It was exactly like I expected: a pie heaven.
Even the rain pummeling the streets of New York could not deter me and about a hundred more New Yorkers from making their way to the Dominique Ansel Kitchen on Thursday night. There was only one thing on our mind: pie.
And not just any pie either, but unlimited pie baked by the creator of the cronut, Dominique Ansel.
Minutes before 7pm when the bakery was set to open for its first after-hours event, people were already lining up outside getting their hands stamped with a special pie stamp for admission. Tickets for pie night were gone shortly after going on sale at noon on 10 September. The event consisted of three one-hour sessions; during each session, between 30 to 40 people got to mingle with Ansel and enjoy unlimited amount of eight different types of pie prepared by the kitchen’s staff.
As the crowd gathered outside, getting their hands stamped and sipping on bubbly apple cider, an employee inside stood on the counter attempting to straighten a Pie Night balloon sign.
“I love pie and I wanted to do some fun apple picking,” Ansel told me.
Splitting his staff into two groups – so that one group could work while other went apple picking and vice versa – Ansel got his staff to pick about 125 pounds of apples over two days. That he enjoyed himself is undeniable. He laughs as he shows me photos from the trip – the before photo of everyone awake and excited on the way to the Terhune Orchards and the after photo of everyone asleep in the car.
“Are you sure they are not pretending?” I ask.
“No! They are not!” he says laughing. “They were really tired.”
Autumn is his favorite season and he decided to bake pie as “celebration of fall”.
“I love them all. One of my favorites is the apple, because I love apples,” he admits, then adds: “The blueberry is really good. The banana cream pie is really delicious.”
As the crowd fills and starts piling pie onto their plates, Ansel grabs a bucket of homemade ice cream and walks around offering scoops. Customers who paid $35 for their tickets were told they’d get “a chance to hang out with chef Dominique!” They are getting their money’s worth – selfies included.
About 20 minutes into the event – just as I had tried about half of the pies – Ansel strolled over and asked: “What do you think?”
“I was underwhelmed by the banana cream pie,” I said, adding that his praise for it earlier in the evening might have set the bar too high. I thought it was too subtle. I wanted more banana in my banana pie. What I did not tell him, however, is that literally every other person I spoke to that night named that pie among their favorites.
“It’s the crust,” real estate broker Rob Kluge said after confessing that he enjoyed the banana pie.
Kluge was part of a foursome that allowed me to share a table with them. Their strategy? Taste a little bit of everything first, then go back for seconds of whatever tasted the best.
‘“Aight, we are in business,” said Kluge, popping down two plates bearing a slice of about five different pies.
As the group began tasting, Ansel strolled over. Surprised – since each guest was guaranteed unlimited amount of pie during their one hour session – he asked: “Are you guys sharing?” Turning to his staff, he said incredulously: “They are sharing!”
“This is a sampler. This is just an appetizer round,” Kluge assured. When asked what he liked so far, he said: “Blueberry. You took compote to a whole another level.”
Outside, Jana Checa Chong was sitting on one of the benches underneath the awning watching the rain fall as her company for the evening was getting more pies from the inside. She, too, enjoyed the banana pie. Go figure.
“Everything is delicious. Everything is good,” she told me.
Sharing her table were Jessica Hirsch, who captured the evening’s offerings on her Instagram account @cheatdayeats, and Christina Clemente.
Was there any pies that evening they didn’t like?
“None!” said Hirsch, laughing. “He doesn’t do anything wrong.”
For a moment, the table fell silent as everyone enjoyed a little bit more pie. Then Clemente said what I am sure all of us were thinking: “I hope there is pie in heaven.”
Amen.
The verdict:
Salted caramel apple pie: A clear winner. Enough said.
Flambéed banana cream pie: Apparently it’s all about the crust, which just melts on your tongue. (It was too subtle for me. More banana!)
Blueberry pie with buttermilk oat crumble: “You know why it’s so good? Because they use whole blueberries,” Clemente said. Fresh out of oven, cut into pieces, each slice contains at least few whole blueberries.
Bourbon Pecan Pie: Let me repeat – Bourbon. Pecan. Pie. Flawless. It was the perfect balance.
Lemon cream pie with thyme and brown sugar meringue: This was my favorite. Hands down. The lemon cream pie was tart and indulgent.
66% dark chocolate cream pie: Did someone say chocolate? It was rich and indulgent.
Whiskey-kissed sweet potato pie with torched marshmallow: If you expected a sweet pie, you’d be surprised. Chunks of sweet potato inside were a nice touch. It made me think of Thanksgiving.
Dark meat chicken and fall vegetable pot pie: A pot pie anyone will love. “I loved it and I am not a fan of pot pies,” one of the customers told me.
Roasted heirloom tomato tart: If there was one pie that pushed people out of their comfort zone, it was this. But it was perfect – layered almost as pizza. The flaky pastry base and the fresh tomatoes are nice, but what I really enjoyed was the balsamic caramel with garlic and caramelized onions layer in-between.
If you did not get a chance to attend Pie Night, Dominique Ansel Kitchen will be offering its pies for order online and in store pick up from 3 October to 18 October.
