Here at the Wormtown Herald, we’re dedicated to finding refined dining options for everyone, including those of us who don’t have much in the way of liquid assets — i.e., cash. This school’s student publications have been doing that off and on since at least the 1990s, in the “Places to Eat if You’re Poor” column of The Student Voice. Unfortunately, most of the places previously surveyed are now gone. They’ve been replaced by dining establishments that would fit much better into a column titled “Places to Eat If You’re the Kind of Person Who Owns a Yacht.”
We’re still on the case in this new, pricier Worcester, though we might need to be a bit more creative in our recommendations. Read on for our first new suggestion.
Imagine you’re walking through the Canal District. You’re feeling hungry because you’ve just been stranded for a few hours on the Peanut as you tried to make your way through Kelly Square, but you don’t want to spend $20 on a crust of bread at the Birch Tree Bread Company. Luckily, the Table Talk Pie Store is in the very same building as Birch Tree and the public market (152 Green Street), acting as an oasis for pie aficionados of the wealthy and non-wealthy varieties. Technically, it’s Unit TG-2, whatever that means. Just look for the sign on Green Street.
You’ve seen these pies before. The Worcester-made confections have long been available in seemingly every
supermarket and bodega in the northeast and have more recently been made available across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. But you’ve never seen so many of them together, in so many varieties — peach, chocolate crème, pecan, and more. Some appear to be made especially to be sold in the store, as they aren’t boxed in the iconic red and white packaging, but are instead sealed in plain brown boxes.
What makes these pies extra-special, however, is that they’re cheap. They’re already inexpensive at the bodega — usually around a dollar, depending on the location — but at the store, they cost only 75 cents for the standard four-inch pies! The bigger, eight-inch (the size of a normal pie) versions cost only $4. You can buy 10 pies, each a different flavor, and still spend $2.50 less than you would if you ordered avocado toast at Birch Tree. (It must be advised, though, that eating 10 of these pies at once is likely not a healthy option.) You can also buy coffee, tea, and soft drinks for very little.
While there is no indoor seating, you can take your pies across the hall and into the Worcester Public Market and eat there, feeling wise because you’ll be just as full as everyone else in that food court without having spent nearly as much.
Perhaps you’re thinking to yourself, yeah, I’m saving a quarter, but I’m still just eating these pies I could buy at the grocery store. That’s true, but in June, the store will begin heating the pies for you and, for a small, though still undetermined, additional cost, serving them with ice cream. You’ll also be able to buy pie shakes. And if you find yourself overwhelmed with gratitude for the bargain and want to spread the message to others, the store also offers t-shirts, hoodies and other Table Talk memorabilia.
Bon appetit!
