Aussie Pie Guy takes Vancouver by storm
Forget Michelin stars. Think Aussie Pie Guy.
Vancouver’s best and hippest food these days comes from trucks with Michelin tyres and is served hot and fresh on the city’s busy streets during peak hour.
There are more than 100 “carts” feeding tourists and locals. You can get everything from toasted cheese sandwiches to complicated curries oozing out the sides of fresh naan bread.
It is a trend that is showing no signs of abating. And a guy from Albany in Western Australia is part of the team that is taking the humble Aussie Pie to North America.
When I first visited Canada as a 20-year-old I saw a sign for fresh pies. I strode to the counter and asked for a meat pie with sauce.
Not apple, not peach … it’s meat
“We have apple, raspberry and peach pies, but meat? No way,’’ the person behind the counter said.
Matt Fitzhardinge is doing his bit to change that perception and at the same time helps run one of the hottest meal tickets in Vancouver.
Aussie Pie Guy is the brainchild of three people _ Fitzhardinge, Kiowa Martin and Linda Lowery.
Chronicles of Brian spoke with Fitzhardinge about his quest to educate Canadians to the virtues of the humble “dog’s eye”.
COB: Where do you come from?
MF: Yes, I’m the token Aussie in the business. I am originally from Albany in WA and have also spent a lot of time in Perth. I moved to Vancouver almost five years ago.
COB: How do the Canadians like Aussie pies? It is not something they are used to as pies are usually sweet in North America, right?
MF: We’ve had a great response to the Aussie pies from Canadians. Coming from Australia it just seems so normal to me but over here it is definitely a novel type of food. Pies in North America are normally either larger sweet pies or “pot pies”, which are a similar size to your average Aussie pie but the pastry is shorter (more crumbly) and the fillings are different too. Nowhere as good as an Aussie pie if you ask me!
Pass the tomato sauce
COB: Do they cover them in tomato sauce like us?
MF: Hah hah, normally takes a bit of encouragement but a lot of them do. That would be “ketchup” by the way, say tomato sauce and you’ll get a weird look (we get a lot of those).
COB: What are your best sellers?
MF: Our “Aussie Pie” is our most traditional and biggest seller, it’s a chunky steak in a pepper and ale gravy. The Trifecta is also popular (beef, bacon and cheese). We’ve branched out with a couple of non-standard pies like “Shane’s Pie” which is braised short rib and veggies on mash potatoes with hoisin sauce.
App makes finding food trucks easy
COB: The food truck scene is really booming in Vancouver, why do you think it works so well? And what tips do you have for Australians on where to find the best trucks?
MF: The City of Vancouver has really opened up the opportunities for new food trucks, at the same time being very selective to ensure a diverse range of food options from vendors that choose to use high quality, ethically sourced, local produce and follow sustainable practices. The city’s desire to only have world class vendors means that locals and tourists alike can be confident they are going to have a great experience when they visit a food truck in Vancouver. If anyone is in Vancouver they should get the Streetfood App which shows vendors on a map with their opening times as well as a list of the most popular trucks. If I had to pick a couple of favourites I would suggest Yolk’s, Fat Duck Mobile Eatery and Tacofino.
The food truck phenomena is evolving and now trucks are forming clusters, or pods, outside craft breweries to create a pop-up party feeling.
And of course, there are a few local food companies that introduce people to the city’s street food scene with food truck tours. The most well known is Vancouver Foodie Tours’ World’s Best Food Truck Tour.
Most Popular food trucks
Mom’s Grilled Cheese Truck
Roaming Dragon
Fresh Local Wild
Vij’s Railway Express
The Kaboom Box
JapaDog
Feastro The Rolling Bistro
Tacofino White Lightning
Arturo’s Mexico To Go
Soho Road Naan Kebab