The Bomb Fried Pies.. and guacamole!
If you read “What is SugarDerby?” then you already know about Nick’s Pick… if not, quick recap: My dad/best friend, Nick, passed away unexpectedly over the summer. Nick’s Pick is a place where I will share all the things I wish he could see and know he would love. Enjoy!
These are my parents best friends, Pat and Brenda.
My parents are lucky to have had them as friends for over 30 years. Pat and my dad shared a love for cars and all things related… They spent most weekends working on their cars, trading magazines or at car shows, swap meets, etc. Brenda and my mom would wait patiently (or impatiently) for them to take a break so they could all sit down and eat dinner together.
So here is the story of…
Brenda makes a mean fried pie… and fried guacamole. For a while she has talked about wanting to start a little concession business…. I say talked, she says “whined”. My dad and Pat would probably agree with “whined”. One weekend she was at Canton Trade Days, which is an awesome place to find vintage treasures and pretty much anything fried! Again, she was talking about wanting her own concession… they grabbed something fried and sat down… her friends daughter took one bite and said “This is the bomb!” Brenda knew immediately that was the name of her business… The Bomb Fried Pies.
So… Business name: Check.
A few weeks later a friend of theirs stumbled upon an actual vintage bomb at a flea market… have you picked up on the fact that me and all my parents friends pretty much live in a vintage world?!? It’s great!
So… Business “mascot”: Check.
Now all she needed was the actual place of business… and so Pat began the search for a vintage trailer. Eventually he found one decent enough to work on. This was early in the summer so my dad “assisted” him as needed… “assisted” sometimes means sat on a stool and talked to Pat while he worked. My dad was excited to see Brenda’s dream become reality…. and always willing to taste test her pies. He wouldn’t touch the guacamole though… he would eat a lot of things but guacamole was not one of them. My dad passed away right in the thick of Pat working on the trailer. He finished it alone and I haven’t confirmed this with him but I can only imagine that there were some tears shed on those long nights when my dad would have normally been “assisting” him.
So… Place of business: Check.
And look at this adorable pink Thunderbird they pull the trailer with…
It doesn’t get any cuter than that folks… It just doesn’t.
Except the back window. It actually may be cuter.
This is a vinyl print with old pictures of Pat, Brenda and some of their friends.
That’s my dad in the middle of the top picture. Brenda is on his right. And that’s pat at the top of the bottom picture… look at those glasses!
So now about the pies. Brenda’s recipe is a secret which I can not reveal. Something I can reveal is…
They are fried. They contain pie filling. And they come in these cute little bags.
And they are amazing! She makes, peach, apricot, cherry and apple. Mmmmm!
Let’s not forget the fried guacamole…
Again, secret recipe but it really is the bomb. Really….
Brenda’s little dream came true. It’s definitely not easy but she has fun. I know my dad would be proud of her. He would come to every event and make sure the pies tasted good enough to sell….. and he’d tell her “Brenda Joyce, don’t you get that guacamole anywhere near my fried pies!”
I miss him a ton everyday but I know i’m not the only one…