every bite is loaded with clove and nutmeg-spiced minced pork and shards of rich pastry. $25. 4243 Dundas St. W., 416-236-2234.