So does anyone know where the second location is going to be?

TCK wrote:So does anyone know where the second location is going to be?

9 North Elm Street, Three Oaks, Michigan (close to New Buffalo): http://www.harborcountry-news.com/artic ... 088589.txt

Penny Pollack tweeted today that they will have seating for 100 people (not sure where that info came from).

In other news, I read on Twitter today that Pleasant House was offering a crawfish pie and I raced down there with a friend. Crawfish pie is just one of my very favorite things. And this one didn't disappoint. It was terrific, with their typical great crust encasing a perfectly cooked and delicious crawfish filling. The best crawfish pie I've ever had was at Cochon in New Orleans (perfectly cooked crawfish and a dark roux-based filling) and no one else has come close until today - highly recommended.

I just saw their pies are on offer through Irv & Shelly's Freh Picks. So you can order all,of your produce and some Pleasant House love at the same time.

That's what I call a knockout combo!

BR -

I don't see anything about Pleasant House opening in Michigan. Okay - this is correct - just found Pollack's article:
http://chicago.grubstreet.com/2013/04/g ... heres.html

Perhaps the note about the 2nd location in the city was incorrectly picked up by other publications (saw reference to "announced plans to open a new restaurant somewhere in the city" which made me question the Michigan news).

So much for hoping I'd have pies somewhere on the north side, this location is much further away!

Thanks,
Ellen

2nd location is definitely 3 Oaks, MI. They sent out an email and I also heard this personally from Art when I saw him at BaconFest on Saturday.

=R=

Hi, Everyone-

Chelsea from Pleasant House here. Just wanted to let everyone know that we held a soft opening July 4 weekend in Three Oaks, Michigan. It went very well! In addition to our pies and some other items (we'll be adding more, including some dishes not on the menu in Chicago) we are brewing all of our own beers onsite as Pleasant House Brewing Company (@PHBrewingCo). We got really great feedback on our ESB ("Codger") and English Pale Ale, the two beers on offer last weekend. We've got more coming. Thank you all for your support and we hope to see you in Three Oaks sometime. Apart from visiting us, there's a lot to do in town: art movies, live music venue, art galleries, Journeyman Distillery, shopping, Drier's Meat Market, as well as the beach and Warren Dunes park nearby.

All the best,
Chelsea

Great news for northsiders: Pleasant House pies are available at City Newsstand on Cicero.
They are refrigerated but they have an industrial oven and can beat them up in about 6 minutes.

City Newsstand
4018 N Cicero Ave
Chicago, IL 60641
(773) 545-7377

Pleasant House is noteworthy for, among other things, the uselessness of the instructions they provide for heating their pies.

"350 degrees for twenty to forty minutes, depending on the oven. Frozen pies will take longer."

Super.

I'll just buy half a dozen or so, and when I discover the correct timing required to survive food poisoning and/or avoid breaking a few teeth on the frozen-solid center of a kale & mushroom pie, I'll post it here.

Sounds perfect to me. Of course I have been blessed to not suffer from leprosy so I can touch things and sense their condition. In addition I have in my possession a marvelous new contraption I call a Thermal Meter. Insert it into any soft foodstuff and it magically indicates the stored heat as measured on Herr Fahrenheits' new scale.

I've always found that the Pleasant House pies reheat extraordinarily well.

=R=

Octarine wrote:Great news for northsiders: Pleasant House pies are available at City Newsstand on Cicero.
They are refrigerated but they have an industrial oven and can beat them up in about 6 minutes.

City Newsstand
4018 N Cicero Ave
Chicago, IL 60641
(773) 545-7377

And, Great news for southsiders: Pleasant House pies are available at Plein Air Cafe right next to Robie House (kiddy-corner from Rockefeller Chapel) on the U of C campus, alongside other items conceived or supplied in part by Art and Chelsea for the other dynamic duo of Soo Choi and Kevin Heisner. Much more than A10, Native Foods, Porkchop, or Bergstein's (happy to have them all), this beautiful place is a game-changer in the neighborhood.

http://www.pleinaircafe.co/about/
5751 S. Woodlawn

Roger Ramjet wrote:Pleasant House is noteworthy for, among other things, the uselessness of the instructions they provide for heating their pies.

"350 degrees for twenty to forty minutes, depending on the oven. Frozen pies will take longer."

Super.

I'll just buy half a dozen or so, and when I discover the correct timing required to survive food poisoning and/or avoid breaking a few teeth on the frozen-solid center of a kale & mushroom pie, I'll post it here.

i heat the frozen pies (usually the kale) at 350degrees for 45 minutes, and they are hot all the way through and the crispy crust reheats perfectly. so don't worry, just reheat and enjoy...

Pleasant House Bakery pies are also available at Local Goods Chicago located in beautiful downtown Edgebrook; a couple doors west of GNR Elephant Thai.

Local Goods Chicago
5354 W. Devon
Chicago, IL 60646
773/490-8200

Elephant Thai
5348 W Devon
Chicago, IL
773-467-1168

Might have been mentioned, but the faux old man bar with Old Stle sign and glass bricks, Lone Wolf (Randolph near Au Cheval), is affiliated with PH and has a number of their pies. Good cocktails, but it gets crowded with Mich Ultra drinkers now and then.

First time at PHB (and Maria's Packaged Goods). I feel dumb for not having been sooner.

Steak and Ale Pie All-natural beef, ale, carrots, and herbs
Peas Buttered with mint


Yep. I had read how fantastic this pie was time and time again, but I still felt unprepared.

Deluxe Gravy Chips Skirt steak, gravy, and aged Cheddar cheese

Poutine being one of my favorite things in life, I had no issue with this side.

SWEETS

The sweet of the day was a dark chocolate pudding. Very unassuming, but we all agreed that this was the best pudding we had possibly ever had.

I'll be quick to get back to Pleasant House Bakery

incite wrote:First time at PHB (and Maria's Packaged Goods). I feel dumb for not having been sooner.

Pretty sure that's the reaction of everyone dining there for the first time. Definitely in my top 10 of Chicago restaurants.

Anyone been to the Michigan store? Getting to be that time of year again. The food situation over by the beach has gottent pretty, pretty good. Past Stop 50, you've got PH and Greenbush, whose house smoked/cured/whatever stuff I can't say enough about, in addition to the old-timey places mentioned here and there.

JeffB wrote:Anyone been to the Michigan store? Getting to be that time of year again. The food situation over by the beach has gottent pretty, pretty good. Past Stop 50, you've got PH and Greenbush, whose house smoked/cured/whatever stuff I can't say enough about, in addition to the old-timey places mentioned here and there.

Made a maiden voyage a month or so ago. Pies were as good as ever, I believe the same baseline set, sans the pasty: steak & ale, chicken balti, and mushroom/kale. Prices were on par with Chicago. Scotch egg was right on, salads as thoughtfully prepared and brightly flavored as always. They had a few specials on board, though it had been months since we'd had Royal Pies and we were jonesing. Beers were excellent, though my old man found the $6 price tag for the pour steep for Three Oaks. The place was busy on a Saturday and a really comfortable and spacious old school storefront.

Plien Air in Hyde Park serves Pleasant House Bakery pies.

I think the space in Michigan is absolutely beautiful, and I believe they brew their own beer, too. It's right down the street from Journeyman, which is another good spot to visit. I had friends at the former recently (well, in the dead of winter) who still talk about the quality of food, service and ambience, despite having Pleasant House home base so close.

I went to the Hyde Park Plein Air neo-outpost recently myself, and it's also a nice spot, albeit a touch chaotic. Want to say the pies, while served with modest salads, were pumped up by about $2-5, which is a bit of a bummer considering they're not being made on site as they do at the original Bridgeport spot. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, though.

(Speaking of Bridgeport, Bridgeport Coffee across the corner has my fave beans in the city. Between that at Maria's, that intersection abounds for quality drink, though at the latter we had a cocktail not long ago that tasted disconcertingly like ceviche.)

I went to the Three Oaks restaurant for lunch this past Saturday, and it was great. Low key, comfortable, and everyone working there was nice without trying too hard. I had the chicken balti pie, which was outstanding. Great crust and lovely curry flavor without being too overpowering. The peas with mint were a perfect side. My friend got the bangers and mash special, which was rich, with a great onion gravy and two flavorful and perfectly cooked sausages. I had the Snobbler brown ale, and it was a perfect beer to go with the food. I am a fan.

Several months since the last post in this thread, and I'm sorry to report that Pleasant House is just as boringly perfect as always -- perfect steak & ale pie with the most amazing crust, deluxe gravy chips with perfectly roasted potatoes and a delicious gravy, and of course the slightly spicy, house-made ginger soda. Nope, nothing new to report here . . . just the same fantastic food as usual. And for those of you on the north side or in the burbs that haven't tried this place, you really need to make a special journey. To me, this would be among my top couple of places to recommend to those visiting Chicago . . . yes, it's THAT great.

BR wrote:Several months since the last post in this thread, and I'm sorry to report that Pleasant House is just as boringly perfect as always -- perfect steak & ale pie with the most amazing crust, deluxe gravy chips with perfectly roasted potatoes and a delicious gravy, and of course the slightly spicy, house-made ginger soda. Nope, nothing new to report here . . . just the same fantastic food as usual. And for those of you on the north side or in the burbs that haven't tried this place, you really need to make a special journey. To me, this would be among my top couple of places to recommend to those visiting Chicago . . . yes, it's THAT great.

Is bierock on the menu yet? [http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/sc-food-0926-bierock-20140926-story.html]

David Hammond wrote:

BR wrote:Several months since the last post in this thread, and I'm sorry to report that Pleasant House is just as boringly perfect as always -- perfect steak & ale pie with the most amazing crust, deluxe gravy chips with perfectly roasted potatoes and a delicious gravy, and of course the slightly spicy, house-made ginger soda. Nope, nothing new to report here . . . just the same fantastic food as usual. And for those of you on the north side or in the burbs that haven't tried this place, you really need to make a special journey. To me, this would be among my top couple of places to recommend to those visiting Chicago . . . yes, it's THAT great.

Is bierock on the menu yet? [http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/sc-food-0926-bierock-20140926-story.html]

I don't think so – pretty sure I would've noticed it.

Before meeting my fellow Sox fans for a pre-season get-together a few blocks away, last sunday I walked around a blustery and cold Bridgeport to have a cup of tea and a steak and ale pie. My previous visits to PHB I got the chicken balti. As much as I liked that, I loved the steak and ale even more. I love this place, and with more trips to USCF these next couple months I should stop in even more (though not all that easy getting down there from Evanston on the El; last weekend I walked from the Orange Line).

Pleasant House Bakery was suffering from a bit of a success problem today. At 1 pm today, the line extended to the door. 50 minutes elapsed between our arrival and when we received our food. Seating was full, if not cramped, with a long wait for tables. We were resigned to eating our meal outside "el trunko" when a table opened up just as our food order was ready for pick up. By then, they has run out of clean cutlery. The cashier was turning away customers who tried to phone in their orders. Cashier said it was very unusual for them to be this busy on a Sunday. I gather that Pleasant House Bakery was featured on Check Please! this week, so we may have been experiencing the "Check Please Effect".

The Steak Pasty that I had was quite unlike any pasty I've had before. It was much more meaty, and the meat filling was more like pot roast than steak. In addition, there were tiny bits of onion, rutabaga and what may have been potato inside a flaky pastry crust. My dining companion was very happy with her Mushroom and Kale Royal Pie. The mashed potatoes and peas with mint that we split were ok, but not as hot as they should have been. Hopefully I'll have an opportunity to return when they are not so slammed.

Yep, they got rave reviews on Check Please on Friday night, so not surprising they were packed. I've been meaning to try them, but will wait a bit now to let the hype die down.

Who is wacky enough to knowingly hit a place a day or 2 after it appears favorably on Check, Please!? Clearly some folks, though for mrsm, it was clearly just some bad luck.

I'm thrilled for Art, Chelsea and crew, though. No amount of success that comes their way is enough, IMO.

=R=

Glad I got my fix on Tuesday after a trip to the planetarium. Pies good as ever. Totally won points with the wife for the surprise dinner pickup.

stevez wrote:Pleasant House Bakery pies are also available at Local Goods Chicago located in beautiful downtown Edgebrook; a couple doors west of GNR Elephant Thai.

Local Goods Chicago
5354 W. Devon
Chicago, IL 60646
773/490-8200

Elephant Thai
5348 W Devon
Chicago, IL
773-467-1168

I always thought Local Goods was art/crafts. Good to know!