Truly Cheap Eats: The Tuck Shop

I was truly sad about the closing of the Chelsea Market People's Pops stand (read their farewell letter here, though it's not entirely clear to me that they're gone forever? And some of their signs are still up...). But yesterday, when I checked out the replacement, the Australian meat pie joint Tuck Shop (which has two locations in the East Village), my sadness abated...quite a lot.

The menu looks great (the Thai Green Chook Chili and Guinness Mushroom pies look particularly appetizing) and the vast majority of things are under $6. As I was just there for a late-afternoon snack, I decided to try the Pork and Sage Sausage Roll ($3.50), and--lucky for me--a batch of them had just come out of the oven. I think it may be one of the best of the kind, and well worth the dietary splurge: the pastry's really flaky (they must use lard for the dough), and the filling was incredibly flavorful and satisfying. Frankly, it's really bad that I know these tubes of goodness exist--at $3.50, this cheap eat is officially one of the top things on my go-to list. I'll definitely have to go back for a pie sometime very soon.

(Amusing side note: This meat-centric stand is across from the vegan shop One Lucky Duck. Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum! Might there be a carnivore vs. herbivore smackdown in the future? I hope so!)

If People's Pops does come back, perhaps the two business could do a joint meat/pop thing? Pies on a stick? Pops in a pie? Oh, the possibilities...

Tuck Shop @ Chelsea Market: 75 Ninth Avenue, the stand is in the middle of the market, at the newish 15th Street Entrance. Tuck Shop in the East Village: 115 St. Marks Place & 68 East First Street.