Granville Island is a destination, there is plenty to see, eat, and do there. You can visit day after day and still discover more. Today that discovery included the long standing pie shop and cafe Ala Mode.
I have passed by, been tempted by, but have never had any of their sweet or savoury pies. So when I was invited to try a handful of their menu items, I was more than happy to plan a day trip down.
However, my visit coincided with a particularly busy day. A continuous line grew in front of the Ala Mode kiosk, all the tables within the food court were seated, and the steady rain offered no additional spots outdoors. Therefore I simply took photos of everything that was plated extra special for me, and proceed to have it packed to go. Everything to take home to try, where I can actually sit and enjoy it. Therefore much of what I tasted and reviewed was not as the photos depicted. In fact throughout the busy chaos and confusion, they lost dishes and made substitutions. And when it came time to reheat items for myself, I went too hot with a few and changed their make up. Therefore take the following with a large grain of salt.
The Ala Mode kiosk is easy to navigate with a printed menu listing their drink and sliced food options including desserts, sandwiches, and whole pies to take home. However, it is much easier and a lot more gratifying to order through pointing behind the glass. The following is what we had.
I was most impressed by the Salmon Chowder Pot Pie. If you dine in, in comes served in these reusable porcelain soup bowls, covered by a sheet of golden brown, flakey pastry dough. It certainly adds depth to the experience. Otherwise you eat it out of a cardboard container that has its flavour bleed into the chunky, creamy chowder. Plus it feels like you get more in quantity and for your money’s worth when you dine in. It also comes with a side salad of the day, to help round out the meal.
The chowder itself was lovely. A good balanced cream based soup, with the salmon not dominating with its very distinct flavour. It was comforting and left me wondering what their clam and corn chowder pie was like, and if they are this good as well. I could have used more pastry shell to dip into the soup, however did end up using the excess chowder as a dip for the more bland dishes below.
The Quiche Lorraine Pie looked lovely. It ate fluffy with whipped egg, but more doughy from the shell used. I could have used more seasonings for the eggy portion as it was dull with just the flavour of salted ham coming through. This came with a slight variation on the salad of the day. Cherry tomatoes and raspberries instead of thin slices of strawberries above.
The Mac & Cheese Pie sounded promising, but fell flat. It needed more cheese to coat the pasta noodles gooey. (Although this could have been in part due to my microwaving it.) Maybe a blend of sharp cheeses to give it more depth and personality. It also could have done with a dressing or sauce of some sort. A gravy to help change the taste of the dish in between bites of the pasta and the similarly buttery crust. The topping and shell bleeds together. This too came with another fruit and leafy green salad, this time blueberries.
I am a fan of warm baked pies. Having it at home meant I got to enjoy it as bubbling hot as I wanted to (by mistake). Though it would have been nicer with the scoop of ice cream topping the pie in this photo. This was a perfectly flaky butter crust hiding a syrupy sweet and slightly tart fruit filling.
I am a fan of Lemon Meringue Pie, having had a slice or two as a child, baked to perfection by my pastry chef grandfather. I regret not learning how to make it from him. But am happy to have found a close facsimile in Ala Mode. The lemon curd was luscious, making my mouth water. It has the perfect balance between sweet and sour. The thick meringue topping swings it towards sweet and the salted crust towards savoury. I just wish I had it fresh to actually appreciate how fluffy the meringue is and how crisp the crust was.
The Chocolate Pecan Tart I over microwaved, having had it a few days later. The elongated spin in the microwave changed its taste and texture. From what I can only imagine was suppose to be a sweet and lush paste, now into a mug cake like mousse.
For drinks we enjoyed theirs refreshing Pink Lemonade on the go. Sure to be a summer hit.
I appreciated the time their team put into latte foam art. The Cafe Latte with Oat milk had a chicken for Easter.
The Matcha Latte was more classic with chocolate hearts in the foam topper. This I would order again, as it was a great matcha toward beverage.
In conclusion a great spot for whole pies to take home and snack sized pies to enjoy on location.
A la Mode
Granville Island Public Market
1689 Johnston St, Vancouver, BC V6H 3R9
(604) 685-8335
alamodepie.com
