Photograph: Dawn WrightFact: food tastes better when it is made with love and delivered right to your doorstep.
But it gets even better when the food in question is freshly baked pie, and when the delivery mode is cute boy delivering it via bicycle.
And in Seattle, that boy is Max Kraushaar, proprietor (and bike rider) of The Piecycle. It's exactly what it sounds like: pie, delivered by bike. By the slice, or by the pie--your choice.
I recently had the pleasure of profiling this sweet fella for Serious Eats--here's a sneak peek.
What's on the menu? It changes weekly. Whatever I feel like making. Recently it was Grandma's Lemon Meringue Pie and Vegan Choco-Peanut Butter (other flavors have included Vegan Apple Pie and Georgia Sweet Potato). I try to do at least one vegan flavor, and otherwise try to keep the flavors seasonal and if possible made using local ingredients. The cost is $3 per slice, or $20 for a full pie.
Hours and location? Anywhere in the University District of Seattle, Friday and Saturday evenings until 3 a.m., sometimes Sundays too. As for location, I come to you! It's delivery by the slice: I have my cell phone, and people text me requests. I have been called the "Jimmy John's of Pie."
How long have you been street-fooding? Since fall of 2010.
Why mobile over brick and mortar? I like riding my bike, and I don't have the capital to own a brick and mortar location. Plus, pie is better enjoyed in the comfort of your home or wherever you choose.
Describe a typical piecycle evening. I bake my pies in advance, then people will text me and I will bring them pie. I'm currently selling five to seven pies per weekend on average.
What do you do the rest of the time? School for theater and art, so I paint and act. I just got three paintings into the Jacob Lawrence Gallery. Art, theatre, and pies.