Cape Town’s Fast Foods: Big Bird Pie, Ostrich to-go.

Something I heard while I was in the USA surprised me a lot. Americans who had visited South Africa often commented on how they missed the “pies”.

These are not like the American apple pies, or cherry pies, but individual meat pies filled with steak, chicken and whathaveyou. Somehow, pies became quite a staple here and can be found in every corner store, supermarket, petrol station and also in dedicated pie shops. They are a favourite for walking lunches and are the lifeblood of the police and traffic departments.

In Britain, which one would think to be the pie capital of the world, they are not nearly as ubiquitous and dare I say tasty, as in South Africa. I recommend the ones that are not pre-wrapped ie: baked on site. The others tend to be floppy and I suspect started life as losers from the track.

Yesterday I had an Ostrich pie, the size of a Frisbee, which was just incredible. Called the “Big Bird Pie” and Made by Bru’s pie factory. I will be on the lookout for those again.