Whiffies Fried Pies

If splitting an 18" pizza at Apizza Scholls wasn't enough, Viv and I headed down to Hawthorne and 12th for some food cart action. Unlike Vancouver, B.C., Portland embraces the street food concept. Yes, Vancouver is experimenting with food carts; but it has a long way to go. The one place we wanted to visit was Whiffies Fried Pies. Hey, not since the days of fried apple pies at McD's have I had one of these. Of course we'd get an Apple Pie just of ol' times sake. Since they fry 'em to order, it took a little while; yet it was oh-so-worth-it. With a filling reminiscent of McD's and a very flaky crust, the apple pie was awesome. My daughter practically ate all of it. My son... nada... It may look like a Pizza Pop, but the crust is very light and easy to eat. Either I was in denial or something; but it didn't seem oily at all. I'm sure that was an illusion, it's fried dough after all!

Like I needed anymore food, I decided to try out the Chicken Pot Pie as well. Sounded good in theory. It was like eating a pot pie with flaky pastry. There wasn't much in the way of chicken, although the few pieces in there were tender. The filling was floury thick; yet that is probably intentional to make sure it doesn't all spill out. Texture aside, the filling was conservatively seasoned, it could've been more savoury. Originally, when I brought the pies back to share with Viv, she was wondering why I had only ordered 2. Uh, cuz we were full from dinner? You see, she was expecting the BBQ Beef and Mozza Pie. We spotted someone having one and it sure looked good with cheese oozing out. Well, the very next day, we visited the food carts again and got the BBQ beef pie (and a Berry Pie as well). Okay, this is a case of something sounding and looking better than it tasted. Don't get me wrong, the fried pie was still good. However, the BBQ beef was laced with a tomato paste sauce that was weak and lacked depth. If it had been a smokier, richer BBQ sauce, this would've rocked. Still the great flaky pastry and melted mozza helped make this still very decent. Hey, not the healthiest way to eat; but I gotta say these pies hit the spot, especially the dessert ones. Really good fair food which is available year round. I'm glad that it is over 650km away for me. Otherwise, my stomach would start looking like a pie...

The Good:
- Nice flaky, non-oily pastry
- Great grab 'n go food
- Interesting fillings

The Bad:
- The savoury fillings need a little work flavourwise
- Healthy eating? Nope