Pie and Coffee Movement Spotlight: Hubbard Avenue Diner and Bakery (Middleton WI)

I knew a guy, a co-worker from my AT&T days, who practiced a Dessert Diet.  When he wanted to lose weight, he only ate pie and cake. You would be at lunch with him and he would start with a slice of  Banana Coconut Cream pie. Usually that was it, but if he was especially hungry he'd get a slice of Lemon Meringue. Nothing else except black coffee.  He may be dead by now, but I remember him losing a fair amount of weight. And he was always the happiest person in the group.

Today's "Fresh out of the Oven" shout out goes to Hubbard Avenue Diner and Bakery.  Oh mama!  Sweet Christmas.  This place is located in America's heartland, just outside of Wisconsin's state capital and crazy fun college town Madison.  Hubbard's is a restaurant, so you can get breakfast foods, sandwiches and the like, but what we are here to discuss are the pies.  This place is a must-go destination on America's Pie Trail.

Hubbard's, how do I love thee, let me list the ways:

• First of all, quantity. The selection of pies is over the top big, in a Midwest type of way. Check this out. https://hubbardavenuediner.com/menus/?menu=All+Pies.
• Convenience: They have little personal pies that look like tacos.  They are easy to hold and easier to eat.
• Quality:  Straight from Aunt Becky's windowsill. Wholesome and fresh. Baked daily on the premise by master pie artists. 

I sampled two pies on my last visit - the cherry and the caramel apple. The cherry pie was top tier - approachable construction, light crust, seriously generous heap of fresh cherries. The caramel apple was even better.

Ned Stark's Favorite Condiment

Beats me why American's aren't into meat pies.  Okay. I know sometimes they can seem a bit disgusting but really...when has that ever deterred a raging appetite?  Maybe it is a suppressed childhood trauma from those 1960's frozen chicken pot pies ("come on in kids, the Morton's Pot Pie is ready. Get it while the gravy is still oozing!)  The Brits and Australians love meat pies. They have so much variety. There was a recently shuttered Australian pie shop in New York (Tuck Shop) that opened my eyes to the magical array of possibilities with little meat pies.  Guinness Steak and Mushroom,  Thai Chicken Curry, Pulled Pork with Cole Slaw, even Mac N' Cheese. 

Not all meat pies are good. Don't let that deter you. My friend Dave turned me onto the perfect anecdote. Henderson's Relish.  Hendo's is the pride of Sheffield, a Yorkshire condiment like its Worcestershire cousin. Only better. Henderson Relish goes perfectly with a beef or lamb pie. Drip it into your Shepherd's Pie. Douse those mashed potatoes.  It is a party waiting to happen. Hendo's makes all meat pies delicious. Famous citizens of Sheffield UK actively endorse Henderson's Relish. The band Arctic Monkeys, Rick Savage from Def Leppard and the actor Sean Bean (of Game of Thrones note, among others). If English celebs like it, it must be good.

Henderson's can be ordered and delivered to the USA via the Internet Machine. If you are lucky, you  can even get a bottle of Henderson in the colors of the local football clubs (I have Sheffield United's Red and White.). Cheers!

Take me out to the ballgame and don't forget to bring that dessert cart.

These are tough times if you are Chicago White Sox baseball fan. The team has been losing a lot over the past 6 or 7 years.  Their national reputation pales next to their cross-town rival the Cubs. And for 2020?  I'm not bullish the record will improve much either sports fans. Bumpy times on the South Side will probably continue.

But in the midst of all that losing, there is some serious winning.  A silver lining. If you are lucky enough to have your company or a vendor or a really rich friend take you to the luxury suites at the White Sox ballpark Guaranteed Rate Park, there is a magical creature that appears during the game right outside your door.  The Suite Sweets Cart, a desert cart of immense standards.  Pies. Cakes. Brownies. Ice cream and sauces.  A famed Chicago carrot cake. All there for your pleasure.

I had the opportunity to indulge. The Summer of Ballpark Pie Love.  Strawberry Pie straight from the angel's buffet table in strawberry heaven. I know about City Pie and Country Pie (more on that another time) - but Ballpark Pie?  Yet another reason to love baseball.

Really. I was born on Pi Day. March 14th.

I love how the pie and coffee experience slows down the pace of life. It is a great chance to disconnect from technology Of course, what am I doing now? I'm asking you to follow me on Twitter. Yup, lame. But how else do I get the word out?

Here is my Twitter Handle - Pi Man from Birth@markpjacobs1.

Support the "slow down and reconnect like humans over dessert and coffee" concept at #pieandcoffeemovement. I think that is how Twitter works.  I will ask one of my kids.

Enjoy the pie-loving weekend! I am back to enjoying me Saturday morning coffee from my Luke Cage mug (compliments of my friend Steve).  Coffee goes great with fictional superheroes. Luke is one of the best!

Join the Pie and Coffee Movement.

I travel a lot across North America and Europe. Like so many of us, I spend a lot of my life on computers, tablets and mobile phones.  Tethered to business and personal life with emails, texts, social media and yes, still sometimes phone calls, I am often challenged to remain in the present and connect with my surroundings.  I think that contributes to why I like sitting down with a slice of pie and a cup of coffee and to talk to someone.  You have to connect with another human face to face. You have to listen, understand and feel. You can not disappear into the cloud.

And pie is really tasty too. Don't forget that part.

So join the Pie and Coffee Movement!  Sit down with someone and share a story over a slice of Key Lime pie. .You just might be surprised what you find out.

When is it okay to cheat? Evidently today.

I am not a pie purist.  Yes, I have strong feelings.  I prefer pie to other desserts. And I admit I can be obnoxious about my pie-eating experience.  But a purist?  No.

Today, I bought a pie and it turned out to be a cake. Despite clear labeling that says "Maple Walnut Cake" I still thought it was a pie. Why? Because it looks like a pie (exhibit A below).  Ignore the label and trust your pie perception? Not a recipe for success. I deserved my fate. Amor Fati.

Life though spun a curve ball and the fates were kind to me. Cheating on my Faithful Pie Love with this Nutty Little Cake turned out to be a thrill! The Maple Walnut Cake (June Love's English Bakery, Middletown RI) was amazing. Like a French farce (or in this case, English) I ended up with the cake by mistake when I thought I was with the pie. And it turned out yummy.

Gregg's Apple Pie. Fidus Achates.

Apple pie is American Pie Royalty.  There are sexier candidates, more hip and complicated. Pumpkin owns Thanksgiving. Each and every region has their specialty pie, each season has their fleeting submission.. At the end of the day though, nothing does more heavy lifting on the pie circuit than King Apple. We grew up eating it, our parents grew up eating, our grandparents grew up eating...you get the picture. We have a life-long relationship with apple pie.  Of course that means there are more amateur bakers producing apple pies than any other pie and apple appears on a lot of restaurant menus as the sole pie representative. You know what that means.
There is a lot of crappy apple pie. Crappy crusts. Crappy apples. Crappy experience. Thankfully in this troubled world there are still places you can trust.  Gregg's Restaurants (there are 4 in Rhode Island) is my security blanket, my trusted friend and staunch supporter of Pie.  Last night, the North Kingstown location delivered this lovely piece of Apple Pie (of course with coffee) to a tired traveler.

Wicked Cold. Wicked Good.

Iced Coffee is one of the birthrights in New England, like flannel shirts and the Patriots always being in the Super Bowl. In the middle of winter, surrounded by dirty snow and even dirtier looks, we trudge through freezing temperatures with that iced coffee in hand.  Ponder your local February Dunkin Donuts experience- plenty of cold coffee on a cold day. It sucks when you do not have gloves to hold that iced coffee, but it is a small price to pay for the resulting glory. Drinking a freezing drink in a freezing temperature. Victory.
So, now it is October. The weather is getting downright breezy. Yesterday, I had this grown up inclination to drink hot coffee. "It's seasonably chilly, so be seasonably sensible, right?"  That feeling must have come from living in New Jersey for 25 years.  In New England, we like both types of music - country and western (wait, that didn't analogy did not work).  Anyway, New Englanders commune with hot and cold coffee in hand. No bias. Drink hot coffee when it is a 95 degrees.  Drink iced coffee while standing in a snow bank.  Our community has no boundaries.

Welcome to my time called Pie Time.

I've eaten a lot of pie in the past 15 years. There are some things I learned along the way.
First, you never know where you will find a good slice of pie. From strange little bunkers in the post-industrial, concrete jungle of sprawling Los Angeles (blackberry pie that will make your soul weep) to country mulch-farms in South New Jersey (caramel-dripped apple pie that is worthy of a national holiday). Amazing pie can be found anywhere and everywhere.  You need to keep your eyes open and your stomach empty.
Second, never joke about someone's pie-making ability. Pie bakers are serious (even when they are not serious people, pie baking makes them strangely earnest). They believe in the power of their pie. They believe it is extraordinary and they want you to experience this gift.  And sometimes...well, sometimes their extraordinary pie is pretty ordinary (or occasionally, outright  awful).  You can never tell them this. It is the adult version of debunking Santa Claus. Heart breaking and a bit dangerous. Just keep on eating and hope you can hold it down.
Lastly, pie brings us together. I am not shaming cake. Brownies are wonderful, Pudding still makes me laugh.  But pie is different. Pie binds us as humans.  Coupled with a good cup of coffee, the pie eating ritual slows us down, forces us into the present and makes us a little more decent.

(PS -  If you are looking to make a pie pilgrimage, the I Like Pie Bake Shop in Claremont, CA is a must on the list. Incredible.)