Here Are The 7 Best Pies On The Road From Sydney To Canberra

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If there's one thing I learnt as an Italian travelling Australia, it's that an Aussie road trip wouldn't be complete without a good old meat pie. So, on a trip from Sydney to the country's capital, I decided to road-test a bunch of them.

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7. The Foolproof

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This was my first Aussie meat pie, ever! What a landmark. This pie by Thirteen Artisanal Bakery in Shellharbour was pretty thin and had a crumbly, buttery pastry. Still, it kept together very well, making it a very good choice if you're planning a quick snack on the road, but don't want to ruin your pearly white shirt. The meat inside was minced and it had a very rich, fatty flavour.

6. The Softie

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This pie by The Original Berry Bakery in Berry was full of very fine mince meat which gave it a smooth mouth feel. It was significantly thicker than others. It even came in a little tray to really hold all the goodness inside together! The crust was very soft and buttery, it really just melted in your mouth without much effort. A good old classic your grandma would order.

5. The Nonconformist

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This pie by Polly's Pies & Pastries in Moss Vale was born square. But hey, no judgement, she still met my expectations. This was by far the flakiest crust I've had. You gotta be careful about those crumbs. Once again, mince was the go-to choice for filling. This pie had a lot of gravy and smelled very beefy, but not in a store-bought kinda way.

4. The Hippy

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This pie by Trappers Bakery in Goulburn was an all-natural classic. First of all, it wasn't perfectly round, which makes it feel more homemade, and in my book, that's the goal. It had a nice, delicate but crispy crust, and the filling was much leaner than the others. Overall, it smelled and tasted like a good, solid pie should: no artificial flavouring, all good ingredients. I'm sure these would have been all the rage at Woodstock in 1969.

3. The Fancy

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First off, God bless pie shops that give away tomato sauce, like Heatherbrae's Pies in Heatherbrae. Secondly, look at the shape of this pie! It's like a UFO. And you know how some pies can have that strong artificial beef stock smell? This one was the opposite: it smelled super fresh. Inside was mince and a few mushrooms here and there, which added a very delicate flavour and provided an interesting texture.

2. The Gourmet

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The Robertson Pie Shop is renowned for its wild variety of pies. I was very tempted to try the "Beef, Bacon, and Cheese" pie, but stuck to a plain meat pie for the purposes of fair research. I wasn't disappointed! This pie had the best crust out of all of them - crumbly and crispy, which provided a really good contrast with the warm, gravy filling.

1. The Best Money Can Pie!

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Oh, man! This pie by Kiama Pie Shop in Kiama stole my heart. Freshly baked, crispy crust, and filled with tender chunks of meat. Yes! Actual whole pieces of beef, instead of mince. Something about this made the pie so much more flavourful, rich, and complex: the perfect balance of textures. I never knew I'd use all these fancy adjectives to describe a meat pie, but this one really deserves them.

Travel was provided by Tourism Australia. BuzzFeed writers do not guarantee coverage.