• by Kelly Samardak , January 26, 2009

National Pie Day Celebration, Greenwich Village Bistro, New York
January 26, 2008

Ah relationships.  Struggle and compromise, love and seething hate, confusion and realization. It's work. And you have to put in the work to make it stick, to make it meaningful -- to make it valuable and worth banking on forever. If you're in PR you're probably thinking of that one reporter whom you've established a lucrative relationship with. Maybe you're an entrepreneur working the tech scene, squeezing palms, and pouring your heart and soul into getting that VC. This past Friday I discovered a relationship that I had to work slightly hard for, but once I wiggled into the right spot, it all came easy. What relationship is that, you ask? The one between beer and pie.

What do you get when you take one Huffington Post food writer, Lisa Lacy, add on National Pie day, multiply by Twitter, subtract forks and spoons, and Slap Chop™ it together in the teeny tiny Greenwich Village Bistro? You get entirely too many people hungry for pie, with very little space to practice their love for pie. I think I got there right around 7 p.m., which is when the whole Pie Day celebration was supposed to kick off -- and the place was already packed. And by packed, I mean the tiny area by the bar was crammed with people trying NOT to put their butts in other diners' faces. I had no idea what to do, so I stood, waved at Lisa, and glanced down at the motherlode in front of a butcher-knife-wielding Nick McGlynn, party photographer and ad hoc master pie slicer.

Sprawling across two tables were pudge puffing peach cobbler, tongue inebriating pecan rum (I think) pie, apple pie, soul warming sweet potato pie, chocolate crumble "now you can die happy" pie, and the pie that had me salivating with curiosity - pickle pie! I know, it sounds weird, but I couldn't wait to try it.

I was unable to reach the bar all night once I found safe haven with my camera in the booth behind the pies, but there were beer pairings with each pie.   Don't you worry though, my +1 ran the beer relay for me.  I peered over the peanut butter pie at the quickly multiplying guests and felt a twinge of "the teachers are gonna riot!" because people far out numbered the pie slices. As for the beer pairings, one guest said, after I scooped out some chocolate love for him, "They recommended the raspberry wheat and it was awesome!"

Here's a tidbit you may not know - there may be a direct link between Twitter and pie love.  @mcmatt, @frani_lieberman, @mcaldecutt and @alexandergordon were all plowing through pie by the forkful. Dave Burdick, Huffington Post Business and Green editor, popped in for two seconds, saw the pie melee, and ran.  Nichelle Stephens, multi-blogger, was keeping it cozy in the booth with Julian Young.  Ian Isanberg of Coffee With Ian (a dude meeting people in person to network! Say what?) and I talked "Lost" while I shoveled the most delicious banana cream pie into my... piehole. Oh! Brett Petersel, Mashable Events Director, was there trying to get me back for all the ridiculous shots I got of him at the Yelp Inaugural Ball. He looked so lost without his usually nerd herd. Lindsey Gice, freelance Art Director, helped slap peach cobbler onto plates that resembled coffee filters. Matt Biscuiti of the Lippin Group arrived just as I was leaving.

Not inattendance were the Purple Pieman, an admitted agoraphobe, Georgie Porgie, who's publicist said it's better he didn't come - would have been a lot of kissing and a lot of crying, and Jack Horner, who is nursing some harsh seasonal affective disorder due to the unavailability of Christmas pie.

Despite the space and the chaos of fork and plate shortages, celebrating National Pie Day with the incredible baking skills of Lisa Lacy, a warm and friendly handful of media types and good friends, and delicious beers all wrapped up in a Snuggie™ of live music is a better than good way to end a hectic week.  And the pickle pie? Well, it was a quirky new relationship of pickly, sour-sweet cinnamon. It was a tasty and bizarre marriage not for the faint of tastebud.

I left with a belly packed to the busting point with sweetness. I think every Friday should be National Pie Day. We should make it an industry standard. You get on that and let me know when it's set in stone.

Throwing a feeding frenzy? Invite kelly@mediapost.com and you're in Just An Online Minute

Gobble up the pie carnage on Flickr.