I got one of those Van DeKamps one-serving pies, the kind that’s round, about four inches in circumference, and rests in a little tin. I got chewed out at school once for not using a fork when I brought one of them in my lunch, but I just shrugged it off and kept eating. It doesn’t seem to me that you need a fork for something that’s sturdy and small enough to hold in your hand; it’s okay to eat it like a sandwich. But I may be wrong. Am I?
Please, no Weebl and Bob references. They’re only funny when they’re completely irrelevant to the discussion.
Eat it like a sandwich. I say, if you can pick it up and eat it without getting messy, don’t waste silverware on it.
I’ve often wondered, too, why people eat pizza with their hands, but a calzone with a fork. I mean, a calzone is just a rolled-over pizza, right? In fact, it should be neater to eat a calzone with your hands vs. a pizza b/c then you don’t have pepperoni grease dripping off the top.
Having said that, I do eat calzones and pot pies with a fork. I can’t help it. I have no originality at all. I’m compelled to use flatware by forces outside my control. I blame Mom.
But I say you should eat your pie however you like. Particularly at school; if you were dining formally I’d say do what the hostess is doing, but who cares what your schoolmates think, right?
[sub]Mmmmm…pot pie…[/sub]
Derleth: Good point.
Audrey: Good point also about the calzone.
And as far as the school incident, that was years and years ago; I just remembered it because I haven’t had one of these pies in so long. I shrugged the comment off because we were in sixth grade at the time; it was a boy ragging on me; and that’s the age where boys burp more than they breathe. Hardly an authority on dining etiquette.
Are you talking about those chicken pot pie things? That’s the only thing I can picture that is round and comes in a tin.
All the pot pies I know have insane amounts of gravy. I can’t picture eating them without a spoon.
In Australia you can buy pies of all descriptions - steak, steak and kidney, mexican, curried, chicken, chicken and vegetable etc etc. Some come in a foil dish, some do not but if its not served on a plate with vegetables you hold it and eat it. At a football game you will be handed your pie in a paper bag. You take it hold between thumb and fingers and eat it up. Even works for a pie with mushy peas atop.
D’oh—I should have mentioned that it was a cherry pie.
No, I wouldn’t eat a beef or chicken pot pie without a utensil, but for that matter, I wouldn’t even take it out of the tin.
I find eating calzone by hand to me much messier than pizza. Maybe it’s because the ones I’ve gotten were stuffed so full. I recall one that I halved for easier handling, and I wound up burning my fingers on the cheese. So now I cut my calzone into bite-sized pieces before dunking them into sauce and chowing down.
And, I’ve had those little pies - and I eat them sans utensils. It’s like eating the pies McD’s sells (used to sell? I don’t go there any more) - you just have to be careful about drippage.
Anything that doesn’t need to be cut and doesn’t drip its contents all over you can be eaten with your hands. I certainly wouldn’t be taking ettiquette lessons of any kind from sixth-grade boys! 
FairyChatMom, you are exactly right about calzones. It has been my experience that they are too full of fillings to eat with your hands. As a matter of fact, if we get a pizza that’s loaded, I’ll often eat that with knife and fork for the same reason.
No, the ones I’m talking about are round. Not like McD’s pies or Hostess pies. They’re like a pie you get at the bakery, but miniature. As I said earlier, I eat them like a burger, and the filling is very thick, so there’s no drippage.
Basically, what I think is, it’s like eating an orange with a knife and fork. You can do it, but no one says you have to (at least not in America).
I know what kind you meant. I’ve seen them in stores here. I’ve had blueberry versions and they (or maybe I) can be messy.
Dang, now I want a little pie. A pox upon you, Rilch!
It’s your pie, YOU make the rules!
-Rue. (pie anarchist)