Afternoon Pie at Four & Twenty Blackbirds

After the Brooklyn Booze Experiment, everyone else was stuffed, but I had been saving room in my stomach the entire while to try Four & Twenty Blackbirds, a cute cafe in Gowanus specializing in both savory and sweet pies.  The Bell House is just a hop and a skip away from this eatery, so I'd recommend making a pitstop here if you're in the area.

Just pies.

All day.

Beautiful concept right?
On any given day there are a handful of flavors one could pick from.  You make your choice (it's a tough one - they all sound so good, I mean...salty honey?!), and they dish it up from the pie plates behind them.

And then while you wait for your order to be complete, your eyes can gaze upon even more temptations:

But I stayed focused.  Greeshma may not have been able to (garlicky kale is her kryptonite!).

Here's what I got:

One green tea.

One egg in a nest with bacon.

The egg in a nest was like a dry, crumbly biscuit that was baked atop eggs mixed with slivers of bacon.  I wish the whole thing was more moist or more warm, or maybe it was my own fault for eating this breakfasty dish at 4pm.

One salted caramel apple pie slice:

Look at that beautiful, flaky, crisp crust.  It's a beauty.  The sea salt speckled crust added zing and the caramel goo balanced the tart apples.  It was a good pie, especially with whipped cream, but not my favorite pie ever.  I am intrigued by the other pie options though (buttermilk pie!) so I know I will be back to find me a favorite!

While I sipped my tea and nibbled on my snacks, I sat next to a dysfunctional couple (seems I always am), and the woman was concerned with the price of the pie ($4.50).  She was then silent while eating it.  The man asked how it was.  She said it was good.  He asked if it was $4.50 good.  She said no.  He responded, "It's Gowanus." 

Living in NY on my third year now, I suppose I am just impervious to the price of things in New York.  If it came down to eating a brownie at Starbucks, a slice of cake at a deli or a nice slice of homemade pie, I'd go pie in a heartbeat.  It's a charming afternoon break in a warm environment.  You can't put a price on that.

Four & Twenty Blackbirds

439 3rd Avenue
NY 11215-3119
(718) 499-2917