A slice of life

Life of Pie is a bakery known for its handmade sweet and savoury pies. This place is a one-stop shop that can get you ready for your next dinner party in a matter of minutes. Their range of holiday baked goods, fruitcakes and house-made jarred mincemeat, as well as a host of other goodies made just for Christmas, would make ideal gifts, housewarming presents or office treats.

A variety of handmade savoury pies are available to take home from the bakery’s freezer section. The flavours are as varied as they are tempting: Angus beef Bourguignon, Mediterranean lamb, traditional tourtière, Cajun chicken pie with jalapeno peppers, Berkshire Tuscan pork and vegetarian roasted winter vegetable pie. I had the pleasure of sampling the Mariposa duck, port and fig pie. Its tender duck filling was heavily scented with oranges and dotted with rounds of carrots. This one’s only available during November and December.

Their sweet pies are available baked fresh daily as well as frozen. The peach and raspberry crisp pie is outstandingly good, as is their chocolate pecan pie. Tender crusts and well-balanced fillings make these pies as good (or better) than your grandma used to bake.

Lunchtime at the Life of Pie is a phenomenal deal. Quiche, homemade soups, hand pies and macaroni and cheese can be had for between $3 and $5. Getting a hot meal with this kind of made-from-scratch taste is rarely found for such a steal.

On the day that I visited for lunch, a butternut squash and pear soup was up for grabs, along with mac and cheese and a daily quiche. The soup was silky smooth, with a wonderfully complex flavour thanks to the wintry combination of squash and pear. The soups change up almost daily, with the week’s menu available online at lifeofpie.ca.

The cranberry and goat cheese quiche was seasonally appropriate, though it could have used a little more goat cheese. The macaroni and cheese, on the other hand, is out-of-this-world good. A rich cheese sauce is used on rigatoni noodles and then topped with seasoned breadcrumbs and more cheese. If you have the chance to get some before it sells out, this is a must-try. Follow @lifeofpieottawa on Twitter to find out when it’s in-store.

Life of Pie
1095 Bank St.
(613-693-1853)

Lunch: $3-$5
Sweet pies: $14
Savoury pies: $15-$27