I am glad that Hubig’s pies are back in town. They are a cultural institution and in this day and age those are few and far between.
I am talking about things that distinguish us from other places. Things like Leidenheimer’s or Gendusa’s bread. Or Vaucresson sausages. We still have beignets and café au lait, but who makes calas these days?
We used to have multiple purveyors of all of these products, but the inexorable march of time and the homogenization of American food has taken a toll.
Hubig’s pies are another in that category. Hubig’s is a home-grown confection that, like the others I’ve mentioned and a host of others, can’t be found anywhere else. Until this week, Hubig’s pies were not available, but as I write they should be on shelves at local grocers and based on the reception they got at the recent Po-Boy Fest – where they sold out of around 12,000 pies in a day – you may need to get to your local merchant early to pick them up.
Hubig’s Pies are important because when something like their product is gone for good, we don’t just lose that item; we lose a bit of our history and a bit of what makes us one of the best places in the world to eat.
We lose the chance to share common experiences with our kids and our grandkids that are special to this specific place and this specific culture. If you’ve traveled around these United States, you may have noticed that things are very different everywhere else. Specifically, most places you visit are very much the same. There’s nothing to distinguish a suburb of Atlanta from a suburb of San Diego or Boston or Chicago other than the weather. I’m generalizing and I’m not suggesting there aren’t great things about those places but they’re not like us.
So we need to celebrate when, phoenix-like, one of our culinary touchstones rises from the ashes to rejoin the community.
I am here to celebrate Hubig’s return despite the fact that I don’t like them even a little bit.
I ate them as a kid, and some of them were pretty good. I have fond memories of the peach pies, but then again I have fond memories of artificially-flavored Nehi peach soda, too.
I haven’t had a Hubig’s pie in many years, and perhaps when I inevitably buy a few the next time I visit Rouse’s or some other local shop where they’re available, I’ll change my tune. I doubt it, though, because the combination of an insipid crust and a glue-like filling does nothing for me.
One of the hallmarks of our society is that we are all free to have opinions. Everyone has an opinion just as everyone has a nose. I am not suggesting that if you like Hubig’s pies that you are wrong or that you are a bad person and I am definitely not suggesting that you should not buy Hubig’s pies.
Hell, I don’t like the things, but I’m going to buy them when I find them, and I’m going to encourage my kids to eat and enjoy them. I am going to make sure that my kids know that these are a uniquely New Orleans product and I hope I can adequately explain why that is important. I will not pretend they’re good, though.
We have other, better options where hand pies are concerned these days, but we don’t have another Hubig’s. I hope the relaunch of the brand is successful and that my great grandchildren can decide for themselves whether this particular cultural institution deserves its longevity.
