Greer's OC

If you haven’t yet discovered Orange County’s first Aussie style bakery, PIE-NOT in Costa Mesa, it’s time to taste a savory fresh five-inch pie filled with rosemary, roasted garlic and premium ground lamb, onion and back bacon in a short crust pastry shell topped with a golden puff pastry.

PIE-NOT is the brainchild of Jai Snowdon, Ryan Lopiccolo and Chef Samantha Boxer, a trio who are working 15 hours a day, seven days a week to keep up with the demand of baking savory artisan pies and pastries for fans. Chopping vegetables, braising meats, curing fillings, making pastries from scratch--it's time consuming stuff. Prior to opening early May, they envisioned selling 300 pies a day; now they’re selling 80 to 100 an hour.

Snowdon, 29, hails from the Australia’s Gold Coast and as a former Quiksilver brand clothing designer, he’s the creative design partner. He met up with Lopiccolo, 31, a business/finance pro and together they wanted to start something to avoid the 9 to 5 trap. They saw a gap in the market for grab-and-go savory foods, and Snowdon wanted to replicate pies he missed back home. Chef Boxer, 44, of Melbourne brings the culinary expertise to the group; she’s baking a dozen different Australian meat and vegetarian pies, six pastries and six sweets.

The gateway pie at PIE-NOT is the Dog’s Eye, an Aussie meat pie with premium ground beef, finely diced onions, shortcrust pastry shell topped with a puff pastry ($5.50). From there we recommend, a Curry in a Hurry with sweet Indian spiced ground beef ($5.50); a Shroomin, a Dog’s Eye filling with crimini and field mushrooms ($6.50); or a Drover, the Dog’s Eye filling with petite peas and diced carrots and garlic mashed potato topper ($6.50).

The Hot Date, a scone dough with Medjol dates ($2.50); the Sag Roll, an Aussie sausage roll with ground beef and pork with grated onions and carrots rolled in puff pastry ($3.50) and the Lamington, a traditional Aussie dessert, a butter sponge cake cube and rolled with chocolate filling and dusted with coconut are equally delicious ($3.50).

Special note. Gluten Free Fridays! Limited supply of gluten free pies are available.

Don’t leave without tasting Bun Coffee, a single origin organic coffee imported from Australia. You can’t find Bun Coffee anywhere else, and it’s among our favorites.

Open 8 a.m. until sold out. Closed Mondays.  Starting July 6, new hours. Open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

270 E. 17th St. (between Celestino’s Quality Meats and Sidecar Doughnuts) in Costa Mesa. 949.650.PIES.