Pie Spy - Freeport Bakery and the Knish Delish

One of Pie Spy’s favorite places in the whole Sacramento Valley is Freeport Bakery at 2966 Freeport Boulevard (www.freeportbakery.com). We here at SacPie are not so into “cute” as a lifestyle choice, so that’s not why we love Freeport Bakery (although you could not ask for a more charming bakery storefront). We love it because their commitment to excellence is evident everywhere you look, and in every bite. We love it because it is a place where you can not only buy delicious things to eat but you can sit down and eat them, with real plates, knives, and forks, and enjoy a good cup of coffee too. We love it because it has clearly and deservedly become a mainstay of its neighborhood. We love it because it is a short walk from our house. Of course, we love it for the beautifully made, proudly displayed, and extravagant pies on offer. We will get to the pies soon.

But they really hooked us with the knishes.

Freeport Bakery’s take on vegetable knishes is a total departure from anything you may have previously consumed that called itself knish. The conventional deli knish we have experienced only comes in one variety – potato. PieSpy has scoped them in local deli cases - brownish bricks that look like square corn dogs – the kind you’re supposed to dip in mustard. They've been frozen too long, and maybe thawed out too soon. They aren’t appetizing to look at, and feel pretty much like bricks once they are ingested.

Scan the web for knish data and you will find recipes for fish, pastrami, cheese, chicken, and other hearty fillings, surrounded by dough made with chicken fat, or with puff pastry, Kosher, not Kosher, and on and on. Many of these seem beyond substantial and into ‘dense.’ Never having had the experience of knishes in a genuine New York Jewish deli, I cannot say what makes a store-bought knish authentic (although a tiny voice inside tells me the brown bricks are NOT). And never having had a Jewish grandmother, I have no experience of home-made knishes either.

Anyone out there making their own knishes at home?

At Freeport Bakery, if you ask for the knish, what you will receive is a glorious, ethereal, miniature self-contained vegetable pie on a small china plate. You will not see them in the bakery cases, but usually one is displayed on the counter to the left of the entry door. They cost about $3.95 each. Just ask. Your odds of success will be higher if you get there earlier in the day.

I have not inquired as to whether these knishes are kosher, but I'm sure someone at the counter can let you know, if you are interested.

You can re-heat them for a minute or so in the Bakery’s microwave, and then enjoy them hot right there. I have tried many times to get the temperature just right with their 1980's-era nuker, but the filling becomes either scalding hot or remains too cold, and you don't want to ruin that beautiful pastry crust. Maybe you will have better luck if you can take a few home with you cold, and heat them up later in a 300-degree oven. Be advised, though, even your best mustard would be an insult on this gorgeous little pie. It needs no extras.

The crust is both decorative and appetizing; firm enough to hold the insides in, but light and buttery. A little cutout leaf or nut made of dough adorns the egg-glazed top. The knish has the look and aroma of a fancy French savory pie. About 3 inches in diameter, it is best enjoyed, and deserves to be enjoyed, on a plate and eaten with a fork. This knish is flaky and too civilized to be eaten while you are driving or – you know who you are – standing over the kitchen sink.

Inside, the knish is filled with an aromatic combination of mashed and finely minced vegetables – potatoes as well as carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, onion (or perhaps leek), and a delicate array of herbs. The filling is velvety yet all the ingredients are identifiable. On the plate, the knish may look small, but it eats big. One knish can be a satisfying breakfast or lunch for one person – decadent, but with vegetables.

Freeport Bakery’s knish will make you want to throw rocks at other knishes commonly on offer in stores. They are so satisfying that you may say, “to hell with baking knishes myself!” If so, make sure you get to Freeport Bakery before I do. Or call ahead and request a special order.

Sac Pie Travels

Sac Pie was on hiatus after the Pie Day eat-a-thon, looking for pies in tropical places. This was my challenge from my friend Lynn. It was technically infeasible to blog while on the high seas in the Tropic of Capricorn. And to my dismay, there was a paucity of pie in all ports visited.

The best we did was a slice of key lime pie on the good ship Liberty after dinner on Friday night. It was a dainty slice, garnished only with a slice of fresh lime, but still - it's key lime pie. Much, much too sweet, a one-trick pony of a pie. Nobody else at the table even wanted to try it. Or even take a picture.

By now Sac Pie has made our predilections very clear:

- freedom from goo

- freedom from synthetic ingredients

- organic as much as possible

- satisfying as a meal

- fresh and whole-food biased

- naturally sweet as much as possible

- flaky crusts, especially on top

- seasonal fruit biased

So if we check most of those boxes with any pie we sample abroad, we consider the outing a big success. If we check all the boxes, we bring some home for "research." That's what we call it.

The best pie we had in our travels was the guava-cheese empanada at La Carreta (www.lacarreta.com), the bakery side of the Cuban restaurant in the Miami International Airport (terminal D). Two of them for $4.00 was a bargain. The guava paste was layered in with a slice of a cotijo-style cheese in an extremely flaky, egg-glazed turnover. So it had a dual identity as breakfast or dessert (and that is very important). This was the best consolation I have ever had for a long, dreary afternoon in an airport at the end of a tropical vacation. The empanada was so good that it was gone before it could be photographed. It is also the kind of empanada that you have to eat standing up, preferably outdoors or over the sink, because the crackling flakes go everywhere as you take each luscious bite.

La Carreta has a devoted following for their authentic Cuban entrees as well as their bakery. They have seven other restaurants in the Miami area (and not just in Little Havana). You can read reviews online, too; at least one said it's only airport food they ever eat. The fare at La Carreta will make you, probably, want to throw rocks at Au Bon Pain, Sbarro Pizza, and all that other non-food in the airport. In fact it might be worthwhile to fly into Miami just to go to La Carreta! The place was packed all afternoon, and the aromas were intriguing.