Vivian El-Salawy, Pie Bar
They say that New York is all kinds of things: "The City of Dreams", "The City That Never Sleeps", the list goes on and on. This past weekend, I had the opportunity to take a little vacation for a few days!! It had been a while since I've been able to visit one of my best friends, who is currently a law student in New York. Throughout my time there, we did ALL of the exciting things, from illusion museums and unforgettably delicious food, to our second time watching one of our favorite musicians live in Times Square at the PlayStation Theater.
However, one of the highlights of my trip was being able to stop by a New York pie shop (no, not pizza pie, although that’s all that was coming up when I was Google searching “NY Pie”). I know what you’re thinking: “Vivian, you work at Pie Bar, you’re exposed to pie on a DAILY BASIS and the few days you’re out of town you still want PIE?”. The answer is: Yes, yes I do.
Lucky for me, shortly after having lunch at Baba’s Pierogi’s (which was REMARKABLE), my friend and I strolled over to Four & Twenty Blackbirds, which was only a hop and a skip away. There, our Floridian selves battled the cold weather off with a couple of hot chocolates.
Four & Twenty Blackbirds is a pie shop located in Brooklyn, New York. This pie bakery was founded in 2009 by sisters and pie makers Melissa Elsen and Emily Elsen. You can check out a little more about their story, as well as their book on their website!
Now, for the pie – I ended up getting a slice of their Black Bottom Oat pie, and my friend, Kelsey, got their Salted Caramel Apple pie. Oh my goodness, were they delicious. Kels ended up adding some whipped cream to her apple pie (go big or go home right?) and I added some ice-cream to mine. I know that getting ice-cream in freezing weather is counter-intuitive, but I was willing to stay in their little cozy shop until I was warm enough to brave the cold once more.
We sat there for a good little while – a nice, little break from all the walking, and time to plan out the rest of our days together. I wish I could’ve tucked a whole pie into my bag for the way back, but I’m not sure that airport security would’ve liked me for that.
The next time you travel, try and check out some of the pie shops around the area. You’ll be surprised with what you may find!! Might as well turn your vacation into a piecation!