What has four corners, is filled with meat, and can travel anywhere you go?
Why, a South African Meal in a Pie, of course.
These feature flaky/light pastries with meaty fillings like spinach and feta, bobotie (that's curried beef with dried fruit), or lamb and potato. At only $4.95 a pop, they're inexpensive, single-serving meals -- not to mention quick and portable.
They hail from the eponymous Meal in a Pie, a South African shop that
also sells imported drinks and sundries. I stopped in to grab a few
pies, and ended up sampling the chicken curry and bobotie as well as
two sausage rolls. The bobotie was my favorite -- the sweet fruit tasted great against the spicy, curried ground
beef. The pie itself was made of airy, slightly buttery puff pastry.
The chicken curry tasted fresh, with shredded chicken mingling about
with potatoes and carrots. I dug the sausage rolls, too. They tasted
like breakfast sausage with the same pastry crust, and at $2.95 they
were even cheaper than the pies. I washed the pies and rolls down with
a Sparletta Creme Soda. The African version of the drink tasted
sweet and slightly floral, almost like it had rosewater in it.
Meal in a Pie sells bottled hot sauce made with piri-piri, a spicy
African pepper, and an indigenous style of beef jerky called biltong
that's cured with vinegar. It also sells frozen pies in bulk so you
can cook them up at home. The eatery is open Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6
p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Check it out if you want a quick,
fun meal on the go.
Meal in a Pie
4440 NE 20th Ave., Fort Lauderdale 33308
954-202-9118
