The Magic Oven, 126 Edith St, Wynnum

This place, tucked in a busy little commercial section of Wynnum, appeared on my radar from an article in 'Brisbanism - who makes Brisbane's best pies?'

Brisbane's Best Pies Article Here

Of course the usual suspects were all mentioned: Piefection, La Campagne, Goat Pie Guy, Beefys etc, along with the usual crazies who declare that nothing beats Brumbies / Big Dads / Pie Face etc... I swear, these people are breeding and walking among us - it scares the shit out of me. Future Bill Shortens in the making, the lot of 'em.

But one comment stood out from all the others.  'John from Chandler' declared that the plain meat pie at The Magic Oven was 'simply superb', and that he should know because (& I quote): 'believe me, I really have looked hard'. Is that a fact, John? You really have looked really hard, havya? 

John went on to say that he had been visiting weekly for years since he found TMO, and that 'without doubt' it outshines the aforementioned Piefection et al. He also asked anyone reading to 'give Vin and Tina my love' and declared that 'you feel good after eating there'. Awwwww.

Well, John from Chandler, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings son, but when it comes to pies, you don't know 

from

From the outset, I have to declare that I really badly wanted to find a hidden gem in the suburbs of Wynnum. I really did. And things looked promising there for a while.

The lady behind the counter (I'm assuming the owner, Tina perhaps?) was super-friendly and helpful, her little porcelain lucky cat with the waving arm sitting on the pie-warmer was endearing, as was the statue of buddha and the throwback-to-the-80's decor (& prices); but after some vigorous debate between myself and the Rim-dog we agreed that TMO is just another suburban bakery. No more, no less. Certainly not of sufficient luminescence to outshine Piefection, La Campagne (aka Rock n Roll Bakery), Beefys, or any of the other big hitters that have graced this blog (and occasionally the front of my shirt).

Let's give it the MC Hammer treatment:

I had the steak, bacon, cheese, and tomato; while Rimmer had the pepper steak. We both had a curry pie for entree.

The pastry is pretty good. It's on the biscuity end of the scale, but it was cooked properly and there were some flakes of crunchiness on top. The base was firm without being dry, and the whole thing tasted pretty good with a few gnarly bits busting through as you can see from the photo. Top marks for presentation, I think you'll all agree:

Curry pie

The temperature was spot-on. Absolutely perfect. Ever-so-slightly on the hot side to begin with, but perfect to the last bite without burning the roof of the mouth. The curry flavour was a Keens powder type, which is kind of what you expect at an Asian bakery in suburbia (Christ knows why - if I was an Asian baker, I'd embrace the shit out it and crank out some of granny's old school Asian gear in my pies. Maybe Asian bakers think that Keens is still where the Aussie palate is, curry-wise. Racists...give us some credit...red-braised pork pie, anyone? Kung pao chicken pie perhaps? NiHAO!). 

Anyway, the pie-maker had been liberal in his or her use of the Keens tin, and the curry pie had plenty of go. Rimmer actually got the hiccups, but I'm not sure whether it was because of the heat or because he attacked it like a Great White on Mick Fanning. But he was hungry, the young fella, and sometimes his youthful exuberance gets the better of him.

Apologies, but I can't get this bloody photo to rotate...
you might have to turn your head (just don't let anyone see you)

The gravy was also good. Nice, thick, and glossy without a hint of the over-gelatine treatment that is so prevalent in suburban bakeries. So what are you whingeing about, I hear you ask. Well, our problem with the pie was that it was all gravy and no meat. All blow and no shaft, as they say down at The Wickham. 

And the meat that was there was kinda grissly and shithouse...a far cry from John's assertion that it would be, 'generously filled with very good quality meat'. Which is a real shame, because everything else was good. 

We debated the score, and decided that it certainly wasn't a fail due to all the positives I've just mentioned, but it would struggle to score any more than a 6/10. You can't score highly without good innards, and unfortunately they weren't particularly good.

Steak, bacon, cheese & tomato

My steak, bacon, cheese & tomato on the other hand was pretty good. Size, heat, temperature, and (in complete contrast to the curry pie) the ingredients were all good. There was a plethora of meat, and visible onion, cheese, and tomato. Having said that, it wasn't anything particularly outstanding on the palate, and there wasn't much depth of flavour or seasoning, so a 7/10 is about all the enthusiasm I can muster for it.

Rimmer's steak & pepper pie went down pretty quickly as he was able to overcome the treacherous bout of hiccups that had assailed him, and he said that it was better than the curry pie with better meat and visible cracked pepper - but he was only prepared to give a 6.5/10. [So generous Rimmer; an extra half-point over the curry pie!]

So if you're reading this, John from Chandler, I'm calling bullshit on you 'having really looked hard'. The Magic Oven is OK as a suburban bakery, but I wouldn't drive across town (again) for it. My advice to you John is to look a bit harder mate. Start with a point just past the end of your nose.