Crust Punk

Sweetie's Pie Diner

by Trey Popp

Stephanie Thaw loves pie. Every year, on the summer solstice, she hosts a party devoted to it. This started out in the realm of the normal. She’d make a few pies, have some friends over, and they’d eat pie. The tradition grew. Last year, Thaw baked 25 varieties. She doubled some of the recipes. Fifty people came over and ate 35 pies. There were no leftovers. Apparently the guests shared their host’s enthusiasm for the form. “I really, really like eating pie,” Thaw says.

In October Thaw teamed up with Kathy Tench, a teacher at Wissahickon Charter School, to open Sweetie’s Pie Diner at 19th and Spring Garden. The colorful, casual spot — where local artists share the walls with first-grader construction-paper collages — lives up to both meanings of its name. Waitresses are quick with smiles, plus crayons for the pint-size set. And the dessert pies don’t hold back on the empty calories. As Thaw puts it, “People really do come wanting sugar.”

That part of her menu tended to carry a higher load of sugar than I go for, but then the place is called Sweetie’s. (A splendid apple-cranberry pie was a notable exception.) Thaw also does more than dessert. Her vegetarian kitchen turns out lunch and brunch fare that hews to the local/organic credo, some of which taps into the growing market for food that’s gluten-free.

The latter trend is terrific news for sufferers of celiac disease, which affects about 1 percent of Americans. (For food faddists who’ve joined the anti-gluten crusade for other reasons, the benefits may be less clear. Claims that dietary gluten contributes to autism have no scientific basis, and last year a peer-reviewed study concluded that a gluten-free diet reduced beneficial gut bacteria and immune function in healthy subjects.)

Whatever the case, Sweetie’s savory side features a few things that hold their own in hedonic terms. Thaw’s corn and shiitake pie (above; see the recipe here) was my favorite. The toppings were flavor-packed but lightly applied to the flaky foundation, like a thin pizza built on pie crust. A tart of grilled vegetables came on a quinoa substrate that worked better than I’d have thought, though I wouldn’t have dressed it with so many herbs. Citrus-dressed panettone French toast had a lighter, fruitier profile than the dairy-stuffed versions that have long held sway in Center City. And I liked the simple, honest flavors of the huevos rancheros (though the three skimpy chips in accompaniment were a poor substitute for a handful of soft tortillas).

Is Sweetie’s the best bruncherie in town? No. But its relaxed atmosphere makes it one of the most pleasant, and family-friendly. Especially if you really, really like eating pie.

(t_popp@citypaper.net)

Sweetie's Pie Diner | 1822 Spring Garden St., 215-988-0230, sweetiespiediner.com. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-7:30 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; closed Mon. Salads, $5.50-$6.50; sandwiches, $6.50-$7; savory pies, $5.75-$6.50; desserts, $3.50-$6; brunch menu, $7.50-$9.50. BYOB. Wheelchair accessible.