The Bucks Head, Meonstoke, 25th September 2014

We've often considered going for an outing to The Bucks Head, Meonstoke, having heard many good reports about it, but we've been put off by the difficulty of getting there. the simple fact is that unless a pub is in walking distance, there are no public transport links that allow us to visit any pubs in (or to the East of) the Meon Valley. We really should write to our MP about it.  This particular pub got flooded out during the storms last winter, and has recently re-opened under new management after a major refurbishment, so we felt it was time to make the effort.

In a fit of irrational over-exuberance brought on by the fine summer weather, most of our members decided to walk there, taking a cross-country route devised earlier by Nick.  Most such routes involve passing one of our favourite pubs, The Hampshire Bowman, but we knew that if we went that way we'd be quite unable to go past without popping in to sample their fare, and there was a good chance that we'd never come out again, so Nick cleverly worked out a route that avoided this hazard. It was a very pleasant 7km walk (or, according to Trev's pedometer, 11200 steps) which took us 90 minutes and (again, according to Trev's pedometer),  meant that we each burnt off 577 calories. We saw this as ample justification for what was to follow.

When we finally caught our first glimpse of our final destination the pace noticeably picked up as we had by now worked up quite a thirst and an appetite. 

On arrival we were given a warm welcome by our hosts, Nicki & Shaun, who had been expecting us, and were probably worried that some of us may have fallen by the wayside, exhausted by the undue exertion of the walk.

Happily we all made it to the pub, where we met up with Stephen, who had got there by some other means, probably not involving any exertion at all. This being a Greene King pub, we had a choice of Greene King ales: Greene King IPA 3.6%, Old Speckled Hen 4.5%, and a seasonal ale Old Nutty Hen 4.5%.  We started with the IPA, which we all agreed was in exceptionally good condition, except for Tall Paul, who as usual stuck to Guinness, but he said that that was in good condition as well.  Later on we found that the other ales were also very good. Of course, we had just walked 7km in the summer heat, so we had worked up quite a thirst and we would have drunk anything.

As we were supping our first pint, Nicki explained what lay in store for us. They'd made some Game Pies and Pork & Cider Pies for us especially, but rather than expect us to make a difficult choice, each of us having to choose on or the other, they'd made small individual pies of both varieties for each of us. So we had two pies each! And this is how they looked when they were brought to the table:

The pies came with mixed vegetables and either mashed potato or chips, and this is how they looked on our plates:

The gravy was served in the approved manner, separately, in jugs on the side. To be honest, it was a bit of a plateful, and several of us left some of the pastry as there seemed to be quite a lot of it - an unintended consequence of simple geometry which shows that the ratio of pastry to filling increases as the pie gets smaller.  But the the chef assured us that the pies were hand-made using hand-made pastry, and they tasted delicious.

We were so stuffed that we weren't going to bother with puddings, but then we looked at the pudding menu:

This is quite an unusual menu, and when we noticed the "Sweet Temptation Platter" we ordered 2 of them, to be shared between the 8 of us. This is how they looked when they were served:

There was a bit of difficulty, and some argument, when we tried to share these out equally, but we all agreed that the puddings were delicious.

We all thought the meal was excellent, and we really appreciated the effort that Nicki, Shaun, and the chef made for us.  The pub itself has a very good ambience, having recently been refurbished very tastefully. The food and beer very reasonably priced, with the beer at around £3.70/pint, and the pies at £10.50, so we felt it was very good value for money. Clearly we were in no fit state to walk all the way back to Bishops Waltham, and we just had time to finish up our beer, and pay the bill when our taxi arrived. 

Scores (max of 5 in each category, 25 overall):

• Pastry 4.3
• Filling 4.55
• Beer 4.34
• Ambience 4.53
• Value 4.6
• Overall 22.32

Congratulations to Nicki & Shaun, with your bold innovation of presenting us with 2 pies each you've raised the competition to a whole new level. Your score puts you straight in at number 1 in our charts, a whole 0.7 points clear of the previous leader, and puts you in a very strong position to scoop the "Pie of the Year" award this year.  Don't forget the helpful hint that we gave you just before we left, when we suggested that the only way you could have improved this meal would be if you have left a decanter of port on our table at the end, as one of your competitors did earlier in the year!

The Bakers Arms, Droxford, 28th November 2013

For a special treat this time we decided to pay a visit to The Bakers Arms, Droxford.  We know that this may not be the cheapest place to eat in Hampshire, but it has a great reputation, and we wanted to see if their pies lived up to that reputation.  Droxford is a bit cut off from civilisation, so the only way we could get there was by taxi. So, at the appointed hour 9 hardy gentlemen (i.e. the whole Pie Club) met up outside the Bishops Waltham Tandoori to wait for the taxis and endure the spicy curry aromas wafting from the nearby kitchen. Luckily the first taxi arrived early so most of us didn't have to wait too long, but sadly the second taxi was late, so 3 of us had to wait a while, and by the time they arrived at the Bakers Arms the first group of gentlemen were already halfway through their second pint.

On arrival we were given a warm welcome, and presented with the choice of ales, which we found was a bit limited.

However, Bowman Ales is a fine local brewery (actually, very local in this case) and a firm favourite of ours, so we didn't find the limited choice too much of a problem.  The pub was very busy, and seemed to be fully booked, but despite that we were very well looked after by the attentive staff.  We noticed a number of nice small touches which added to our enjoyment. For example, on our table there were personalised menus for us:

As can be seen, we had a choice of 3 different pies, all individual pies made with short crust pastry and served with potatoes and mixed vegetables.  Although the menus specified mashed potatoes, we were able to request sauté or chipped potatoes instead. As we sat at our table, we were presented with another nice small touch: delicious warm bread served with unsalted butter and separate sea salt. 

We were also given a jug of chilled water and some glasses, but we weren't sure what to do with those, so we left them. It was a nice thought, though. And we were given a set of sauces to go with our pies, including English mustard, French mustard, and ketchup.

These were another nice touch, but in the event our pies were so tasty that I don't think anyone used them.  As this is the height of the game season, most of us ordered the Game Pie, but some had the Chicken and Mushroom Pie, and some had the Fish Pie. Externally, the pies all looked the same, and they were served with the same selection of freshly-cooked vegetables, but The Game Pie and Chicken and Mushroom Pies came with different gravies, just as they should, and of course the Fish Pie came with no gravy. The gravies were served separately, in individual jugs, just the way they should be.

The vegetables included small portions of carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, red cabbage, and celeriac puree, and they were all very nicely cooked. Although the vegetable portions were small, the pies were of a good size, and packed with meat (or fish), and the whole meal was very satisfying.

The game in the Game Pie was a mix of venison and pheasant. The Fish Pie contain a mix of several fish including Salmon and some (unidentified) white fish, in a white sauce.  The pies all had ample filling with just the right degree of moisture, but perhaps it was a bit difficult to taste the pastry because the filling was so good. The ratio of filling to pastry wasn't quite right.

Most of us were quite full after eating all this, but a few of us felt able to try the puddings.

The puddings were all extremely good.

Although the pub was busy, we were very well looked after by the staff, who never kept us waiting for food or drink. We all loved the ambience here, and the facilities were clean and tidy. Our main courses were £13.95 each, the puddings were £5 each, and the ales were $3.40/pint, so although this wasn't a cheap meal, it didn't end up being outrageously expensive, the total bill amount to £33 each (including service). And there was a final nice little touch - we were given a bowl of jelly babies with the bill!

Scores (max. 5 in each category, 25 overall): 

• Pastry 3.82

• Filling 4.22

• Beer 4.42

• Ambience 4.56

• Value 3.88

• Overall 20.91

This score puts The Bakers Arms in 3rd place out of the 10 pubs that we've visited so far this year. The competition this year is so tight that the top 5 pubs are separated by a mere 0.6 points, so this score for the Bakers Arms is by no means a bad score. What caused a lot of anguish was the scoring for "Value": Which gives better value for money? A top quality pie for £14, or an average pie for £11? Pieman is of the opinion that here there were so many nice little touches that it was worth paying a little bit extra, but of course, Pieman has to remain impartial and is not allowed to influence the judging in any way.

Our next meeting will be the Pie Club AGM, held (as is traditional) at the pub which was the winner of last year's Pie of the Year Award, The Wheatsheaf, Shedfield.  Among other items on the agenda will be a heated discussion to decide the winner of this year's Pie of the Year Award.  It could be contentious.