Recently, I visited four and twenty blackbirds a pie shop in the Park Slope/ Sunset Park area of Brooklyn. They sell mostly pies! They all had interesting names and tastes. I settled on the salted caramel apple pie. It was so good I almost wanted to get another one but thought better of it. Instead I bought one for my sister and a grapefruit custard for me to share with my coworker later.
The salted caramel apple seems to be the most popular pie there and for very good reason. The shop is a decent size with a one oven kitchen right behind the counter. Old tin line the walls and 50’s music was playing in the background. Two sisters own the shop and make the pies from scratch daily. They vary the pies seasonally, trying to make the best use of seasonal local ingredients. The crust of the pies I tasted were flaky and buttery. You can tell they used real butter and not lard or oil. The apples were cooked perfectly and it was not too sweet as the caramel would imply. They sprinkled the crust with a little salt and brown sugar which blended well and was not at all overpowering.
The grapefruit custard pie was such an interesting title that I had to try it. I split it with a friend who dared to try it with me. Before I tasted it I was trying to figure out how the citrus and custard would work and the result is…. Fantastically well. It had the taste of fresh pink grapefruit and a creamy custard. I can’t say enough about it and can’t wait till I get back in the area to get some more. Sorry, I didn’t get a chance to take a pic of it- still new to this whole blogging thing and I must get better at making sure I take pics of things! Next time.
