Food Truck Review: No. 44

PIE STAND FOOD TRUCK

I've always been a sucker for pie. Strawberry pie. Chicken pot pie. Coconut cream. So when I heard of a food truck from Fishtown that specializes in fresh, home-baked little pies, I had to follow my nose there.

That was one of the best decisions I made during this 50-day hunt. The Pie Stand (emblazoned with the math symbol for 3.141) is the Picasso of Pies, the Federer of Food Trucks. This may be my favorite find along the way.

The pies, each about the size of a triple-stacked I-Phone, were two for $12 at the Manayunk Streat Festival. We started with a $6 Croque Monsieur, a mix of roasted ham and smoky gruyere cheese. Salty, savory and steaming hot, this delight was highlighted by a flaky crispy crust. Even the side of cole slaw was top drawer.

Even more so, we loved the Chocolate Cheesecake dessert pie. The chocolate was gooier than pudding and had a wonderful semi-sweet flavor. And the cheesecake filling that went side-by-side with it had a tanginess that complimented the whole thing. All wrapped up into a crusty personal-sized pie. Oh, and it's served with a dollop of fresh whipped cream. I could eat this every day for the rest of my life.

Shannon Wyffels and Brendan O'Guinn run the truck, which offers an equal amount of sweet and meaty pies. I've heard they hand-pick the fruit the put in cook into these hand-sized babies.

You can follow them on Twitter at @PieStand314. Better yet, just come out to my Food Truck Frenzy Finals on Saturday, May 14 at the Valley Forge Casino where you can check it out for free.

Score: 94/100