Grand Traverse Pie Company

Look out Panera and McAlister's, you've met your match...and they have pie!!! The Grand Traverse Pie Company just opened yesterday and the steady stream of customers tells the high anticipation story. FLO has seen the "coming soon" sign for weeks and has been waiting with bated breath for the "open" sign to glow. Finally, it's pie time!

We were happy to see that not only do they have the most devilishly delightful selection of irresistible pies, but a nice looking deli selection as well. As Fred and Libby are trying to take it easy on the waist line for a bit, there was a lot of holding back involved in the dinner choices.

For Fred, the Mexican potato...yes, it doesn't sound nutritious, but the chili on top actually is decent in calories compared to any of the other carbilicious choices. And there wasn't enough cheese on top to get too worked up about either. Overall, Fred found the potato not bad, but a maybe a little too healthy. It was cooked well, but tasted like a diet meal.

Libby, being extra disciplined, went for the Strawberry Fields Salad (hold the red onion) and a bowl of the chicken noodle soup. Fairly impressive healthy-ish fair for a lard lounge...not skimpy on the fruit(strawberries, mandarin oranges, apples), pecans, and a pre-packaged raspberry vinaigrette that went quite nicely. The chicken soup was very good. At 150 calories for the whole bowl, it was very tasty, nicely seasoned and was a perfect salt companion for the very sweet salad.

To make this a worthwhile bakery experience, the FLO had to try at least one slice o'heaven. As they were out of the Rhubarb pie, it would be the Lakeshore Berry Crumb Pie. We believe there were strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and possibly apples in this lovely tart/sweet and oh-so-crumbly topped masterpiece. It has now become a goal for the FLO to leave enough calories to sample a couple of different pies a week. Not to mention some of those yummy sounding sandwiches they offer...Mozzarella Tomato Capresse, Persian Ham & Havarti and the long list of grilled goodies. Oh, did we forget to mention the pot pies and quiche...yeah, not a good idea on your first week of dieting, but what the hell, right?

http://www.gtpie.com/

Wrap Up

Price-$$, on par with Panera or McAlister's prices...a piece of pie and coffee will run you about $5

Atmosphere-**, the decor was a bit too country and a little boring, but the best part is the median age...this place is definitely drawing in some of the Cracker Barrel and Ryan's crowd. Including the FLO, the median age in this place was 60.

Service-***, considering the ridiculous line, it went rather quickly. There is a vibrator system like Panera and table service similar to McAlister's.

Overall

Fred -B+, While I definitely suffered by ordering the wrong item, this place could be dangerous!
Libby -B+, Really impressed with the lighter fair I went with, but I think going here is really about the fat and sugar. If you make the trip, don't think about what you're doing to your body...just let it happen and it won't disappoint.

Ozzy -B+, What's a carboholic not to like about pie a la mode? He did gobble up an apple muffin with nary a word. We think he digs it.