The Last Pie Cart (Adelaide Pie Cart Documentary)

A short documentary by Tom Bettany about the decline of Adelaide's pie carts
2008
Uploaded with permission
Contact:
[e-mail]
@timwhittsound

[@Revelation11v18]

I worked at the North Terrace pie cart for 9 months it was my first job out of school, honestly it was an icon and should never have been removed

[@ThisSourKraut]

I played a lot of blackjack at the casino in the 90's. Win or lose, I'd always have a pie floater. It was a ritual.

[@JohnSmith-iv5wy]

Thank you for the clip and memories, it was only a couple days ago I was thinking about the past and having a Pie Floater. It would be on a cold Saturday night, after midnight, after seeing a live band and half tanked with beer and spirits. Me and My Mates would be there happily eating a pie floater at the pie cart, Thinking life could not get any better. Thank you for the memories.

[@tarynharvey1072]

No pie carts left in SA and it’s an absolute tragedy

[@PeterHodson-bl1gn]

Here here

[@Dave-Rough-Diamond-Dunn]

Shops selling Kababs instead of Yiros too!

[@MrPaulygbme]

Thanks for posting these awesome memories. I drove to UniSA on North Terrace weekly and would go to the pie cart at the GPO afterwards for one of Cowley‘s egg and bacon pies - best pies ever. Would also frequent the one outside the casino after a big night in town.

[@JanosBanics]

Thats the Ned Kelly our true pie.

[@GEMelleeMaynopenottoday1133]

All I can say as an Adelaidean born and bred is "Bring back our Pie Cart outside the Railway Station" again. It was so great and a comfort food after a night out. The guys in my group of friends used to say it was the best thing after a night of drinking, and they never woke up with a hangover. They.said it was great with a splash of tomato sauce and a splash of white vinegar. I took their word on that. It was yummy just as it was. No sauce or vinegar. 😂😅😊

[@tgb1965]

I used to live on William St, Norwood in the 1980's, just 1 street South of the Parade Pie cart. It was great and like so many things, are sadly missed by me.

[@grumpybastard5744]

Council sided with the developer.

[@geoffthecarpenter]

Piece by Piece brick by brick, our heritage in Adelaide is being stripped away by greed, shame!

[@tonythornton7891]

I recall there was a pie cart outside the Majestic Theatre in King William Street for a time, built on a Tempo Matador chassis.

[@LukeLendrum]

Great job with this one, Tim! Thoroughly enjoyable and interesting. Made me nostalgic as anything.

[@jeepy8067]

I remember getting one of these from the cart in Victoria Square in the late 80's.

[@davidhayter8516]

You turn the pie upside down, ladle on blue boiler pie soup, chop the pie up with a spoon into bite size pieces. You then put on a bit of tomato sauce, pepper and salt and then vinegar. The vinegar is put on last to wash the sauce and pepper and salt into the cracks between the pieces of floater. Can of cold Coke, Kitchener bun and a bloke’s in heaven. The best pie cart was Cowley’s on The Parade. Next was Cowley’s at the GPO. No self respecting floater aficionado ate the crap Balfours served up at The Railway Station. Some of the pies were so old that there were the occasionally bits of mould.

[@scottorgan2255]

A mate worked at the Balfour factory and he told me that the pie ingredients was actually soya bean gravy and a tiny bit of mince just enough to call it a meat pie

[@hightower3111]

I've heard horror stories about both companies but looking back, it was the 80s&90s, that's part of why gen xers don't give a shit about things 😂

[@Mav_F]

As the person who ran the last pie cart. Corrections: Mushy Pea Soup Traditional Toppings: Tomato Sauce (Popular), Vinegar (Splashes and makes the pea soup a little lighter and sweeter), Worcestershire Sauce (Splashes) and Thick Mint Sauce (Splashes) James was the person who gave up the Pie Cart and it took me 13 months to get it back to its spot when he handed the pie cart back to the owner. He was correct it wasn't making money. The hotel is still under construction, so there is no pie cart for a while. Casino Saga isn't completely correct. This is an old youtube video being reuploaded.

[@pdalea9256]

Yep, when I moved to Adelaide from Sydney in 1975, Adelaide had little to offer after 6:00pm, and the pie cart was a boon to ramblers high & low - mostly because a pie floater is delicious, hearty & inexpensive. And now the plethora of businesses selling everything under the sun all day everyday has mos def throttled the cart’s trade. Progress, so I’m led to believe…

[@SouthCoastLimited]

Bloody brilliant - thank you!

[@peternewman958]

My first trip to the GPO pie cart was back in the mid 60s my grandfather, Dad, my Uncle and myself after taking a Bedford truck load and a Ford Mainline ute load of poultry to the Show grounds at Wayville from our farm at Chain of Ponds my grandfather insisted going to the pie cart for pie floaters. This happened yearly until he passed in 1968. Probably went a few times into the 70s before coming to Qld in 75. Back in the first decade we were in Adelaide to help run a Nostalgia Drag Series at Adelaide International Raceway and took the youngest daughter who had come with us to work, we had been to Sydney to run one there and continued to Adelaide. She couldn’t believe how many people were lining up at 9.00pm for a pie. She became a instant convert. Next trip to see the parents we were on our own and a couple from the UK had made a special trip to Adelaide after seeing the pie cart on TV in the UK. He asked for vinegar and I said its not fish and chips mate, only to find that it was a long established trend. 😵‍💫😵‍💫 The next trip was 2016 for Dad’s funeral and had all the kids there a couple flew over from Perth and the daughter flew down with us, we all rocked up to the GPO only to discover the cart was gone. Very sad indeed. Now I do remember but not exactly when that the State Governor, the Premier of the time and other dignitaries all had a special dinner at the pie cart in celebration of some certain event. If anyone knows what that was please please comment and save my mentality. 😁😁😁

[@wesleyyoung1082]

2 of my best food memories as a young whipper snapper….the north terrace pie cart and the old guy selling pasties from a hessian bag out the front of the morphettville race course…but like most things it all goes up shite creek…sad as..

[@jedics1]

That footage of the the tall black guy must be 20 years old :) The thing is not even a pie floater can make the terrible quality pies we have now taste good. What a trip down memory lane.

[@brentonl2631]

We used to call them a Road Accident, bloody hell I miss them.

[@tsu4883]

Put a pie cart near the footy oval and heritage list it.. Such big brains on the council.

[@ChannelDunco]

That's a brilliant idea Mate

[@HenkPlaggemars]

How do you think they'd go with the Adelaide Football Club - can't have anything competing with their money grab on food and drinks at the footy - otherwise, brilliant idea :)

[@tsu4883]

@HenkPlaggemars Government is stronger than big businesses surely right? Lol.

[@pavlovsdogman]

Any food truck across Adelaide could do pie floaters? There is nothing stopping them? The balfours restaurant on O'Connell and the Vilis 24 hr cafe both still sell pie floaters to this day!

[@blu117]

I've got fond memories of the pie carts in Adelaide after many nights out in pubs and night clubs in the 70's.

[@jpeabody1155]

In the 70's I used to go with my Mum to her cleaning job in the evening. It was quite common for us to drop into the Pie Cart at the side of the GPO and grab a floater. I loved them but Mum thought they were horrible. Good times.

[@Antipodean33]

I remember the late 70s early 80s when we were hanging out in the city on Friday and Saturday nights and eating at the railway station pie cart in the early hours of the morning. There were so many people there and most half cut, I used to get the steak and kidney floater. Adelaide was a great city back in those days

[@CathyDemasi-f7g]

I’m from Norwood grew up there and I miss the old pie carts bring them back!!!!

[@teepeeX]

Now you make me hungry. Loved North Terrace ♥️ ate there heaps. Would rather Pie cart than Hjs or Macca's ... BRING BACK THE PIE CART

[@pavlovsdogman]

A cheap balfours pie with a tin of pea soup poured over it is hardly much better than a fast food burger? I remember the smell of vomit and green liquid in the gutter behind the pie stand on a Saturday night? 🤣

[@GERS316]

Looks like a spin on the East End Pie & Mash with liquor, which I grew up on. These look great. If only people stopped eating garbage like maccas, kfc, and hungry jacks, the carts might have survived.

[@steelearmstrong9616]

Corruption wipes out everything

[@johnniehayden9446]

I grew up in Bonney st Norwood and remember the Very first pie cart on the Parade (Like a Gypsey wagon) and then they replaced it with a aluminium caravan. Most Friday nights my old man would give me a billy and a Quid and I would ride up to the Pie cart and get a billy full of peas and 4 pies for tea. Those were the days.

[@channelsixtyseven067]

Used to look forward to going a pie and sometimes a floater, after coming back from Regency College by bus late at night. At that time, 1982 - 1983, it was situated by the GPO, Victoria Square. And like everything else that was good like that, it was forced to close, because greed and intolerance has no limits.

[@markkilley2683]

I remember the pie cart. Outside the train station.

[@noloveforthehaters]

The problem is a pie floater these days would probably cost $25.

[@garryhudson6945]

Pie-cart V.S. Pie-cost.

[@JesusOnWheelz]

Costs under 10 dollars at o connell bakery North Adelaide.

[@TheLinKrust]

My dad worked the pie cart too

[@jamesbutterworth4313]

Yeah when I was 13 years old my dad and I would turn up at the Victoria square pie cart after a visit to the cinema watching a Bruce lee , James Bond or some western movie this was 1975 , great times , slower paced times 🥰🤙😔

[@colinmacgregor8718]

Had a few pie floaters there back in 1986 When I lived in South AUST.

[@jamesbutterworth4313]

@ hi Colin , and also back in the mid 70s in the Adelaide railway station , there was a cafeteria there that sold custard tarts , the best I ever had , they were thick pastry and creamy sweet inside

[@pavlovsdogman]

​@@jamesbutterworth4313Bruce Lee and other Kung Fu movies, spaghetti westerns and blaxploitation films in the 70s on the big screen were amazing!

[@jama211]

I never knew we had these, crazy!

[@LimestoneCoastCustoms]

A night on the town wasn't complete unless you had a pie floater! In fact, it became a tradition, sometimes just to keep it down if you were as full as a primary school bike rack! 😉

[@DrFelonious]

Had many a munted pie floater back in the day. Always a highlight after a big night on the piss.

[@peterwooldridge7285]

Absolutely

[@JesusOnWheelz]

Support your local pie floater. I recommend o connell bakery in North Adelaide. Costs around 10 dollars. Cafe de villes is around 15 dollars which is a bit steep for my blood. Interested to hear any recipes or ideas for making or procuring your own soup

[@pavlovsdogman]

I was hoping someone running a cafe would have made a gourmet version by now using fresh pies and gourmet pea soup? Vilis are probably better than balfours now because the pies are better?

[@JanosBanics]

Im going to check this out.

[@playfordtree]

500 grams to a kilo of dried green split peas. (Depends how much soup you want) Rinse with water and throw into a large pot. Bacon bones or better yet a whole ham hock. Fill pot with water and boil until meat comes off the bones. Remove bones and break up the meat. (Diced bacon is an ok substitute if bones or hocks not available) Add 1-2 finely diced onions Add 1-2 grated carrots As much or as little garlic powder as you like. Tablespoon of chicken stock and a heap of grated pepper. Boil it for at least a couple of hours stirring regularly. It may need more water added as you go. Keep boiling and stirring until the peas breakdown and you’re left with a nice creamy soup. (Not watery with bits and lumps of pea in it) Can take 2-3 hours to achieve the right consistency. It’s much nicer than the bland, chunky pea mess they used to serve at the pie cart. Season to taste, serve in a large bowl and then slap a villies potato pie upside down in the middle. Sauce if required. Been making it this way for over 30 yrs, it’s a family favourite. My kids call it “Pigs bum soup” 😂 Enjoy 😊

[@samb1110]

What about the one at Norwood, moved on when the cinema complex abused their power? There was also one at Glenelg for a while, but this may have been the Norwood pie cart trying their luck there.

[@tonyz3015]

I remember the Norwood Pie Cart well. There on the corner of George St and the Parade, in front of the old servo.

[@ZombieKong64]

S.A. Government doing what it does best, getting in the way of business... cool video =)

[@pavlovsdogman]

There's nothing stopping any of the food trucks or cafes in Adelaide from remaking the pie floater? It's pretty simple

[@pepelemoko01]

A bit far away,but you would think the Bakery on Oconnell would have it, even just for the tourists.

[@jama211]

vili's late night bakery's still do them I think

[@pavlovsdogman]

​@@jama211vilis would be better I'm sure? Balfours weren't a great pie for the recipe

[@kinchegayowie6167]

The old man came down from Broken Hill, with a bunch of mates in the 60's and they were quite fond of the pie floater, when they got to the cart, they had been very busy and had run out of pies, so the oldman taught them how to do a saveloy floater,

[@davidwarren4569]

Lismore still has pie cart.

[@beatems]

Theres still harrys cafe de wheels that does all this in newcastle

[@Maureen-g2c]

I remember having a few pie floaters in the early 60's, after helping my parents with their cleaning business. I was only about 10 or 11 years old. I was infatuated with the guy serving, his name was Dean, don't think it was the one in this clip, he doesn't look old enough.

[@pavlovsdogman]

Using balfours pies, cheap canned peas and too much vinegar ruined them! If you remade them using fresh gourmet pies and a fresh tasty pea soup you could still sell them in cafes and restaurants? I met Billy Connolly at the pie cart one night, he seemed to like them?

[@colinlatham7905]

Tastes a lot better than it looks. I miss the pie carts. The offerings today are mass produced, soulless American blandness. People only buy it as they are suckered in by the marketing. Why don't we protect our own heritage?

[@pavlovsdogman]

Stop pretending a balfours pie with a cheap tin of pea soup poured over it is somehow a fresh, gourmet alternative! Balfours are every bit as soulless and manufactured as Macca's!

[@garethwatkins8854]

Looks like bloody good Tucker

[@pavlovsdogman]

Just buy a frozen balfours or four and twenty pie then buy a cheap can of pea soup and pour it over the pie, add ketchup to taste and you have a perfect replica of a pie floater in 5 minutes!

[@effkay3691]

My Adelaide friend put a disgusting plate of green and brown in front of me at Vilis. Best thing I’ve ever eaten

[@Tascountrygirl]

I remember the famous piecart in Sydney.

[@CPOMTH]

That would be 'Harry's-Cafe-de-Wheels', down near the Woollomooloo [spe?] Pub. Favourite stopover of sailors returning to Garden Island Dockyard Naval Base, after a night/morning pub-crawling. You bought one floater to eat, and one to hurl at the dockyard coppers sentinel booth at the gates! 😜

[@tangiers365]

My old mans mate used to work in the one outside the railway station on north terrace. One night he poured a vile of liquid LSD into the pea soup for the pie floaters hahaha

[@21stcenturyozman20]

What a vial act!

[@tangiers365]

@21stcenturyozman20 welcome to the late 80s early 90s mate

[@21stcenturyozman20]

@@tangiers365 Is that when spelling was lost?

[@tangiers365]

@@21stcenturyozman20 autocorrect who gives a fk

[@moonandantarctica2]

​@@tangiers365autocorrect didn't change vial to vile lol

[@LarryDeBlasio]

I all so worked at the ovan door pie cart on North Terrace in the late 70s I worked there for 12 months before I tried my first pie floater then I found out what I had missing out off ah memory's

[@peterschaefer2946]

the norwood pie cart was great to get some street racing happening

[@JohnLoeser]

There used to be one in the flat at the Victoria park races, always had a pie floater there?

[@coreymclaughlin8676]

Pie carts started in Port Pirie

[@sadsadtim2698]

Evidence?

[@koolkat5217]

That "guy" was Johnny Blackfella. He was origionally adopted into a family in Clare SA. He moved to Adelaide in the late '90s and ive lost track of where he is now.

[@adrianmuller35]

Is that his real name

[@DonaldDasher]

@@adrianmuller35 It's Johnny Haysman.

[@kendoll7585]

Oh you're so gonna get cancelled..🤣🤣🤣

[@sandiwinton8080]

Yes everyone knew Johnny if you went to town regularly he be there and he would dance in a leotards with gum boots while hula hooping best days ❤

[@pavlovsdogman]

I think he's still kicking around the east end? He's getting old now though?

[@ianpaterson5000]

When I was younger we used to go out drinking on Saturday nights. Afterwards we would go to the Norwood pie cart. A floater would settle a queasy stomach instantly. Does anybody know of any hotels or cafes in Adelaide that do pie floaters?

[@sadsadtim2698]

Bakery on O Connell

[@ianpaterson5000]

@sadsadtim2698 Thanks!

[@tonewheel1773]

Harry's Cafe de Wheels. Still going strong - Cowper Wharf Road, Woolloomooloo, Sydney

[@sadsadtim2698]

But not a purveyor of pie floaters

[@pauljordan4452]

2:44 Did Mike throw down the Gauntlet? I've never eaten one of these in my life, I'm afraid.

[@malcolmhector2641]

Don't be , they are great at 1.30 pm after a few drinks .

[@Jumbo-k4t]

I tend to believe the Adelaide city council is responsible because generally they have no idea what they're doing and the biggest story to come out of Adelaide was the clown wars Not the guy with the football lol

[@chloeew4627]

First and last meal of a big night on the turps ..😊

[@tyronebiggums5547]

By design. The fact the council WANTED them out should tell you all u need to know. One day they will make a documentary called Australia and itll showcase how to turn one of if not the best country in the world to a state controlled dystopian reality.

[@craigdutton6072]

Today I still buy cheap pies and do my own peas and add vinegar 🇦🇺great on a Saturday lunch watching the football 🏉 or the races 🎉

[@bradmcmahon3156]

I'm even lazier and use tinned pea or pea&ham soup with my budget pie. Lovely wiht tomato sauce and malt vinegar.

[@TonyHarnett]

Worked there back in th mid 70's loved the people .actually took my girlfriend there she passed out first mouthfull to busy laughing to help her😂

[@paulschofield2630]

We are a democracy and if a vote had been done, would still have some, people love them 😊❤❤❤ 😂 😅 😊

[@greeenestbasterd6896]

Seems like a version of pie mash and liquor, a take on the old east London classic.

[@maccasdisco]

Should never have been removed they were also a tourist attraction removed because the casino didn't want it out the front there a great loss to Adelaide.

[@pavlovsdogman]

The casino wanted a taxi stand and that's what's still there now but that doesn't mean someone else couldn't have kept doing the pie floater in another location or food truck somewhere?

[@pauljordan4452]

I suppose Dr Wong is a Singaporean or a Malaysian.

[@jessiemills2300]

Yes.

[@bigbangger998]

Cafe de vill,s has a pie floater . Blair Athol, open 25hrs

[@chrish4469]

The same with the Mile end Cafe de vill's

[@sadsadtim2698]

Except they make it with pea and ham soup, which is an outrage.

[@meredithgreenslade1965]

I like them with vinegar. Yum

[@adrianmuller35]

Are u there around in 2024

[@lemonadratrand]

there aren't anymore i'm afraid

[@fergulator7297]

Why no pie carts,more than likely council charging thousands for the privilege

[@janmoore4184]

"Groups of old women "? Ageism at its worst

[@daejensen9685]

Governments and councils don’t a shit

[@paulschofield2630]

We still have a amazing pie caravan in Lismore, I adore it ❤️ 😍 ♥️ 💖 and have lunch there 😋 every time im in Lismore, and we had many were im from Manchester UK 🇬🇧, granny took me when i was 5 ,had black pudding and hot 🔥 mustard 😋 guy said he will never eat that!! Few minutes later, all gone, super yummy 😂😂😅😅❤❤❤❤😊

[@somekindaguy100]

Wow I was just thinking about lismore pie cart and if it was there and boom there was your comment .I played a season of baseball there in the late 90s before national league season and man I lived at the pie van and those glass coke bottles out of the ice

[@paulschofield2630]

Last in Adelaide 1998 I think, the last pie cart was outside the Casino, loved 😍 it and should be more of them 😄 yummy ❤❤❤❤😂😅😂😅😊

[@sadsadtim2698]

This was made in 2008 so the last pie cart was around in 2008

[@davidassheton6383]

TOP TUCKER JENNY CRAIG SHOULD PUT THEM ON HER DIATERY LIST BECAUSAE THE NEXT MORNING A TOILET COMES IN HANDY

[@aussietracey1]

shame shame shame. money over bullsh*t

[@iSharpen]

It was a sad when the wokies banned the last pie cart. Now that the world is heading back in the right direction it's time to bring them back!

[@jama211]

Old man yells at cloud over here

[@iSharpen]

@

[@s_i_m_o_ns_a_y_s5064]

Sir, this is a Pie Cart

[@pavlovsdogman]

Moron! The casino owned the spot the pie cart was located on and they got it moved so they could make it a taxi rank! You brainwashed fools blame everything on "wokeness"? Just go live in America under Trump if you love that crap so much? This is Australia and we don't worship billionaires and politicians!

[@kendoll7585]

Ah..I remember THAT Adelaide....not an Indian in sight..

[@pavlovsdogman]

There was plenty of Indians around during the pie cart days you racist idiot! When I see crimes and drunken disorderly arrests every weekend it's never Indians? It's always you racist bogan wankers!

[@markusbramley]

Eewwww

[@stevendoecke300]

The problem is the government honestly does not care about Heritage stuff they only care about the Aborigines stuff and it's really sad I don't care about the Aboriginal stuff we need to see less of that and more Heritage stuff to still be here

[@paulbata9649]

A halal kebab cart has now replaced it!

[@pavlovsdogman]

A taxi rank has replaced it and it's 2024 dumbass! People rightfully love kebabs! They are way better than a cheap ass balfours pie covered in tinned peas!

[@JanosBanics]

What the f are you talking about😂 I've lived in Adelaide for 15 years and never seen a pie floater! Our true pie is the Ned Kelly. This is cap.

[@fergulator7297]

Imagine thinking Ned Kelly pie was more famous in Adelaide than a pie floater 🤦‍♂️

[@allyearrounddeckspergolas9647]

Use to be on franlin st next to the post office...a cowleys pie with peas...i use to buy them when i did night sh8ft at the adevertiser in the 80s about $3 i think...last 1 was next to rail way station

[@Laconic-ws4bz]

A brilliant pie, ate lots of the QLD version.👍👍👍👍👍

[@Herblay63]

Reminds me a bit of Reggie's pea stall in Norwich market which serves bowls of thick pea green soup with as much mint sauce and vinegar as you want. They also sell pies but never thought to drop one into the other! Reggie's pea stall - Norwich Market kzbin.info/www/bejne/oWmkonyKhKtjeNE

[@udapie3135]

figure you would just steal some content and upload it 13 years later?, muppit.

[@TKKrueger-py5jb]

That's what 90% do. KZbin says that soon over 90% of its content will all be AI generated.

[@jama211]

I would never have seen this otherwise, this is content preservation.

[@jackchapo2011]

This one is much than the four you have uploaded. More views in five days than yours in four years. Muppet

[@jackchapo2011]

He uploaded something five days ago with 4k views. You uploaded crap 12 months ago with less than 100 views. Hahahaha

[@TKKrueger-py5jb]

@@jackchapo2011 , you uploaded a video, your only video, 13 years ago and have only received 497 views. Glass houses, mate.

[@HemiLenoel-je3lx]

Pie carts are from NZ

[@somekindaguy100]

NZ has pie carts

[@buenisimoingles4866]

not really much of a claim to fame to copy a pie cart

[@pavlovsdogman]

NZ says they invented everything first! 🤣 Pouring pea soup over a cheap pie is hardly a brilliant invention anyway? 🤷

[@somekindaguy100]

@pavlovsdogman well we are talking bout the carts not the shitty pie swimming in peas idea .but I get what you are saying .NZ invented jet boats electric fences and the disposable syringes to name a few

[@pavlovsdogman]

@somekindaguy100 yeah but you mainly talk about Pavlova and all the actors and musicians who moved to Australia to live and became Australian citizens and chose to identify as Australian and how they are actually kiwis! 🤣