December 31, 2017

Try The Tiger Stack in Santa Monica & Inglewood at Fork-In Aussie Pies®

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Santa Monica & Inglewood’s Fork-In Aussie Pies®.

Please tell us about how you got started in the restaurant business.
Geri Chua and Nick Bishop had no experience in restaurants, other than sitting in them.

Geri’s background was in IT, and Nick was a global advertising and marketing executive who had left the industry after 3 decades and 3 continents, to pursue and fuel his entrepreneurial passions.

Nick grew up eating pies in Australia .
The PIE is Australia’s equivalent of a “hot dog” – i.e. a hand held, ketchup injected, mass produced [with questionable ingredients], street food, sold at sporting events and in gas stations and convenience stores..

Familiar, filling & “food”, but (definitely) not gourmet.

Geri and Nick wanted to make a gourmet version of the pie, so they enlisted their friend and The Food Network’s “Chopped” Champion, Chef Joe Youkhan, to completely reinvent the humble pie.

So Joe reinvented it it in 3 ways
1. The way we make them – we take 3 days.
2. The way we serve them – stacked on a plate.
3. The way you eat them – on a plate with a fork.

Has it been a smooth road to get to where you are today?
We think LA is either the worst place in the world, & definitely the worst place in the USA to have a savory pie business.

The market is fickle, the temperature is hot and many of the people are very calorie conscious.

Regardless, we have 2 successful restaurants, maintained 4 1/2 stars on Yelp since we opened, and created a booming catering business.

Tell us about what makes Fork-In Aussie Pies® special or unique?
(Savory) pies in the USA is quite unique.
The way we do it is VERY unique.

1. The way we cook them.
We take 3 days to make our pies. 24-28 hours of marinating, 2-4 hours of slow cooking and then resting for another full day. Croissant pie top on traditional pie shell.

2. The way we serve them.
8 flavors of pie, in 3 sizes stacked with a variety of hot and cold sides and gravies. Gluten free, vegan and veggie options too. 3,968 flavor combinations. The Tiger stack is our #1 seller – that is any pie with any 2 sides and any gravy.

3. The way you eat them
Stacked on a plate as a gourmet meal. Eaten with a fork.

Best coffee in LA – Vittoria Organic roast.

Secret menu includes the “6 pack Classic”. Classic Aussie Ground Beef pie, with 6 x 1/2 sides (including roasted garlic mash, minty mushy peas, sweet yams, sausage croissant stuffing, edamame corn succotash and mushroom gravy.

Nanna Mac’s Lamington or Croissant Bread Pudding dessert

Most Popular Items

The Tiger Stack

Any pie with 2 sides and any gravy. This one is lamb & rosemary with sweet yams and sausage croissant stuffing and mushroom gravy.

Nanna Mac’s Lamington

“like biting into a cloud”. Sponge cake rolled in chocolate and desiccated coconut. Traditional Australian.
Dietary: Vegetarian

The Flat White

2 oz Vittoria® Organic Espresso with carefully warmed milk
Dietary: Vegetarian

Veggie Patch Tiger Stack

Ratatouille veggie pie, stacked with minty mushy peas, and roasted garlic mash and mushroom gravy. Also available Vegan/ GF pie crust as pre-order. 3″ and 9″ pies also available as pre-order.
Dietary: vegetarian vegan gluten_free

Brekkie® Rolls

Warm croissant rolled with your choice of bacon & cheddar, sausage & cheddar or (V) feta & kale.
Dietary: vegetarianParking Advice:
Park on Main Street in Santa Monica at a meter, or in pay parking lot behind the store. If coming to our Inglewood location, we have underground parking adjacent to store, as well as ample street parking.