Pi Day 2010

This past sunday was Pi Day, a day dedicated to honoring the irrational number π. I first celebrated Pi Day sophomore year of high school in Mrs. Trost's math class. My friends and I didn't "do our homework"...so we loaded up on pi-related extra credit, including (as best as I can remember) making pie, singing a song about pi, memorizing pi to some dumb number of digits, etc. etc. etc. I wish we had known about this website devoted to pi day back then.

This year, I headed to the Hubbard Avenue Diner for Pi day. It's a Food Fight restaurant in Middleton, and generally a pretty decent-but-not-great place to eat. Our booth of five had three servings of the daily quiche, a frittata, and some eggs+other things breakfast plate. I enjoyed the quiche - it was packed with mushrooms, asparagus, and cheese (plus some other stuff that I just can't remember right now). As far as savory egg pies go, this was fantastic.

Sadly, the dessert pies were across-the-board disappointing. I think it was partly orderers' remorse and partly just sub-par pies (and in one case, cake). Julie had a sour cream/somekindofberry pie, and I thought that was probably the best of the booth. Tim got a german chocolate pie, and Ann ordered something with a funny texture. Maybe I should have been paying closer attention, but they were way on the other end of the booth. It was tough to see. Calli's dulce leche pie was okay, but I can see where it would get old after about two bites. It seemed like flan with a crust, cut into a pie shape. Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing, but we were there for Pi day. Not pie-shaped flan day.

Speaking of misleading dessert, my pie was actually cake. I ordered the Boston Cream pie, which is actually a round cake filled with a cream filling. I should have known this, but I got distracted by a debate regarding the optimum filling for doughnuts. I think we can all agree that when it comes to bavarian cream v. icing, bavarian cream wins in a landslide. Jelly-filled doughnuts are sent to the NIT.

Anyway, I should have known that boston cream pie wasn't the way to go on Pi day. There was a tempting strawberry rhubarb pie that I considered, and now I realize that I should have gone with that. However, Thomas B. Marlow's 3rd Rule doesn't allow for strawberry rhubarb pie consumption until mid-may. Pi Day falls into the gap between French Silk and Lemon Meringue seasons.

Pi day 2010 was marred by the lack of satisfaction in our pies. Maybe next year, we'll drive to a Norske Nook.

Rule 3

Thomas B. Marlow is back with perhaps his most controversial rule to date.

Rule 3: Temporal Limits on Pie Consumption, or When Not to Eat Certain Pies.

There is an undeniable link between certain times of the year and what pies are eligible to be eaten. Sometimes, as in the case of strawberry-based pies, the link is primarily agricultural. Fresh ripe strawberries are tops - if you can somehow manage to not eat them while you're making your pie, props to you. Other limits are based more on aesthetics rather than, you know, logic. Regardless of my motivations for determing the vagarities of Pie Law, Marlow's Laws are not to be debated.

There are several pieces of information that jump out from this primitive graphic. First, I think it's clear that under no circumstances is it ever okay to eat Banana Cream Pie. Gross. It would be much preferable to just eat a cream pie and a banana separately. Come on.

Pumpkin Pie is acceptable - even suggested - from October 1st until December 1st.

Apple Pie immediately before Pumpkin, Pecan immediately after...these are all logical.

Cherry Pie is to be eaten on a family vacation to Door County, Wisconsin in mid-August. Otherwise, pass.

Blueberries are gross, but I can almost understand eating them in a patriotic-themed pie around Independence Day. Maybe.

If you wanted to twist my arm, I could probably be convinced to make Pecan Pie a year-round item.