Would you think any less of me if my lasting memory of our recent vacation to Prince Edward Island wasn’t the beautiful vistas, iron red roads or Anne Shirley’s Haunted Woods, but rather sitting down in some shaded grass and biting into a warm, flaky hand pie?
Just over the Confederation Bridge, there really is no excuse not to hit up this hidden gem both coming and going. It’s that good nd the perfect opportunity to get and stretch your legs after making it over the bridge.
We initially stopped after making it onto the island for an early lunch after driving about three hours from Moncton and were so impressed by the hand pies that we bought over a dozen frozen ones to take with us to the house for an easy mid-week meal.
After eating all of those as a celebratory meal on our last night, we still wanted more of these flaky, hand-held, portable delights and stopped yet again on our way off the island for a few more. It’s a good thing that the lone outpost of this restaurant was clear across the island from our rental or we might have spent all our loonies on these pies.
The Handpie Company offers a selection of hot pies each day for takeout, along with their entire menu frozen, which can be prepped (just an egg wash) and reheated in the oven.
The menu varies from comfort food favorites like chicken pot pie and the traditional pasty to the more savory like cheesy potato and onion to the vegetarian like, my personal favorite, the curried chickpea.
They are all wrapped up in a flaky, organic, whole wheat portable pie package (think calzone but with a pie crust) that will satisfy as a meal all on its own.
Frozen pies are $8 CAD, while the selection of ready-to-eat warm pies are an extra fifty cents.
The kids loved the bacon cheeseburger and the pot pie versions. I liked all three vegetarian options, but would give a slight edge to the curried chickpea over the roasted beet and corn as my favorite.
The small shop (big prep area) also includes PEI potato salad, some cookies, and other sweet treats if you’re the type that needs some dessert after a meal. And who isn’t!
If you’re nice, they might even sell you one of their secret hand pies and high five t-shirts.
I’m slightly obsessed with hand pies right now thanks to this amazing shop. Right over the bridge and so easy to get to, start your PEI adventure right and hit up The Hand Pie Company.
The Handpie Company
Route 115, Albany, PE
