In “Men in Black 3,” Agent K says every problem can be solved while eating a piece of pie. To prove his point, he takes Agent J to a diner, where they eat pie while the end of the world draws near. By the time they clean their plates, they have a plan for saving mankind.
While that’s a lot of pressure to put on a piece of pie, have you ever had pie so good, your troubles melted away with the first bite? Just thinking about my mom’s strawberry rhubarb pie makes me feel better. If you have never experienced pie that good, there is hope: Make your way to 811 Market Street and treat yourself and someone special to lunch or dinner at Fork & Pie Bar.
Chattanooga’s newest original restaurant features a variety of savory and sweet pies, all of which are packed with ingredients from Crabtree Farms, Sweetwater Cheeses, Link 41 Sausage and other local vendors. Even better, each one is wrapped in the loving embrace of a buttery house made crust that’s destined to be the talk of the town.
I’ll begin with the savory pies. Being a fan of chicken pot pie, I had no trouble picking my main course. Served as a 4 inch personal pie, Fork & Pie Bar’s chicken pot pie is filled with pepper grilled chicken, garden fresh peas, carrots, potatoes and steaming gravy.
While the chicken lived up to its name as a savory meat, the vegetables impressed me more: the peas, of which there were a lot, were bright green and slightly crunchy, while the big chunks of potato gave each bite a heartiness missing from store-bought pot pies. I enjoyed every forkful.
While I was eating, I looked over the other selections, which include pulled pork BBQ, veggie pot pie, Mexican Cantina, shepherd’s pie, spinach orzo and Tuscan chicken. Also available is a quiche du jour, made from a blend of egg and four cheeses with house seasoning.
Each savory pie comes with a side dish, of which there are five. Although you can order any side dish, each one was created to complement a specific savory pie. For example, I spoke with a young lady who raved about the dill mashed potatoes she ordered with her pulled pork pie. The chucky avocado salad goes well with the Mexican Cantina, although I ordered it with my chicken pot pie because I love guacamole.
A note about the savory pies: each one is made fresh when you order it, which takes about 20 minutes. I was in and out in less than an hour, so Fork & Pie Bar will work for lunch during the week. Besides, the point of a lunch break is to get away from work, not wolf down a burger and jump back into the fray. With that in mind, the 20-minute wait in the relaxed Market Street ambience of Fork & Pie Bar is not a problem. Take a book or a friend, and if you’re pressed for time and need to eat at the office, call in a pick-up order.
The wait for dessert is not nearly as long, although I wish it was. The dessert pies are made ahead of time and, unless otherwise requested, served cold. While this probably works for their banana, chocolate chess and pecan pies, it did not work well for their apple pie, and might be an issue with their blueberry and cherry pies, too. I asked my server to warm my apple pie, my mouth watering, but I was disappointed when I bit into cold cinnamon roasted apples. The pie tasted good, so if you like cold pie, you should enjoy the selections at Fork & Pie Bar.
Fork & Pie Bar is the brainchild of Michael Robinson and Jennifer Rintelman. Robinson is also the owner of Brewhaus on Frasier Avenue, which received a glowing write-up in this newspaper in February. When I saw him in the kitchen at Fork & Pie Bar, I did a double take, thinking I was seeing someone who LOOKED like him. Together, these two restaurants show Robinson has a knack for coming up with unique dining concepts and great food – and that he likely works an insane number of hours.
You might be wondering about the “Bar” in “Fork & Pie Bar.” When you enter the restaurant, you will see a long, beautifully sculpted wood bar to your left and several tables to your right. Wine glasses and beer taps are located behind the bar, and the menu says the shepherd’s pie is “enjoyed best with a dark pint of beer.” But there is no beer or wine at Fork & Pie Bar – yet. My server said the restaurant’s liquor license is a work in progress, but that she expects Fork & Pie Bar to be serving alcohol soon.
Fork & Pie Bar is open seven days a week, including for brunch on Sunday. The brunch menu includes at least three kinds of quiche, including a veggie selection, Quiche Lorraine and the intriguingly named Man Quiche. I’ll be back for that. Fork & Pie Bar will also cater your event.
If something is weighing heavy on your mind, there’s probably a pie at Fork & Pie Bar that’s tailor made for lifting the burden. On the other hand, if everything is coming up roses, why not celebrate with a great piece of pie? You won’t see the Men in Black there, but you might see me, working my way through their menu one selection at a time.
Email David Laprad at dlaprad@hamiltoncountyherald.com.