Pastry: Thin and crispy but could be baked darker 7.5/10
Presentation: Glossy white icing on a large rectangular slab 8/10
Value for money: $4 (estimate) - Hefty portion, freshly baked and very gratifying 9/10
Overall score: 8.1/10
http://byronsvanillasliceblog.weebly.com/snot-blog/tonys-pies-essendon-vic
Out and about with both kids in the pram needing naps, a quick on-the-go lunch was required. Walking past Tony’s Pies, I was sold on a bakery lunch. My usual curried steak and vanilla slice combo set me back a reasonable $9.50 and I sat in the sun and devoured the goods promptly. The curried steak pie was excellent, not a salty as other bakeries and containing sultanas which gave the mixture a really nice sweetness.
This time around I took out one of their white iced vanilla slice, though it should be mentioned that they still sell the mysterious brown icing slice I tasted those years ago. The slice was notably fresh, with thinly layered pastry that had excellent crunch and firmness when picked up. A little more colour on the pastry would have given it slightly more salty undertones against the rich, creamy filling. The filling was, as mentioned smooth, fluffy and very rich. A very creamy vanilla custard, better than a lot of competitors no doubt, but not eggy like traditional custard. The white icing was thinly spread and wasn’t soft, meaning I had little cleanup work to do upon finishing. On the whole, a very good slice, potentially just a little too sweet and rich, missing some savoury notes from the pastry. Well worth the revisit.