NVM Review

By Warren Rojas

If your pastry appreciation begins with “Three Stooges” clips and ends on the Marie Callender shelf of your frozen foods section, get thee to Vienna’s Pie Gourmet for a crash course in the art of primo baking.

The 20-year-old shop tempts patrons with rows of fresh pies—approximately a dozen seasonal savories along with 50-plus rotating dessert offerings—ranging from solitary wonders (chicken pot, pumpkin) to dynamic duos (crab and mushroom quiche, strawberry rhubarb). Most pies can be warmed up (heat at 375 degrees) in about 20 to 25 minutes if still at room temperature, or in about 40 to 50 minutes if frozen.

One crowd-pleaser takes the traditional sausage (crumbled, sweet Italian) and peppers conceit, rolls it with caramelized onions, eggplant and a robust marinara, then bakes the entire thing into a mountain of molto Italiano bliss (waves of flavor roll over you with every bite). A seafood number delivers mounds of sauteed spinach and flaky salmon protected by a bronzed cheddar and parmesan crust.

Whipped cream peaks blanket an ocean of rich chocolate fluff in the always popular chocolate cream pie. Or celebrate Halloween early with the terrific pumpkin bars (spiced pumpkin, sweet raisins and crazy rich cream cheese frosting, combined into a handheld slice of heaven).

Need something to nibble on the ride home? Tear into the cannonball-shaped stuffed breads—downy-soft rolls filled with zesty pepperoni (bleeds spicy oil with every bite), sweet Italian sausage (a diced pepper party) or a chicken-spinach combo.