In the culinary landscape of San Diego (and I reckon any other city), so many places come and go.  Some in the blink of an eye.  But there’s still those rarest of spots that stand the true test of time.  The kind of place that lasts so long it boasts generations of customers, all the while never changing who they are.  They do what they do and just watch the world change around them while they stand securely in their place, frozen in time, it’s zeitgeist solidified in amber, beloved by locals for decades.  In San Diego, that place is the Chicken Pie Shop. 

The San Diego Chicken Pie Shop opened in 1938 and even typing that out seems unbelievable.  In a world where most restaurants don’t stay open past the 5 year mark, do you even know how much of a flex it is to say your place has been open for 85 YEARS?!  Still here.  Still family owned.  The fourth oldest restaurant still operating in San Diego County.   I’ll save you some Wikipedia scanning and tell you the other 3 are Waterfront Bar, LA Cuatro Milpas and Tobey’s 19^th Hole Café.  So impressive. 

Here are just a few things that the San Diego Chicken Pie Shop is OLDER than:

-Air Conditioning in cars

-Instant Coffee

-Batman

-Thin Mints

-World War II

-Canasta

-Francium (the last chemical element discovered in nature)

-Dolly Parton, Sir Ian McKellen, Nancy Pelosi

Also, when the Chicken Pie Shop opened, Sigmund Freud, Virginia Woolf and Lou Gehrig were all still alive.   What I’m saying is the place is OLD. 

Originating downtown and in Hillcrest on the corner of Fifth and Robison, the Chicken Pie Shop was a staple for 52 years reigning as the oldest thing you could find in Hillcrest not glued to a barstool at the Caliph (That one was just for the locals) before getting the boot and eventually becoming a Starbucks that recently closed. I feel like there’s some symbolism there.  They relocated to El Cajon Blvd in 1990, where the shop resides to this day.

Painting a picture of such a beloved San Diego institution has me feeling a kind of way about what I’m about to admit to you but I promised to keep it a buck with y’all so here goes…

Full disclosure:  I’ve been to the Chicken Pie Shop once before and I hated it.  I went there on a date in 2009.  Both the meal and the relationship fell far beneath my expectations.  And it was difficult going on this visit without the rave reviews and expectations from all my local friends weighing heavily on me.  The restaurant that is.  No one was hyping up the guy I was dating.  In retrospect that would’ve been hilarious.  “But he’s awesome!  My family would date him all the time when I was little!”

I recall the décor giving something between nursing home and my elementary school cafeteria.  The clientele, sights, sounds and smells were definitely familiar to me.  As a former nursing home employee and Florida resident, I know the vibe of which I speak.  The whole thing was like stepping into the early 80’s to have the early bird dinner special with folks in their early 80’s.  I also remember the place being in dire need of a facelift and it got that a few years ago.  It looks great!  Every time I’ve driven by it, my curiosity to see the inside got stronger. 

Details of my overall dining 2009 experience are lost to antiquity but I do remember the signature double-crust of my chicken pie being very dry, unable to rehydrate itself back to life from the neon-highlighter-yellow gravy contained therein.  My corn and fries on the side managed to create a palette of indistinct beige on my tray, creating this 3-D map effect of the Mojave desert.  The blueberry pie was decent.  I did come away with that positive memory.  Anyway, that was a long time ago.  Both the Chicken Pie Shop and I have grown up a bit and enjoyed a fresh new coat of paint.    

Enough years had passed that I felt like it was time to give it another go and, in the process, maybe figure out just what it is about this place that has endured for 85 years in San Diego.  It’s iconic.  Legendary. The chokehold this place on the locals is ironclad.  I knew I had to make this trip with a mix of people who both loved and hated it.  I’ll let you decide, gentle reader, who’s who…

Aimee-Roommate since the 90’s, BFF, allergic to hot dogs and therefore labeled a commie by many

Chris-Attorney, lifelong food snob, loves sandwiches.  Like, a lot.

David-Wonder Woman superfan, musical theatre enthusiast, the narrator’s love interest

Kelsey-Project manager, Keeper of Christmas, has been known to drop it like it’s hot

Nicole-Stage Manager par excellence, Scout Leader, Red Menace

Shannan-Medical examiner, pumpkin enthusiast, drives the coolest car you’ve ever seen

I was unsure if I should go the route of ordering exactly the same meal I had on my last visit but I ultimately decided that I should go another route.  Besides, I knew others would for sure order the classic chicken pie meal and I’d get to try it (a requirement to joining me for a BW8SD review is I get to try anything on your plate).  I chose the Fried Chicken Breast entrée with whipped potatoes, daily vegetable, soup a roll and dessert.  Honestly, a Helluva deal, even with the inflation acknowledged by some CPS lifers at the table. 

The Soup was chicken and rice (a welcome arrival at the table, given the winter-timed visit).  A little salty for my taste but it had good flavor.  Shannan also enjoyed the big comfort factor of the hearty, thick, almost stew-like chicken soup.  She found it to be delicious and likened it to a “mouth-hug”.  Chris found the soup to be pretty standard but, like Shannan, enjoyed the fact that the celery still had a crisp texture. 

The rolls were decent.  Not too dry and oddly sweet?  Shannan and Aimee found them fluffy sweet and very dunkable in the gravy.  Chris was not so much a fan of the rolls or the gravy, calling it “gelatinous chowder”; a phrase that will haunt my dreams for a good long while. 

The undisputed upside to my dinner was the chicken breast.  I gotta give credit where it’s due.  It’s really good.  Hand-breaded, well fried, tender and juicy.  Had my dinner just been this on a plate, It would have been perfect.  But much like your really cool friend who you invite to your parties, she always has these two tired skanks with her in tow.  Said skanks in question were the sides.  I understand that nostalgia makes these sides popular with fans of this place but just because it’s the same as you remember it as a child doesn’t mean it’s great food.  When I was 4, I used to sit on the arm rest in the front seat of our ’77 Chevelle with no seatbelt jammed packed with adults who were ALL SMOKING with the windows up.  Nostalgic?  For sure, but that doesn’t mean it was good or I should want to experience it now.      

Unsurprisingly, our group was divided on the mashed potatoes.  For me, they tasted like the mashed potatoes I had in the cafeteria of Stadium Elementary school.  Like, the very same potatoes.  Chris really nailed it with his description of “Gluey”.  Shannan was into them and praised the abundance of gravy included with the potatoes.  Aimee said they were great but under seasoned.  Nicole gave the pro tip of abandoning the vegetables altogether for double taters, which Aimee did and eventually regretted.

The vegetables were terrible.  Revived frozen medley of mush.  Couldn’t get through it.  I tried, you guys.  I really did.  In fact, the vegetables were universally panned.  Kelsey did mention that it wouldn’t take much to elevate that aspect of the dinner and I have to agree.  Steam some broccoli, maybe?  I’m sure they’d be happy to take suggestions on altering an 85-year-old recipe from a douche bag with a food blog, right?        

I feel like mashed potatoes and vegetables are sides that our generation got used to coming from a can or a freezer.  I blame depression era rations and the instant/frozen food boom of the mid 20^th century.  Most people didn’t cook vegetables the right way because it never occurred to us that we could.  It’s the same reason brussels sprouts were once reviled in our culture because all they did was boil them.  Once modern cuisine adapted to the better way, now we can enjoy brussels sprouts the way they were intended to be enjoyed:  Charred with pork belly, chopped almonds, maple syrup and served on a 4” plate for $15.  I’ve never liked coleslaw so that was an instant no-go for me but Aimee did say it was good and gave a nice crunch without being overly dressed.  She likened it to KFC coleslaw, which I can only imagine is praise. 

Chris ordered the Chicken Fried Steak.  He said the texture was not quite right.  Not exactly chewy with tough meat that hadn’t been properly tenderized and found it to be bland.  David went a very opposite route from everyone, skipping chicken entirely in favor of the cheeseburger with fries.  Sometimes going off script is the way to go.  He loved his burger, calling it juicy with perfectly cooked bacon and a generous amount of avocado on top.  The fries were crispy (exactly how he orders them).  It’s also really nice to know that the gluten free folks have options here.  I was honestly surprised. 

Aimee, Kelsey, Shannan and Nicole all ordered the classic chicken pie.  I tried some of Aimee’s and I have to say, it was SO much better than I remembered.  While Aimee LOVES the lack of vegetables in the chicken pie, I found myself missing it but the chicken, gravy and crust were all miles ahead of what I remember having years ago.  Full redemption in my book.  Shannan swears by the pie and loved hers.  Kelsey found the pie met her full expectations, even if it needed more gravy for her. 

Dessert pies varied across the table.  Since I enjoyed it so much last time (and it’s a longtime favorite) I got the blueberry pie.  It was what I expected.  Nice crust but the filling had that artificial Hostess-like gelatinous taste that I didn’t love.  Or rather, I could’ve loved more with a scoop of vanilla ice cream but props to our server who brought me extra whipped cream because, when it comes to whipped cream, too much is almost enough.  Nicole and Aimee had the banana cream pie, which was a bit off texture-wise for Nicole.  Aimee (a professional baker) was let down by it.  She said the bananas were turning brown and had a soggy crust, which means it wasn’t very fresh.  David and Chris had the peach pie, which was shared with Aimee.  They all found the crust to be a letdown.  Shannan loved her apple pie.  While she called it heavy on the spices, she enjoyed the texture of the apples and crust.

I will be honest here.  I have a complicated relationship with my feelings toward the Chicken Pie Shop after this visit.  Was it better than my first visit in 2009?  Absolutely.  Did I have a fantastic meal?  No.  I left hungry.  I don’t know that I would go back but I have come through this review with a newfound respect for the place.  I might not go back (I say might because the chicken breast was really great) but I want you to go.  I think everyone should at least once.  I love that it has such strong roots in this town.  I love that generations of families have come here.  I love that they do what they do and don’t pretend to be anything other then what they are:  a no-fuss, elbows on the table comfort food meal at a reasonable price.  I love that you see so many senior citizens eating there.  It’s a lost vibe you don’t get many other places and makes me wish I could’ve brought my own Grandparents here.  It warmed my heart to see the glee in the faces of my friends who have loved this place since childhood.  The owners mentioned in a print article a few years ago that their main goal is to make it to the 100 year mark and I will say without a shred of sarcasm:  I absolutely want that for them.  I don’t have the same reverence for the Chicken Pie Shop that some of my friends do but I respect the Hell out of it.           

This place is a living, breathing time capsule of San Diego history and you should experience it.

Further reading: https://chickenpieshops.com/

Check out the YouTube Episode! https://youtu.be/nNLKClVG_Q8

Check out the full podcast episode! https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-wg7z2-15aa1a1