Bacon and egg, $6.50 The Mustard Kitchen
This is a literal meal in pastry, stacked with two eggs, bacon and parsley. The genius is in the detail here: a squirt of tomato sauce baked into the pie so you can avoid any mess when on the run. 5 Morningside Drv, Morningside
Bacon and egg, The Mustard Kitchen
Pork belly and apple, $8.50 Scratch Bakers
Put your nose to the bag and be immediately hit by wafts of extremely buttery pastry, which is all crunch and lip-licking to eat. Inside, fatty pork is offset by the sweetness of apples and the dryness of quality cider. 5 Graham St, central city
Pork belly and apple, Scratch Bakers
Mince and cheese, $4.50 Penny Lane’s Bakery
Penny Lane’s is an Onehunga institution, their mince and cheese pies winning years’ worth of gold medals in various Bakel’s pie tasting competitions. Flaky pastry gives way to the ooze of mince, gravy and plastic-y cheese. So wrong, but so right. 248 Onehunga Mall, Onehunga
Mince and cheese, Penny Lane’s Bakery
Beef and ale, $8.50 The Fridge
Do not wear white while eating this absolute beast of a pie, crammed with slow-cooked beef and Guinness. The delicate pastry casing barely contains a mass of British-style, thick stew. Exactly the sort of stick-to-your ribs treat you’d expect to find in a good London pub. 507 New North Rd, Kingsland
Beef and ale, The Fridge
Seafood pie, $5.90 Mairangi Bay Bakery
In true 1980s style, pastry and a creamy béchamel are punctuated by mussels, fish and that ever-popular bakery fish pie filling: chopped up pieces of imitation-crab-crab-stick. The ideal snack while you fish off the rocks. 366 Beach Rd, Mairangi Bay
Seafood pie, Mairangi Bay Bakery
Apple and boysenberry, $3.50 Muzza’s Pies
There’s a vast selection at this old-school pie shop, where you watch bakers work behind an open counter. But owner John Williams is famed for his simple fruit pies – the apple and boysenberry number is sweet, jammy and moreish and would be perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
55 Richardson Rd, Mt Albert and 55 Picton St, Howick
Apple and boysenberry, Muzza’s Pies
This article first appeared in Paperboy magazine.
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