House of Pies Restaurant & Bakery

House of Pies Restaurant & Bakery
1869 N Vermont Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 666-9961

I recently read a story about the Top 10 pies in LA. Two restaurants that I have reviewed were included in the Top 10, but I did order pie at Pie N Burger or Philippe The Original.

While House of Pies wasn't in their Top 10, the writer did mention them as a place they tried while doing research for the story. I have passed by House of Pies often, but never stopped in. But, I looked at their menu, which has a wide variety of items, and decided to stop in.






Broasted chicken, three pieces including breast, thigh and leg, with steamed vegetables, and two sides- salad, clam chowder, $12.95.

The two side options were potatoes or bread and I didn't want either them. So I was glad to hear they offered a salad and soup as the two sides. The salad was standard issue salad with iceberg lettuce, crutons, tomatoes. Fresh, chilled, nothing great or bad about it.

But, the clam chowder!! WOW, was it great!! The chowder was full of flavor, a rich hearty broth and filled with lots of clams, finely cut pieces of potatoes and just wonderful. I would order this again and I would put this clam chowder up against other seafood restaurant's clam chowder!!

I was excited to see that there was broasted chicken on the menu and I knew that's what I was going to order. But, this wasn't a good example of broasted chicken. The main thing was the chicken was very salty. They must put in a ton of salt. I couldn't get over the saltiness. The other thing I couldn't get over was the greasiness. This was very greasy, the skin was dripping in grease. The skin was fairly crispy but the more bites I took, I kept thinking I was eating Banquet frozen fried chicken. This chicken tasted exactly like it!! The breast portion was fairly juicy. I would not order this again!!

The steamed vegetables had been sitting on the steam table too long. They were dry and mushy and just bad.

The only thing I loved about my broasted chicken dinner was the clam chowder and the salad was fine. Otherwise, I would not order this broasted chicken again.



Since I was at House of Pies, I figured I would see how their pies are. I got the Dutch Apple Pie, $3.95. This wasn't good at all and I see why they didn't make the Top 10. The crust was too doughy and mushy, not flaky. The topping was too bland, not sweetness like other Dutch apple pies I've had. The apples were fine and there was a good amount of nut meg and sweetness in the filling. But, the doughy crust and lack of sweetness of the topping just ruined this pie for me.

Service was below average. The lady was all business, not friendly or warm. I felt like a number. I didn't really lack for anything, but I also didn't feel like she wanted to be there.

I was disappointed with House of Pies. The broasted chicken and pie were bad. If not for the great clam chowder, I would never go back to House of Pies. But, the clams chowder is great and I'll return soon.

Legal Sea Foods

Legal Sea Foods
255 State St
Boston, MA 02109
617-742-5300

Boston, a racist city filled with the biggest bunch of whining loser sports fans. A perfect combination for a city that I hate. But, I'm stuck in this hellhole city and figure to make the best out of it. So, I figure I'll try some of what Boston is famous for, lobster and clam chowder. I found that Legal Seafoods is a popular, long time restaurant and decide to give them a try.

Bowl of clam chowder, $6.95. This chowder was very good. Served hot and filled with clams and a decent amount of potatoes. I hate restaurants that use potatoes as fillers for clam chowder. Luckily Legal Seafoods uses the potatoes to enhance their chowder. The hearty broth, fresh clams, and well seasoned chowder made this the highlight of my meal.


Small steamed lobster, with two sides, broccoli and cheese and potato strings, $29.95. So I'm looking forward to the lobster, and when it arrived it was steamed perfectly and the meat was tender and flavorful. But, while it was good, it's not overwhelming or special. Maybe my expectations were higher but the lobster in Boston didn't overwhelm me.

What did underwhelm me was the side dishes. The broccoli and cheese could have been good, if the broccoli wasn't almost raw. I bet the broccoli had been in the steamer for about a minute. Come on leave the broccoli in the steamer for five minutes and make the broccoli tender. The onion strings were luke warm and greasy. They may have been good if I got a fresh batch, instead of a batch that had been sitting under heatlamps for too long.

Service is good, but one thing I'd like to point out. Their menu says certain items were not served after 4pm, like their lobster roll. The server told me, they will make lobster rolls after 4pm. Maybe they should change their menu to reflect that? I would have ordered a lobster roll as an appetizer, if I would have known lobster rolls are served after 4pm.

If I ever had the displeasure of going back to the hellhole city of Boston, I would not go back to Legal Seafoods again. I was expecting more and they didn't deliver.