Shuls & Shpayz: Aussie Invasion

This is one of those minis, like going to get dumplings on 14th Street. Since Jon started a new job in Manhattan, it's been easier to find someone adventurous or interested enough to join me on random excursions (i.e. West African food in tired Brooklyn and alternative South American food in the far reaches of Queens). On one occasion I had suggested to Alisa we go for Australian food at the place she had told me many times called Tuck Shop. Little did I know however is that it is not a place to sit down to enjoy a meal. And a simple search of Google would have revealed this vital fact to me as the first line on the Wikipedia page for "tuck shop" is that it is a "small, food-selling retailer" in places like Australia and the UK. And among the Tuck Shop's handful of NYC locations, it is indeed that. On an ambiguous Sunday afternoon in late Winter, we decided to go try out some meat pies. Although the East Village locations are apparently the main destinations, the one in Chelsea Market and its proximity to the High Line beckoned on a temperate day. I had been to Chelsea Market a number of times in the past. Situated right across 9th Avenue from a Port Authority building leased by Google and housing the offices for Major League Baseball's media properties, Chelsea Market is a bustling year-round craft mall and food court that extends out to 10th Avenue. I particularly remember having a very food chicken pot pie at a "farm-to-table" place towards the back. We took the LIRR to Penn Station and walked south. Not exactly sure where in the labyrinth it would be, we walked the expanse keeping eyes peeled and it was nowhere to be found. Tracing steps back, I noticed a board directing towards a recess. It was an area a few steps down that was reminiscent of a trade show setup with booth spaces rather than actual doors and stores; it was unfortunate, I noticed, that several of the spaces were either closed or seemingly vacant. After rounding a corner where there is some seating under glass windows, we found the Tuck Shop of Chelsea Market, more or less just a pop-up shop. What they specialize in is pretty straightforward; it's a pie with a filling, including BBQ pork, mac n cheese, and their signature traditional beef. It makes a nice quick lunch which is pretty much what we were looking for. What actually had piqued my interest was one that I had read about on my reference guide, United Nations Of Food, the breakfast, or brekkie pie. Since it was sort of brunch-ish time, I thought this sounded good: "dense, flaky, cholesterol-filled bricks of heavenliness. Really: a pie stuffed with eggs, beans, peppers, tomatoes, cheese, onions, ground beef, and potatoes? And topped with bacon, if you want? " Well of course, I'd go without the bacon, but the pop-up nature of the Chelsea Market location proved evident when I asked for the brekkie pie only to be told that since it was pre-made at the 1st St location it came with bacon inside it so there was no option for just eggs, beans, peppers, tomatoes, cheese, ground beef, onions, and potatoes alone. I ended up settling for the traditional beef pie which was quite alright unto itself. Jon found the Guinness Steak and Mushrooms pie to be appetizing. After grabbing a seltzer to go along as well as some fantastic looking cole slaw, we made our way up to the High Line to dine overlooking the Hudson followed by a stroll up back towards Penn Station along the newest extensions of the High Line from about 16th St up to its current terminus at 30th Street. One could do worse for a weekend to-go lunch than Australian meat pies from Tuck Shop's pop-up shop.