Let me just put it out there: This is damn good pie.
In fact, anything that involves a crust at Hoosier Mama is pretty much guaranteed to be a home run, whether it’s the melt-in-your-mouth Broccoli and Cheddar Quiche ($6/slice; $8.50 with side salad), the adorable and addictive savory hand pies ($3 each; $10 for the tasting plate, three hand pies with aioli, Belly Fire sauce and mixed greens) or any of the sweet or savory pies on hand. Purchase them by the slice for immediate consumption, or take a whole pie home for family dinner (or just you, fork in hand, standing at the counter…I won’t judge).
Make the Pilgrimage
In the interest of science (hah!), I’ve made quite a few pilgrimages to Hoosier Mama since they opened in November 2013. Yes, I know. Tiny violins. Poor me. I’ve tasted my way around most of the menu, and the report is highly favorable, starting with availability: They are open seven days a week, from morning (6:30 a.m. on weekdays, 7 or 8 a.m. on weekends) to night (closing at 9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, and 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday).
If breakfast is your game plan, you’ve come to the right place. The beverage list shows great depth, from coffee drinks made with impeccably fresh-roasted Metropolis Coffee; a dozen and a half loose leaf Rishi teas on offer; and of course, the deepest, darkest hot chocolate. Combine that with either a three-cornered, sugar-crusted fruit turnover, tender chocolate-chip scone (recently named best in the city by Chicago magazine) or tasty ginger muffin (all $3).
Morning Proteins
A slice of the afore-mentioned quiche is all the protein you’ll need, but if you’re a grab-and-go commuter, the Buttermilk Biscuit Breakfast Sandwiches ($5-6 each), made with Ellis Family Farm eggs, cheese, breakfast meats and/or sautéed vegetables, are a thing of beauty. For the health-conscious, the Yogurt Parfaits ($5.50) are made with creamy Nancy’s Yogurt, seasonal fruit compote and house-made granola. Healthy doesn’t usually taste like this. Sign me up, please.
At noon, a number of well-constructed sandwiches become available, including The Big Sticky (peanut butter, banana, honey and nuts on whole wheat, $5.50); Mrs. Douglas (brie, pear, fig jam, and lightly dressed greens on a ciabatta roll, $7.50) and the Ploughman’s (Nueske ham, cheddar, chutney, grainy mustard, apple and greens on a baguette, $8.50). The sandwiches, served on Red Hen bread, are enormous and easily splittable. We puzzled, though, over how so many great ingredients could add up to sandwiches that lacked oomph.
Savory Pies
At dinner, we opted to split the Hoosier Mama Staff Meal Salad ($7), mixed greens with crumbled goat cheese, toasted (not candied, thank you!) walnuts, Seedling Farm dried cherries and tangy house vinaigrette, which we really enjoyed. But please don’t be under the mistaken notion that we deprived ourselves—it accompanied a slice of savory pie ($6/slice, $8.50 with side salad) for each of us. People, this is the kind of dinner that happy dreams are made of. The Chicken Pot Pie is a golden crust filled with a plethora of chicken and vegetables in a just-creamy-enough sauce, while the Curried Winter Vegetable Pie makes vegetarian food a serious option for anyone.
Now, the main event: pie.
Look, I’ve already rhapsodized about the crust. It’s fantastic. But what the Hoosier Mama herself, Paula Haney, puts into those pies really sets them apart. First up: Ginger Custard. Crystallized ginger-infused cream brings the flavor, and the silken texture is a wow. In summation, DAMN.
So Many Choices…
Passion Fruit Meringue is another favorite. The brightly hued pie is topped with a fluffy meringue cloud, reaching stratospheric heights. Don’t worry; it’s edible, and so deeply delicious, sweet and tangy in all the right ways.
Others not to miss: the Fat Elvis (peanut butter filling in a ginger-snap crust topped with chocolate ganache, pretzels and chopped peanuts), Chocolate Cream Pie WITH BANANAS (sorry, I got excited), and Pear-Apple-Cranberry Pie with Pecan Crumble.
All pies (including savory pot pies and quiches) are available whole (some come in small and large sizes) and by the slice. Prices for whole pies range from $20 to $25, can be pre-ordered online and serve a whole mess of people.
To maximize the tasting situation, after 6 p.m. you can take advantage of the Evening Pie Flights, where you get three half-slices of pie from the day’s flight menu for $7.87. Nirvana achieved.
The one drawback here is the counter set up. There’s no good place to stand in line (if the line is long, your tush is in someone’s face), and it feels like once you do order, the food can take awhile to appear. But in this sunny, high-ceilinged, open space, happiness reigns. There is pie.
5/5 piggies
Hoosier Mama Pie Company and Dollop Coffee & Tea Co.
749 Chicago Ave.
Evanston
847-868-8863
