to wonder when a pie sudddenly became a casserole with a lid?! ... where's the rest of the pastry?

[Fairylea]

Yes. I am bored.

But seriously I've had several pies in pubs recently and they have all just effectively been a pie filling with a lid of pastry.... where's the pastry round the sides and bottom ?

I just watched them making a pie on daybreak and..... they did the same thing !

I'm outraged.

When did this become acceptable?

I don't like it.

I have been known to have to choke back tears when I get a lidded casserole in pubs restaurants.

No such thing as too much pastry. That's the whole point of having pie

Mmmmmmmmm pie......

Are you my DH? DH - have you finally joined MN?

He has been known to grill people in pubs and restaurants

"So is the pie really a pie?"
"I mean a real pie. Or does it just have a lid on?"
"Oh. How disappointing. So not a pie at all then. It just has a lid"

If I serve a fake pie (with lid only) I have to prepare him emotionally for it all day.

:) ahhh I'm smiling my head off.... I'm loving the fact others feel my pie pain!

I have a good urge to go out and cook (not cook off as the twatty chefs say) a proper pastry pie !!!!

on a related note i watched an episode of raymond blanc where he made 'crumble' and he objected to the fact that the British cook the crumble along with the filling because it's soggy in the middle. 'no other country would do this' sez he, and proceeds to cook a thin little disc of crumble mixture separately to put on top of the stewed fruit just before serving!

he has no understanding of the fact that the POINT of the crumble topping is that you get

crumbly crispy bit
gooey bit where crumble and fruit meet
fruit

i don't even LIKE crumble and even i know this is how it should be!

I much prefer a pie that is a stew with a lid. Pie with pastry all the way round is just too heavy and stodgy.

My DH has named it my 'pie rage' as I get so wound up when I order a pie and am missing the bottom bit. I also get the same rage when chefs on telly perpetuate the myth that a pie is just pastry on top.

My mum makes suet pastry and cooks it in the oven and serves it with stew- it's lovely. We call them crispy dumplings though - it is not pretending to be a pie.

YANBU

I don't bother ordering 'pies' in a pub anymore. In fact, most pubs should be done under the trades description act. for their sad, lazy efforts. Likewise when they say you get 'potato chips' with your sandwich and it turns out to be a handful of pringles.

YANBU. I wonder if they even cook it all together. It seems just like microwaved meat soup with a hastily-added puff pastry circle.

DH calls the pies with just a top on "cheapskate pie", he likes the full on pastry though.

I never have enjoyed the underneath bit of pastry, so this half hearted pie would suit me.

Cheapskate? Pie crust is the cheap filler part of the meal! The more pastry the cheaper the meal!

YANBU. A pie is encased is pastry.

On a related subject I'm boycotting Greggs as their pasties are always cold. Emailed to complain this morning. A pasty has to be hot, not even warm.

Had to email Fox's biscuits this week as my favourite biscuit the Viennese is now half the bloody thickness. It's been a disappointing week food-wise for me

most pubs should be done under the trades description act. for their sad, lazy efforts

I couldn't agree more. The pub I mentioned above once served me a delicious-sounding 'Italian Aubergine and Tomato Bake' which, when it arrived one hour after the starters were cleared away, another issue I have with this bloody place consisted of one slice of aubergine with a spoonful of tomato juice over it and melted cheese on top. All lovingly super-heated to a million degrees so I couldn't even taste anything for about 20 minutes.

But it came with ciabatta bread served on a fancy board thing and cost eight quid so that made it 'gastro' .

Brilliant thread OP,

Only yesterday I went out for lunch very upmarket moorland restaurant with DH and a client, and when ordering I asked if the steak and ale pie was a "real" pie, when the waitress said it was top only I changed my order, the annoying thing is that it was a place that did do perfect pies.

I(well the Dc will do it) intend to make a "real' pie later in the week, to make up for the disappointment.

Pie Party.
Pie Rage.

Love it.

That's how I make my beef pies. With puff pastry too. They are awesome. Too much pastry is stodgy.

YANBU, there should be some sort of campaign for real pies. If I wanted stew with a puff pastry disc I'd order it.

Cheapskate in that its not a whole pie! As pastry isn't expensive, make the pie properly ;)

No!

No!

I'd be gutted if I ordered a pie and got a pastry bottom and sides, GUTTED. Too much pastry there, a lid is ample.

Unless it's a pork pie of course, where the pastry is a good thing. God I could kill for a Longwoods pork and pickle pie right now

Pies are the one area in life where I'll concede that a soggy bottom is a Good Thing. A pie without a bottom is just... well... Well it's just not cricket.

Thanks, Quenelle.

I need to add a few pieces to my kitchenware and that looks good.

Savoury pies with no bottoms and sweet pies with no lids
I love a steak pie with a soggy bottom. Nothing better

YAdefinitelyNBU, OP. Thank you for making this very valid point!

And just to clarify, I'm a Yank and never in my life have I ever been served a pot pie (chicken or otherwise) that was not entirely encased in pastry.