Canoga Park, California
KCRW’s 1st Annual Good Food Pie Contest (Westfield Topanga Mall)
A chicken eye view of the pie judging in progress
Friend and fellow food blogger Eddie Lin posted on his blog (Deep End Dining) that he was going to be one of the judges of the 1st Annual Good Food Pie Contest (an all around optimistic title.) The nature of the contest wasn’t completely clear – visions of sugarplum pies danced in my head, then were hurled into someone’s face; I also envisioned a pie eating contest (always fun if a contestant overdoes it and causes a chain reaction of sympathy blowing of the groceries.) After reading through the information I deduced that this was a pie making contest and the only ones who had the potential of projectile vomiting were the judges, including food writers, bloggers and chefs. The real draw for me was the tantalizing come-hither of free pie (the crowd gets to devour the winners and losers). I could only imagine the diversity of pastry oddities contestants might come up with.
I could grab a pie and be past The Gap before they noticed
When I arrived at the Westfield Topanga Mall’s food court, a huge crowd was gathered around the velvet ropes, paper plates and plastic forks in hand. The contest had already started, and so I joined the crowd in eager anticipation of the names of the winning pies (who cares who baked them – tell us about those rich, decadent pies!) Judging was already underway, and it looked like the bakers, judges and crowd were all having a great time – hopefully KCRW will be able to pull off a 2nd Annual Good Food Pie Contest next year. I watched the slow process of tasting and judging – Eddie was taking sips of water in between forkfuls, presumably to assist in the pie consumption. I said a brief hello, but his face gave away that he was more stuffed than the animals mounted on the wall at the Buckhorn Exchange in Denver. I stood in eager anticipation while the winners and their creations were announced in different categories by Evan Kleiman, Master of Ceremonies and host of KCRW’s Good Food program and blog. I kept waiting – where was the durian pie? Certainly someone made kidney pie? Oh, the horror! Apple, pumpkin, chocolate cream, Boston crème – no! This can’t be (well, they did look good)! My ears perked up at chicken tarragon, but that was as risqué as it got. Finally the winner (Barbara Treves) was announced – for her apple pie.
The sweet, meaty goodness of duck pie
As promised, once the awards were given out, the flood gates were opened and a swarm of plastic fork-waving villagers stormed the pies like the general admission crowd at a Cincinnati Who concert. To be fair, the pie vultures were civilized and polite; I scanned the tables for something off the beaten path (or had been pulled off of it dead), but pie after luscious pie seemed to be made with the most traditional of ingredients. My reputation would not allow me to have a thick, sweet slab of prize-winning strawberry rhubarb, regardless of how mouthwatering delicious and flaky it looked, so I stood on the sidelines and caught up with Eddie. I asked how he was holding up and he said he felt like he was going to burst, adding that drinking the water in between helped keep all that pie down.
We talked for a few minutes and a friend of his walked up with a pie covered in foil. She stated that nobody seemed to have an interest in it, and that she was taking her duck pie home. I had to confirm what I heard; “Excuse me – did you say DUCK pie?” I sheepishly extended my paper plate and asked for a slice. She suggested I take a slice from the un-mangled side of the pie, and there it sat on the plate, layers of orange, tan and brown sandwiched between a golden crust like some beautiful sedimentary rock formation. In went the fork and then a complex wave of flavor hit me. Duck can have a strong, almost sour taste, but the waterfowl in this pie was ground and took control of the bottom layer without the strong taste normally associated with duck. I deduced that the orange layer was sweet potato (it didn’t have the consistency or taste of pumpkin) and it added a sweetness that perfectly contrasted the duck. I thought to myself that this would be the perfect pie to serve on Thanksgiving – you could have your meal and desert at the same time. Come to think of it, warm, tart cranberries on top would be a nice touch. I was totally in my comfort zone, quietly enjoying this unusual pie, and I complemented the baker on her creation.
Perhaps I’ll enter a pie next year, if for nothing else to hear a judge say, “Excuse me – are those ears sticking out of the crust?”
Westfield Topanga Mall
6600 Topanga Canyon Blvd
Canoga Park, CA 91303
GPS coordinates: 34°11’24.13″N 118°36’12.32″W
