When I received the press release announcing the opening of Portage Pi in May, I mistakenly thought it was junk email, as the pi symbol was in the subject line. In this case, “pi” refers to hand pies. Since I love pasties, calzones and empanadas, I was excited to visit.
Portage Pi, which is located inside the Graduate Hotel on campus, is very hotel-esque in design and feel, as evident by its communal seating, its location adjacent to the lobby and the fact that it’s also a coffee shop.
You can choose from one of three savory hand pies ($7), all of which are in a delicious, flaky shell. I thoroughly enjoyed the short rib pi, which was stuffed with flavorful and tender meat along with onion, potato and carrot–you don’t even need the accompanying horseradish sauce. Compared to the equivalent Teddywedger, this pi wasn’t overly filled with potatoes, which I appreciated.
On the other hand, the Wisconsin pi didn’t do it for me. The eggs were dried out (a consequence of the pi being pre-assembled), and the cheese curds were almost non-existent.
To change the focus of your taste buds, move onto the sweet hand pies ($6). You can’t go wrong with either the apple pi, which has super soft apples and a balanced blend of cinnamon and nutmeg, or the cherry s’more pi, a creative, dense concoction of brandied cherries and chocolate–yum!
If you’re not into the pies, you’ll find other items such as salads ($7)–examples include the Roasted Beet & Goat Cheese and the Toasted Quinoa–pressed sandwiches ($7)–the banana Nutella caught my eye–an assortment of breakfast items and a soup of the day.
In addition to coffee, other beverages include smoothies ($6), beer ($6) and wine by the glass ($6).
Portage Pi is open every day. Worth noting is that Executive Chef Chris Cubberley once served as Martha Stewart’s personal chef, according to the press release.
It’s easy to drive or even walk past 
Among the appetizers, I tried the five-spice beef shank ($6.25), which is thinly sliced beef served slightly chilled with some garlic sauce. This is a fairly bland dish, requiring heavy use of the chili oil that sits on every table. Meanwhile, the egg rolls ($3) were densely packed with meat (shrimp and pork, along with shredded taro) and perfectly fried.
One last item I had was the doner kebab ($7.50), comprised of Turkish lamb and chicken sausage, slaw, chili-mayo and cucumber yogurt sauce. As you can tell by the ingredients, it was a excellent mashup of flavors and textures. On my next visit, I’ll probably order the Swedish meatballs ($6.50) or the Drunky Ducky ($8; made with maple bourbon duck sausage).
