The Mission is sweeeeeeeeeet

Last week I went in search of a place I'd read about online called 'Mission Pie'.

These guys are seriously cool. They have an seasonal menu, baking their sweet and savory goodies using organic produce from nearby farms. Their kitchen is energy-efficient, their tea and coffee is fair trade and the cafe is decked out using reclaimed and recycled materials. I think the coolest thing of all is that they work with the local youth organisations to provide work experience and job training to at-risk San Francisco youth.

You are hit by the smell of buttery baked pastry the minute you walk through the door. Behind the counter there is a lot going on. To the right there is a huge deck oven, with a 6ft trolley stacked with racks of cooling pies in front of it. To the left there is a huge window that allows you to see all the action going on in the kitchen. The huge display case houses a selection of the days pies and pastries.

They all look so good, but I must pick only one. I settle on the pear and cranberry pie with a crumble topping (I would marry the person that invented crumble in a heartbeat). Would I like a scoop of ice-cream with my pie? Why, yes... That would be delightful.

I sit at one of the communal tables facing the street. Forgetting my pie for a second, I notice how great this place is for people watching. It's on the corner of a bustling intersection and the whole front of the cafe is floor to ceiling windows. You could sit for hours just watching the world go right on by.

The smell of what is in front of me brings me back.

My first bite confirms that these people really know what they are doing when it comes to pie. The pears are soft but not at all mushy. They really taste like pears, which is not necessarily a given with fruit these days. I don't think I've ever had a cranberry in a pie before, so I can't really say either way what they do for the pie. The crumble topping with oats, butter, brown sugar and cinnamon is crunchy, sweet and so delicious. The pastry is flaky with a toasty flavour. All topped off with vanilla bean ice-cream and I have died and gone to pie heaven. It's a happy place.