Street food showdown #1

Bored and restless I decided to walk into Fremont and poke around. This lasted all of 5 minutes when I realized my stomach was making death threats in the form of muffled cries and gargles. Simultaneously I looked up and saw a beacon of hope in the form of a hand molded pie. Pie is the name, very original, and they make both sweet and savory pies. I'm not huge on the sweets so I went over the savory list and picked out a classic, English beef pie. I don't like eating what I consider street food inside the establishments, mostly because they are boring but also because I was alone and didn't feel like reading The Stranger.

Pie in hand in box I was headed home when I realized I would want/need more food. Just around the corner from Pie, in an alleyway, is a russian dumpling place called Pel'Meni. They serve two things; Potato filled dumplings and beef filled dumplings. I went with the combo and got the works which consists of a mild vinegar hot sauce, curry-like seasoning, sour cream and a slice of pumpernickel bread.

The Pie
I really like the crust on these guys. Flaky and light but not so much so that it falls apart in your hand. That would make for some messy street food. The beef filling was very good with a lot of onion flavor. I just wish it was a little saltier. The filling was a good consistency, not runny with juices so as to get your hand sticky, but not dry either. The only disappointment came in the form of some bitter burnt pieces of onion on top.

The Dumplings
The beef dumplings are delicious. They pop in your mouth with nice saltiness and good spiced flavor. The vinegar sauce and seasoning gives it a nice kick and the sour cream adds a nice fatty mouth feel to give the flavor more time on the palate.  The potato dumplings are the opposite.  No flavor and certainly not enough salt.  They fall flat in the mouth and no amount of sauces could help out these poor souls.  If I had to do it again, I would go all meat.  If I were a vegetarian, I would skip it all together.

If I had to choose, I'd go back to Pie and try some different pies.  Some of them might not be as good as the one I had but the diversity keeps you going back for more.  If I had to choose again AND I was slightly inebriated, which I usually am when trying to make these decisions, I'd get some meat dumplings and get sloppy in the alleyway.  It's not all about the food, sometimes you just gotta go with your base instinct.