San Diego Chicken Pie Shop

If cafeteria food can be done well, then San Diego Chicken Pie Shop does it. It's an institution, having been around for decades. Hugely popular with the senior crowd, it's crowded by early evening and closes by 8pm.



I love this place. Can't eat here often or it'll kill me, but I do enjoy CPS takeout with an evening of TV. I usually have the pie dinner, which consists of one chicken pot pie, vegetable of the day, mashed potatoes, cole slaw, a dinner roll, and a slice of pie for dessert.



The pie is fantastic. Fork-tender, the crust somehow stays crispy (I suspect lots and lots of lard or shortening) while filled with chicken/sauce and topped with gravy. If you baked the crust without a filling, I have the feeling it might be rock-hard. Anyhoo, a generic chicken gravy is ladled over the pie and mashed potatoes. The mashed potatoes are definitely "institutional" (i.e. they're served with an ice cream scoop and scream "school lunch!!"), but they aren't bad at all.

The veggies are arguably the worst part of the meal because they're cooked until green turns to muddy brownish-green. However, there's lots of butter, so that helps. Cole slaw is good. I love the roll, which has a nice crust with the inside being fluffy and moist.

D. ordered a side of cream of broccoli soup, which also has that "institutional" look about it.



Dessert was peach pie. I like it. It's basic, with a sugar-crusted crust and canned peach filling. I love canned peaches, so there's nothing wrong here.



It's not healthy, it's probably more Sysco than homemade, but to hell with it. If it's wrong, I don't want to be right.