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Gullifty's Ultimate Coconut Cream Pie

 
Subject: Gulliftys Coconut creme pie
From: Luke
Date: 12/5/2018, 4:57 PM
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com

On 12/5/2018 12:02 PM, Luke wrote:

 Hello Uncle Phaedrus, my name is Luke and I'm looking for a coconut creme pie recipe 
from a restaurant named Gulliftys. It used to be in the squirrel hill neighborhood of 
Pittsburgh PA. My parents went to it after they bought their engagement rings, and my 
mom loved the coconut creme pie so I wanted to find the recipe for her. It closed in 
2013, and although there are some articles from local newspapers saying the brothers 
that owned it were looking to open a desert business nothing has happened yet it seems. 
I found one of the owners on facebook, but they haven't been active in years and didn't 
respond to my message.
I'm sorry it's not much to go on, but if you found it I'd be eternally grateful.
Thank you

Hi Luke,

I'll say right off that I did not find this recipe, but I did find some information about Gullifty's and the pie.

First, a little history: Gullifty's was a chain, with restaurants in several locations, including one in Bryn Mawr, PA and one in Camp Hill in Harrisburg, PA. All are now closed except for the one at 1149 Lancaster Ave, Bryn Mawr, PA - Gullifty's. The restaurant at Squirrel Hill was owned by two brothers, Mark and Matt Hastie. The last day of the Squirrel Hill restaurant's operation was August 28, 2013. One of the chefs at Gullifty's Squirrel Hill was Michele Kirwan, who is now owner and head chef at a deli/restaurant called Kristopher's Place at 4239 Murray Ave, Pittsburgh. Matt Hastie seems to have dropped from sight, but Mark Hastie is the owner and operator of three dining locations on Carnegie Mellon University’s campus – The Underground in Morewood Gardens (1060 Morewood Ave), The Zebra Lounge in the College of Fine Arts, and Seiber Café in the Software Engineering Institute. See: Carnegie Mellon Dining

I found the menu from Gullifty's Squirrel Hill at: Gullifty's Squirrel Hill
On that menu, the coconut pie is listed as:

Ultimate Coconut Cream Pie:
Coconut macaroon crust, vanilla custard, Chantilly cream and toasted coconut.

Even though Gullifty's was a chain and there is still one open at Bryn Mawr, I don't think that will help you much. In an interview, Matt Hastie said that the various locations of Gullifty's did not use the same recipes, particularly not for desserts, and the "Ultimate Coconut Cream Pie" was strictly a Squirrel Hill creation.

The Bryn Mawr Gullifty's does have a coconut pie on their made to order menu, but it is almost certainly not the same. See their made to order menu: Gullifty's Homemade Whole Desserts

To wit:

Coconut Cream Pie:
Fresh coconut cream filled pie crust topped with whipped cream and coconut

Luke, your best bets for getting that pie recipe would seem to be direct personal contact with Mark Hastie, perhaps at one of his restaurants, or direct contact with chef Michele Kirwan at Kristopher's Place. I did not see any evidence that coconut cream pie is served at any of Mark's restaurants or at Michele's restaurant.

Both Matt Hastie and Mark Hastie have Facebook Pages, and Mark's restaurants may each have a facebook page and/or a web page. I note that Matt's and Mark's Facebook pages give foreign addresses, but they might actually reside in Pittsburgh.

I wish you good luck, but I can't offer you much hope that any of those people will give you the pie recipe. My experience of almost 20 years is that most restaurateurs and chefs never give away their recipes, not even years after their restaurant has closed. Perhaps you are more persuasive than I. If they won't give you the recipe, perhaps Mark Hastie or Michele Kirwan would make a pie for you to give to your mom.

Luke, I also searched for a coconut pie recipe with those ingredients of coconut macaroon pie crust, vanilla custard, Chantilly cream, and toasted coconut. I had no success.

I'll post this for possible reader input.

Phaed