A Proper Pie

Any time we see a British flag advertising something we immediately become curious. But if there is a British flag and the words "British Groceries" that's enough for slamming on the brakes and doing a quick U-turn. That is unless you are barreling down Route 27 in central Florida at eight in the evening trying to keep with the people who have all your worldly possessions in a cargo trailer as they careen towards their home in Sebring, Florida.  I don't know how Jamie clocked that sign in the gloaming but he did and some several weeks later we went back up Rt. 27 in search of it.

It turns out The Proper Pie Company is located 50 miles north of Sebring in Davenport, Florida. We made our third pilgrimage there last week and as ever, it was worth the drive.  Being married to an Englishman, the name Proper Pie Company immediately made me chuckle.  I'm told that prospective travellers to America of the British persuasion are often concerned that while on holiday here they won't be able to get "a proper pint, a proper pie or proper cup of tea."  Well there's no worries about the pies, mate, I assure you. While "pie" typically means a sweet filling here in the States, for a Yorkshireman it immediately brings to mind fillings like 'steak and kidney' and 'steak and Guinness'.  The Proper Pie Company has those and more.

When you walk through the door it's hard to know where to look first.  Straight ahead is the counter and a glass domed cake plate full of fresh scones. Behind the scones is the kitchen where at any given time you will see pastries in all stages of production, including the blissful view of pies and pasties just coming out of the oven.  There is no way you cannot want something in this place.  To the right of the scones is a display cooler full of pastries ready to go home with you.  Cornish pasties.  Banger rolls. Scotch eggs.  And the pies. Steak and Guinness.  Steak and Mushroom.  Vegetable.  Chicken Curry.  Chicken and Asparagus and other savory combinations. Fruit pies, too.  And as if there isn't enough on the first two shelves to tempt you, the bottom shelf has different types of soda, like Tango and Vimto, as well as the American standards, and boxes of Mr. Kipling's Cherry Bakewells, Battenburgs, French Fancies and Viennese Whirls.

There's a whole selection of frozen options to put in the cooler--from fish fingers to Yorkshire puddings, back bacon and English bangers.  We couldn't resist the sausages nor the bacon so we got both as a house warming present for ourselves, even though we had two of the sausages yesterday for breakfast and we don't start moving until tomorrow.  The bangers are fantastic and reminded us instantly of the sausages we had for breakfast at the Edward Lear Hotel in London the morning of our fiancee visa interview at the US Embassy.

The rest of the shop is given over to decidedly British groceries.  Pots of jams and curds.  Jars of sauces.  Tins of Heinz beans and tomato soup.  PG Tips tea.  Readybrek, Weetabix and Porage. Boxes and boxes of Cadbury chocolate concoctions. Bags and bags of crisps (potato chips) and packets of McVities digestives. It's enough to make us both swoon and start piling things on the counter. To top it all off, the couple that runs The Proper Pie Company, Derek and Beverly Gibson, are just plain lovely to visit with. Here's a great article on them.

http://www.83degreesmedia.com/features/pies020811.aspx       

On our first visit, Beverly said to be sure and give them a call if we were heading up again and wanted a fresh pie as she would be happy to put one in the oven so it would be hot when we got there. When we told them last week that it would probably be our last visit for a while because of the move to Bradenton, they told us they have a booth at the soon to be nearby St. Petersburg Saturday Morning Market starting up in October and to be sure and give a call or send an email if we would like them to bring any groceries from the shop.  What treasures!  The Proper Pie Shop is one of our happiest finds in Florida.

Visit The Proper Pie Company online at http://www.theproperpiecompany.com/ for a look at their menu and mercantile and for directions to the shop plus a listing of the Farmers Markets where you can find them in several spots across Florida.  Have pies will travel!

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