Pie Run XII: Wilson Farm Meats & Carl's Ice Cream

20 April 2013

Depart 0830hrs

UPDATE, UPDATE, UPDATE: YOU WOULD THINK AS MANY TIMES AS WE HAVE BEEN TO CATOCTIN MOUNTAIN ORCHARD I WOULD REMEBER THEY DO NOT REOPEN UNTIL 01 MAY EVERY YEAR. BUT, FRET NOT WE HAVE FOUND AN UNBELIEVEABLE REPLACEMENT FOR CMO. SEE BELOW.

#1 FAQ: Do I have to register? It would be greatly, greatly appreciated. Imagine trying to plan an event and having more people show than you have space and food. That is the same issue we deal with when planning events. The venue needs to know how many people to plan for as so they can have enough staff and space available.

We will NOT begin at Catoctin Mountain Orchard in Thurmont, MD. We will begin at Starnut Goumet in Mclean, Va. They are the retailer for Copperthite Pie Co. www.cocopieco.com Copperthite Pies have been around since the late 1800's and were once the largest employer in DC, second only to the federal goverment, making over 60,000 pies a day. They went on to sell to General Foods. Fast forward to the last couple of years, the family has decided to start making pies again using the old family recipe.

The pies are made from scratch including the crust. They only use natural ingredients including butter (NO margarine here). A few of us went for a tasting Saturday, 24 March at Starnut Gourmet. We tried the apple, blueberry, and cherry pies. It was a consensus that these pies are superior to Catoctin Mountain Orchard.

Copperthite does not sell unbaked frozen pies. It would be wrong to ask them to compromise on their art and passion. The pies are more expensive than CMO. Cost is about $30 per pie. We are trying to work out a possible discount. I want to set expectations that you will pay more, but they are really, really worth the extra scratch. Because Starnut is local there is not a need to walk out with ten pies. You can if you would like. Given the pies are baked, I strongly, strongly recommend bring a cooler to prevent them from sliding around and creating a pie omelette. The rear floor behind whomever sets the seat farthest back will suffice outside of a cooler as the best place for the pie if you are not buying more than two.

The owner of Copperthite is also a CCA member and has contacted more than once over the last couple of years. I am sorry it has taken me this long to try the pies.

Note: You MUST ORDER your pies ahead of time. When you place your order, reference the "BMW group". Phone Starnut Gourmet at 703.749.9090

IMPORTANT: The deadline for calling or emailing in orders for pies is Friday, 18 April.

We will then continue then on to WIlson's Farm Meats in Catlett, Va. We will have lunch in Fredericksburg, Va. at Park Lane Taven; dessert at Carl's Ice Creamand end at Potomac Point Winery in Stafford, Va. As always all persons are welcome to attend, whether a member or non-member.

A little about our new start point, Starnut Gourmet:

1- Food: a variety of Salads, Sandwiches, Panini, etc..
2- Beverage: Coffee and Tea bar. In addition, we offer soft drinks, beer, and wine.
3- Dessert: Includes French individual and mini pastries, Pies, and Gelati (Italian ice cream). Our Pies are the Copperthite pies that are made using 1886 recipe; All pies are made of fresh fruit.
4- Chocolates: Our chocolates are Belgian milled made to our recipe in different factories and hand wrapped by Italian foil.
5- Nuts: Our nuts are brought from different parts of the world, roasted in Lebanon and Canada, and shipped to us in McLean. The largest nut bar on the East coast.

Next stop, Wilson Farms Meat Co., they have been a family run business for 56 years. They sell every part of the cow, lamb and pig. All meats can be custom cut to order. This is a great opportunity to pick up some great aged meat for the summer. Maya, the owner, is a joy to deal with and is quick witted. Don’t take her jabs seriously, she is only joking.
Wilson's is a cash only business. No checks are accepted unless you are an established customer. It is HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you place your order in advance, especially if you want a custom cut of meat. The store front is quite small and they will keep things moving. The meat will be packaged individually wrapped and then boxed tied with butcher’s string. You will definitely need to bring a cooler. We will pass plenty of places to pick up ice. There is also a place at the Exxon station about a 1/2 mile before we get to Wilson's to pick up ice. We have picked up meat in July and August without using ice and the meat was still frozen solid when we arrived home.

The cut off date for ordering is 18 April. I will send order form via email if you contact me: alivingston@nccbmwcca.org

We will have lunch in Fredericksburg at Park Lane Tavern, http://parklanetavern.com .

From their website:

Guests of Park Lane Tavern will discover a unique dining experience set in a vibrant, high energy, European tavern atmosphere. We’ve incorporated numerous elements of taverns originating from some of Europe’s finest cities. The exterior is modeled after the classic taverns of London, while most of the interior furnishings and fixtures were purchased in Europe to guarantee their authentic look and feel.

Libations

The centerpiece of Park Lane is our beautiful handcrafted bar, where the lively energy of any given outing originates from. European optic pourers enhance the authentic look and feel of the bar and as is the case throughout Europe, we serve most brands of beer in their unique glass. A complete list of our expansive offerings of fine libations can be found in our “Beverage Bible”.

We will then continue to Carl's Ice Cream. It is a staple and is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places. They are a cash only business.

From there we will continue to Potomac Point Winery for a bit of wine tasting and cool down after a fun day. http://www.potomacpointwinery.com