SPIEcy Pie Boutique serves authentic American specialties in Budapest

The sPIEcy Pie Boutique has just set up in Budapest’s Seventh District, bringing with it slices of America. Pies in various sizes line an old-style shopfront deep in the nightlife quarter, sweet ones with cranberries of deep blue, savoury ones topped with a fine crust of pastry. We popped in to sample a couple.

Owner Zsolt has been a part of the Budapest gastronomy scene for decades – he has opened dozens of locations in recent years. One day, though, he sold up and went to try his luck in the States. While exploring New York and Florida, he fell in love with pie, the queen of American desserts, which has conquered both coasts and every state. From then on, Zsolt worked on two issues: the perfect pastry and a spot in Florida. Both came together, but as Florida is off-season at the moment, Zsolt came back, bringing with him everything that’s worth knowing about American pies.

Photo: Hirling Bálint - We Love Budapest

His tiny little shop has a few seats, a counter, old kitchen tablecloths and a ’70s’ throwback storefront that stops passers-by in their tracks, its sign saying ‘Half-price imported Italian leather shoes’.

Here, pies are available in two sizes, a handful of mini ones at 990 forints, larger ones for 1,500 forints, regardless of the type. The mini variety can also be filling: salted-peanut-and-Nutella, for example, would satisfy four people.

Zsolt would not be drawn on the secret of his pastry but points to the fact that what is on display has been made not according to the French or English recipes but the American one. These come in three varieties, savoury, sweet and tangy sweet, with vegan apple pie a fourth option. The dough is made fresh locally. Pies are not put into the oven whole, rather baked first so that the filling doesn’t ruin the pastry.

Which pies come out of the oven depends largely on what time of day you arrive and, of course, what Zsolt has prepared – changes rely on the seasons. In general, sweet varieties dominate but there are always three savoury ones, two Hungarian and one American. Giving the foreign diner a taste of Hungary are the bean-and-pork-knuckle pie and an amazing layered-potato one that works brilliantly. Bacon pieces are hidden amid the standard ingredients, the garlic sour cream is fresh, and the thin top layer of pastry fails to overpower the overall flavour. America is represented by a classic Tex-Mex chili-bean creation that goes down a treat, all the comfort food of beef stew under a pastry lid. Again, the pastry is fresh and not saturated in juices.

While the savoury pies are covered – Zsolt reckons that the meat would easily dry up otherwise – the sweet pies are open or lattice-topped. Strawberry is a classic, blueberry a must, raspberry is like grandma used to make, the mango-and-cream-cheese is exotic, the rum-and sour-cherry zingy, and the aforementioned salty-peanut-and-Nutella delicious. Pumpkin pie tastes like Thanksgiving, and the apple version, with its lattice top and rich seasoning, is America itself.