Walkies for Meat Pies

I walked 6,300 steps today, about twice what I did yesterday. I did it by walking from 5th and 19th down to 9th and 14th, then four blocks south on Hudson to Myers of Keswick, an English food shop in the West Village. They've got a nice array of British food and sundries. I came for the Irn Bru and the meat pies.

Irn Bru is, as the website says, "Scotland's other national drink." And it really is -- all the Scots I knew drank lots of it. It was said that it was the only soft drink in the world to outsell Coca Cola in any market. It's a strange drink. It's orange, carbonated, and probably an acquired taste. I love it, but part of it is no doubt its rarity in America. I paid $1.75 per can for two cans, but in New York, that ain't bad. I've likened the taste to Dr. Pepper, but only because they both tatse like nothing else on the market.

I bought three pies: a Cornish Pasty, a Curried Lamb Pie, and a Shepherd's Pie. The latter two are pictured at left. I just ate the pasty, and it was quite good. I hadn't been able to find pasties here in New York before -- back in St. Paul, I used to get Captain Jack's Pasties (made with care by the people of Upper Michigan -- or so it says on the box) in the frozen foods section of Kowalski's.

Here in New York, I was relieved to find empanadas, which, as the Times points out are the South American version of the meat pie. Ruben's Empanadas in the East Village is good.

Closer to home in Brooklyn, I found the Jamaican version of the meat pie: the pattie. This brand of beef patties is made in Brooklyn. I found it in my grocer's freezer. And they are divine. Almost haggis-like. The spicing is just right. Mmmm, peppery hot.