Vi's for Pies Edmonton, AB - homemade chicken pot pie, freshly baked chocolate cakes and of course pies!

Posted by Rating Food 8/10, Service 8/10
With a hankering for a down to earth homecooked meal and freshly baked treats - cakes, and pies and other delights, there was only one place we knew would fit the bill - Vi's for Pies! Its easy to miss as by the time you see the large vintage sign, you've already blasted past it. With a large display counter FULL of sinfully decadent cakes, pies and squares, we had to squelch down our inner child and have dinner first, followed by dessert. The dining room is small and cozy with tables around the fireplace which we gravitated to. Small enough for a date - for the young and more wise, the daily specials and the menu are posted on several large art easels which get trucked around the restaurant by the friendly waitstaff. But enough about the quaint ambiance.. we're here for the food!

the FOOD
After waffling back and forth - there was so many comfort foods on the menu, it was difficult to choose, we order drinks before we continue trying to decide what to eat so we could still save room for dessert. To go with some in house smoked ribs, got the Cactus fruit iced tea which unfortunately was completely lacking in cactus fruit flavor, but was a nice well brewed (and cooled) strong tea with lots of tannins. Given a squirt of lemon, it made for a refreshing drink.


Most entrees came with a choice of salads - potato or green, rice or macaroni and cheese.  We mixed things up a bit so we could try them all, except for the rice... next time... I still wanted to save room for dessert!

With my boyfriend's entree, his green salad was crowned with a slice of tomato on steroids... the slice was as large as the plate!!!  Yes, we were much amused as in the winter, we're so used to seeing the bland dinky pale excuses of tomatoes we can get in the city.  This tomato was sweet and flavorful, it was sitting atop some large leaves of romaine and topped with slices of cucumber.  Served with a light lemony vinaigrette, it was a nice and healthy way to start the meal

My sides were served with my meal, so next up was the infamous Vi's Chicken Pot Pie. Simply done and deliciously savoury, this was soul food. A light creamy base of carrots, peas, large chunks of chicken, celery, thickened with potatoes and a light smattering of herbs forms the base. The pot pie is crowned with a large square of puff pastry - light enough to be airy and crisp, yet dense enough it doesn't shatter and get all soggy while the meal progresses. And with portion sizes being so large here, we really had to have will power not to just stuff our faces and forget about dessert. I know, blasphemy! But you gotta try it for yourself. Nom!

Next up was my platter of Applewood smoked ribs. They had smoked brisket (over pecan and mesquite) that they do daily, but again the lack of tummy real estate made me go with the ribs, and I wasn't disappointed. The slow smoking infused the meat with plenty of smoky goodness, and as the ribs were trimmed of their fat (thanks for thinking of your customer's arteries!), they were a bit dry on their own. But nice and moist with the slightly sweet and tangy in house made BBQ sauce doused with.

What about my sides? Don't worry, didn't forget them. Just got distracted by the totally AMAZING jalapeno and cheddar scone/biscuit that came with the ribs. Wicked buttery, soft and ooh so cheddary... mmmm! We picked up a few more after our meal for breakfast the next day. The mac and cheese were penne pasta tossed in a light creamy bechamel sauce and cheese - cheesey, but I prefer my mac and cheeses with lots of ooey gooey melted cheese. The potato salad was a tangy delight with small potato cubes and lots of diced pickles and pickling liquid added to the mayo to give the potato salad lots of brightness and salt. nomnomnom!

And last, but not least! Dessert!!! :D We took turns toddling up to the display case (now 1/2 full since we came in as many couples just come to Vi's for dessert and well, pies lol!) and we decide to share a slice of decadent chocolate fudge cake rather than the chocolate cheesecake, lemon or keylime pies and various other goodies we had our eye on. This rich chocolate slice of heaven came out with a small mountain of slightly sweetened whipped cream (great as the cake and fudge-y goodness was going to be sweeeeet!)  

Moist layers of slightly sweet soft, yet oh so satisfyingly dense chocolate cake is layered with thick coating of dark and creamy chocolate fudge disguised as chocolate ganache, lending just enough sweetness that it didn't over power the cake. And the cake was finished with chocolate shavings.  Hello my preciousssss!  Yes, I know there are two forks, but my boyfriend let me eat most of it... maybe it was because he didn't want to get between a female wielding something sharp and a slice of decadent chocolate cake. I'm dating a smart man. Mmmmmmm!

the VERDICT
Overall, a great quaint little place that's been around for ever for simple and yummy homestyle fare, and of course... save room for their awesome desserts made fresh daily.

Vi's for Pies
Address 13408 Stony Plain Road, Edmonton, AB
Phone (780) 454-4300
Hours Tue-Thu 9am-10pm, Fri 9am-11pm, Sat 10am-11pm, Sun 10am-4pm Closed Mondays


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