Bakery: Bang Bang Pie
Beer: Beermiscuous
A few weeks ago on one of the colder February days, I had a craving for the pot pie I'd seen on Bang Bang Pie's Instagram. Of course that craving came 15 minutes before they closed, but I made it over with a minute to spare. Fast forward to last weekend, and I'm back securing 8 mini pot pies for the family. There may have been an appearance of an additional slice or two.
Their pot pie is unbelievably good. The crust is flaky, so buttery, and the filling is well seasoned (I was expecting having to add something to it, but it’s perfect out the gate!). Aside from standard chicken, they also have a southern tomato version for vegetarians as well as a buffalo chicken I fully intend to dive into. The best part is that they're freezer friendly so you can stock up on a couple. If you do go for a visit, I highly recommend grabbing any of the above and their biscuits/mix for an amazing weekend breakfast. Seriously, do not skip the biscuits.
Since I was already going, I obviously needed to grab some sweet pie slices as a treat. Lo and behold: the passionfruit/grapefruit pie and cherry pie. The passionfruit reminds me a lot of the Radler Pie I made on the blog w/ grapefruit and cracker base and is definitely a salty/sweet lover's dream. Classic cherry pie shines through with a sweet crunchy crumble and luxuriously rich cherry filling.
Passion Grapefruit Bar: Passion fruit & grapefruit bar filling, powdered sugar, saltine cracker crust
Cherry Pie: Mick Klug cherries, bourbon, bitters, spices, brown sugar crumble, all butter pastry crust
Yet again, I ran out of non barrel aged beers in the fridge. To those of you who are all like, "WhaT a pRoBleM to hAve!" - Yes, I can't just pound multiple 13% beers in a row on the weeknights (I mean I could but, yikes). I ran over to Beermiscuous and decided to spread the love in local variety form. They offer online ordering if you know what you want, but I personally love looking through the cooler selection (kid in a candy store vibe). If you’ve never been, there's so many reasons why you should, but here are my top 3 :
The staff is extremely helpful in providing recommendations based off your preferences. Unlike your typical large format liquor store, I’ve always gotten the sense of them knowing their assortment in and out and giving really good feedback on what’s new/take home worthy.
The individual can format is slightly more expensive, but it’s worth it when trying new beers versus going in blind on a $18 four pack. I’ve been in the latter situation way too often and disappointed during COVID and my fridge shelf space is becoming a hot commodity at this point.
Once they safely open next month, you can bring your own food and sit back and relax in a true beer café. The vibe here is so chill and unmatched with a rotating selection of Chicago’s finest cans and beers on draft. I actually had one of my birthday parties here and it was probably the best yet. There was truly something that fit for everyone (my parents/non craft beer friends/aunts and uncles).
Here's my haul :
Dovetail Kölsch x2: I'd rank this as top Kölsch in the city. Fridge staple. Second can consumed before photo shoot. - go me.
Hubbard's Cave IPA: They drop these weekly and are always good in my book.
Hopewell Black Pils: I loved their black IPA over the summer , hoping it makes a comeback and that this fills some of the void until then.
Odius Cellars Astral Kinesis : Fruited Brett Beer aged on black & red currants, hibiscus, rosehips, and raisins. Dry-Hopped with Lemondrop & Loral . They're brewing out of Pilot Project and I'm pretty excited to take this one for a spin.
Temperance "Where I'm From": Hazy India Pale Ale with vanilla, tangerine, and orange peel. Awesome label art and 100% of the proceeds goes to Evanston's Reparations Fund (Guys Drinking Beer have an awesome article about this release)
I'm a month early on Pi Day - but rest assured I'll be back with more pie content probably. This weekend I plan to get back to my normal stomp of a bakery + brewery – all suggestions welcome. Leave a comment below on where you think I should head next !