The United States of America is a proud country with some truly great culinary traditions. But there still remains the undeniable fact that it is almost impossible to get a good meat pie in this country. Americans, on the whole, just don't understand the beauty of the meat pie. In fact, asking around I found that many people are kind of grossed out by the idea - pies here are uniformly sweetChicken Pot Pies are an exception but they are usually terrible.
After 5 almost pie-foresaken years I had given up hope. But then my wonderful wife brought this box home from Trader Joes.
Reader, I was as skeptical as you are. Frozen pies are hit and miss even in the pietopia of Aotearoa. But I can report that Trader Joes® Steak & Stout Pies are excellent when reheated in the oven. The crust is a stiff, buttery, and slightly flakey hot-water affair. A completely free standing structure, it has tall and strong walls with no sign of sog.
The meat and potatoes of this pie are the meat and the potatoes. Both are better than a supermarket pie deserves. But the filling also has generous hints of carrot and celery, and the gravy:solid ratio is almost perfect, erring just on the side of too dry.
This is not a large pie, best as part of a more complete meal but it hits the all the notes that a truly great pie should.
At last my search has ended.