Did you know that yesterday was National Pie Day? Apparently, a few of you did. I went out to Houston's 2nd Annual National Pie Day Celebration, held in the historic Heights shopping district at 339 W. 19th Street.
The event was co-hosted by Oh My! Pocket Pies and Gallery M Squared, and included live music, drinks, and you guessed it--pie! H-Town StrEATS, Katz Coffee, Little Miss Cupcake, OMPP, and Real Ale Brewing were the vendors on hand.
"Last year was our first year in existence as Oh my! Pocket Pies. We opened in December of 2009. So when we found out January 23rd was National Pie Day, we first threw our first party last year," said OMMP co-owner Joanna Torok. "So this year, we knew we had to come back bigger and better."
The indoor venue was bustling with savory pie madness. Patrons formed a line that nearly extended out the door to get their OMPPs. I was able to nab a chicken pot pie, and it was delicious. The event was held from noon to 3 p.m., but due to the high traffic, OMPP ran out of pies around 2:15 p.m. It was a tad disappointing, but no one seemed to mind too much. It was all for a good cause, as a portion of the sales went to the Houston Food Bank.
The highlight of the event was the pie-eating contest, with three ladies chowing down on cherry pie. I have to admit, it was pretty entertaining stuff. The crowd cheered on as Angie Villasenor finished first, having devoured an entire pie to bring home the victory. A trash can was in place for any unfortunate post-contest regurgitation, but there was none to be had. Congrats, Angie!
