# Does pie and chips mean something different to Brits? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 24, 2006, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940 "2006-02-24T17:45:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/81 "2006-02-26T23:02:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\*amarone \*\* > This introduces another angle: non-sweet dessert pies. All of the above, with the exception of cherry, are best when tart. C’mon, this is America. EVERYTHING is sweet here. Even a loaf of bread lists ‘sugar’ or ‘high-fructose corn syrup’ as the third ingredient! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/82 "2006-02-27T01:32:22Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > This American had never heard of cheeseburger pie til reading this thread. > > Sounds abominable. I’ve had it. Your impression is right IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/83 "2006-02-27T01:53:40Z")
> [@Amaranta](#): > > As this thread has gone madly off track anyway, let me say that Shepard’s Pie with mashed yams or sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes is ab-fab. > > That is all. I don’t suppose you could give me a recipe/directions for this, eh? I’ve had the regular type but never made it. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/84 "2006-02-27T01:54:53Z")
> [@Barbarian](#): > > C’mon, this is America. EVERYTHING is sweet here. Even a loaf of bread lists ‘sugar’ or ‘high-fructose corn syrup’ as the third ingredient! Eurgh. No. Apple pie should be slightly tart, made with green Granny Smiths and the apples should still be firm, not limp and mushy. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/85 "2006-02-27T04:32:50Z")
Topped with vanilla ice cream, cinnamon, and hot caramel sauce. Well, I found in my kitchen _Farm Journal’s Complete PIE Cookbook_. Now most recipes are for desserts, but the last two chapters have main dish pies. Some of them sound damn yummy, like Steak and Onion Pie, Brunswick Chicken Pie, Onion Cheese-Potato Pie, and Chilli Con Carne Pie. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/86 "2006-02-27T05:15:39Z")
Who cares what kind of pie it is!? It’s pie and it’s free! With chips! ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/87 "2006-02-27T10:06:07Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > My mother used to make a dish called ‘beef and kidney ragout’. My father refused to eat it, his comment always being “I’m not eating anything you have to boil the piss out of first.” Dad wasn’t on anyone’s ‘A’ list for classy events. I’m guessing he wasn’t over-fond of Jello, too. Did he eat eggs? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/88 "2006-02-27T18:47:57Z")
> [@Maureen](#): > > Okay. Hijack, but I’m genuinely interested in the answer. > I just made the world’s most perfect cheesecake. It’s creamy and dense and could only be defined as “cake” in the broadest sense of the word. I topped it with raspberries. Would it be considered a pudding? According to Alton Brown, a cheesecake is a form of custard pie. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/89 "2006-02-27T18:54:58Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > According to Alton Brown, a cheesecake is a form of custard pie. And I see that the question has already been answered. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/90 "2006-02-27T22:14:16Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I googled for images of “pot pie”, and it seems that this is what we in the UK generally mean by plain old “pie”, in a savoury context. I had previously thought that pot pie was something served in a pot, like a ramikin, with only a pastry top, but I see I’m wrong. There’s a difference, though. I wouldn’t recommend holding your average chicken pot pie in your hand and taking a bite, even if it did have two crusts. The filling is probably too liquidy for that to work. Most of us wouldn’t eat a chicken pot pie any way other than hot out of the oven (or reheated in the microwave), so it wouldn’t be something to carry with you. All pies or pieces of pie here are eaten with a knife and fork or spoon, except for what McDonald’s calls pies. We are willing to call something a pie, whether it has zero, one, or two crusts, if it is baked in a pie pan (which some of us call a pie plate). You can also call a dish a pie if it’s not baked in a pie pan if it would traditionally be baked in a pie pan (such as chicken pot pie- Mr. Neville and I make it in a casserole dish, and some people use ramekins). Quiches, for some reason, are not pies, though they are often made in pie pans. 😕 A “tart” is a fancy pie that the restaurant or coffee shop wishes to charge more money for a slice than they would for a slice of pie. All organ meats are revolting to this American, but kidneys, as organs associated with eliminating waste, are even more so. I’d probably think I could taste pee, even if there was no physical way I could. Jello and eggs aren’t revolting in the same way (though I don’t eat Jello), because they have a nice euphemistic name, so you don’t have to think about what icky organs you are eating. For similar reasons, you’ll usually see squid called calamari on our menus- the idea of “squid” is icky, “calamari” is not. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/91 "2006-02-27T23:37:03Z")
> [@homeskillet](#): > > This reminds me of an old episode of _Dr. Katz_ where this guy was complaining about regional dialects. > > “My roommate in college was from Brooklyn and the first day there, he asked me if I wanted to go halfsies on a pie! What the hell kind of question is that? I thought to myself, ‘this guy must _really_ like pie’. I didn’t realize he meant a pizza pie, so we ended up getting half pepperoni, half pumpkin.” That guest comedian/patient was Brian Regan — and he did the same funny bit in a broadcast stage performance. “Pizza pie” always sounds odd to me, like something that a stereotypically Italian person would say in an old Marx Brothers movie. “Hey! You bake-a this pizza-pie?”, or something like that. But apparently, at least going by Mr. Regan, the term is still in current use in or around New York. And apparently you can leave out the “pizza” part and still be understood, in certain contexts. Deep-dish Chicago-style pizza resembles a kind of pie even more than flat pizza does, yet still isn’t called “pizza pie” by anyone I know. ---
**Author:** ![sunfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sunfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunfish)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/92 "2006-02-27T23:47:32Z")
> [@Bytegeist](#): > > “Pizza pie” always sounds odd to me, like something that a stereotypically Italian person would say in an old Marx Brothers movie. “Hey! You bake-a this pizza-pie?”, or something like that. But apparently, at least going by Mr. Regan, the term is still in current use in or around New York. And apparently you can leave out the “pizza” part and still be understood, in certain contexts. Pie is most certainly still used in relation to pizza in the NY metro area, but most people I know wouldn’t actually say “pizza pie.” The dialogue would go something like this: Me to friend: Hey, feel like having pizza tonight? Friend: Sure. You just want a couple slices, or should we get a whole pie? With a whole pie agreed on, the call to place an order at the local pizzeria would start, “Hi, I’d like to order a small pie, half mushroom, half pepperoni…” ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/93 "2006-02-28T18:57:47Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Not shepherd’s pie, as that isn’t a pie made with pastry - it’s ground lamb in gravy with mashed potato on top of it. Pie & chips has to have sides to it so you can carry it around. How big is the typical pie; it’s small enough to be held like a sandwich? ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/94 "2006-02-28T19:53:28Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > How big is the typical pie; it’s small enough to be held like a sandwich? The size of store-bought pie can vary. There are ones big enough for three of four people. And then you get the individual pies which can be round with a diameter of 4 or 5 inches, or oval of roughly the same size. The individual ones are usually contained in a tin-foil “plate”, making them easier to eat without a knife and fork. This is why they are so popular at football matches for a handy hot snack. ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/95 "2006-02-28T20:08:18Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I’ve never seen the Geico commercials here, by the way. I did hear tell that the gecko is actually Australian, which makes sense as pie & chips is way more popular in Oz than it is over here. Damned good pies there, too, with nary a kidney in site. The gecko talks like a character from _EastEnders_, so I’d have a hard time believing he’s Australian (in fact, ElzaHub swears it’s the guy who plays Billy on EE, but I think he’s cracked.). So would pasties be included in the British ‘pie’ category? E. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/96 "2006-02-28T20:09:39Z")
I’d like to offer a little advice to all of you Britons. If anyone in the U.S. ever offers you a _Cowpie_ or\* Buffalo Chips\*, you should **emphatically decline**. ---
**Author:** ![Arch\_Trout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9f8e36/32.png) [@Arch\_Trout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arch_Trout)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/97 "2006-02-28T22:41:33Z")
> [@Elza B](#): > > So would pasties be included in the British ‘pie’ category? > > E. Nope, they’d go in the pastie category. I was thinking about steak pies, we have a steak pie where the only pastry is puff pastry on top of stewed steak in gravy (basically). We also have a completely encased steak & gravy pie in shorcrust pastry. And the ‘steak round’, which is similar to the shortcrust but topped with puff. [Link to some pies I have eaten.](http://www.bellbakers.co.uk/products/pies) Yes, we put macaroni in a pie! ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/98 "2006-02-28T22:46:01Z")
> [@Elza B](#): > > So would pasties be included in the British ‘pie’ category? > > E. That’s what I was thinking, too; they sort of look like a mini calzone. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/99 "2006-03-01T00:12:36Z")
…if you want to experience a traditional Kiwi Gourmet Meat Pie, try the “Down Under Bakery” in New York. They will ship to you! For those of you curious about the Steak and Kidney Pie, you can try one from here… [http://www.dubpies.com/pieflavour.html](http://www.dubpies.com/pieflavour.html) [http://www.cuisine.co.nz/index.cfm?pageID=27979&r=4](http://www.cuisine.co.nz/index.cfm?pageID=27979&r=4) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2006, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940/100 "2006-03-01T04:42:49Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I’ve had it. Your impression is right IMHO. Cheeseburger pie isn’t gourmet cuisine, I know. But to me, it’s comfort food. It’s positively trailer park, but I love it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-pie-and-chips-mean-something-different-to-brits/345940.md?page=6)