Milk Bar Pie
{{Short description|Dessert}}
Milk Bar Pie, formerly known as Crack Pie, is a dessert created by the American chef Christina Tosi in 2008 while working at the New York City restaurant wd~50. It became the signature dish of Tosi's bakery, Milk Bar.
Tosi originally named the dessert Crack Pie for its addictive qualities, but changed it to Milk Bar Pie in 2019 after the name was criticized as insensitive.
Development
The American chef Christina Tosi created Milk Bar Pie, initially known as Crack Pie, for a staff meal while working at the New York City restaurant wd~50 .{{cite news |last1=Muhlke |first1=Christine |date=January 6, 2010 |title=The Nifty 50: Christina Tosi, Pastry Chef |work=The New York Times Style Magazine |url=https://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/06/the-nifty-50-christina-tosi-pastry-chef/}} She described regularly making desserts from "whatever mise-en-place was left over from the previous night's service".{{Cite book |last=Tosi |first=Christina |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1054057022 |title=Momofuku Milk Bar. |date=2018 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing Plc |isbn=978-1-4729-6414-4 |pages=244-245 |oclc=1054057022}} When missing ingredients one morning, she came across a recipe for chess pie in Joy of Cooking. Tosi describes chess pie as something "the old gals of yesteryear made when there was nothing to really make pie out of". She substituted heavy cream for the called-for buttermilk to create a gooier consistency and corn powder and milk powder for the called-for flour to create a more interesting flavor. The pie was popular at family meals.{{Cite web |last=Houck |first=Brenna |date=2019-04-19 |title=Food Brands Are Finally Done With Calling Their Foods ‘Crack’ |url=https://www.eater.com/2019/4/19/18507779/crack-foods-offensive-milk-bar-legally-addictive-hopcat |access-date=2022-12-03 |website=Eater |language=en}}
Milk Bar
When Tosi opened Momofuku Milk Bar in 2008, she revised the Crack Pie to include an oatmeal-cookie crust. It became her signature product. According to Vice, "Tosi’s Milk Bar has been synonymous with the Crack Pie".{{Cite web |last=Makalintal |first=Bettina |date=15 April 2019 |title=Christina Tosi Has Changed Crack Pie's Name to 'Milk Bar Pie' |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/christina-tosi-has-changed-crack-pies-name-to-milk-bar-pie/ |access-date=2022-12-03 |website=Vice.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Senyel |first=Kelly |date=12 September 2012 |title=The Signature Dish: Food + Cooking : gourmet.com |url=http://www.gourmet.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/food/gourmetlive/2012/091212/restaurant-signature-dishes-essential-or-dispensable.html |access-date=2022-12-03 |website=www.gourmet.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com}} Gourmet called it Tosi's "defining dessert". Bon Appetit called it her "most buzzed-about dish".{{Cite web |title=The Secret Behind Momofuku's Crack Pie |url=https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/tagged/health/shine-food/the-secret-behind-momofukus-crack-pie-2406211.html |access-date=2022-12-03 |website=www.yahoo.com |language=en-US}} New York Daily News called it "New York's favorite sugar high".{{Cite web |last=Salamone |first=Gina |date=26 February 2018 |title=Milk Bar’s Crack Pie now sold in latte form |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/eats/milk-bar-crack-pie-sold-latte-form-article-1.3843086 |access-date=2022-12-03 |website=New York Daily News}} In December 2009, Anderson Cooper appeared on Regis and Kelly discussing the pie.{{Cite web |last=Alexander |first=Kevin |date=9 November 2019 |title=If Everyone Can Get Milk Bar Pie, Is It Still Cool? |url=https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/momofuku-milk-bar-review |access-date=2022-12-03 |website=Thrillist |language=en}} The New York Times called the appearance a "seminal moment".{{Cite news |last=Severson |first=Kim |date=2019-02-12 |title=For Christina Tosi, Building a Dessert Empire Is Not All Milk and Cookies |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/12/dining/christina-tosi-milk-bar.html |access-date=2022-12-03 |issn=0362-4331}}
The Los Angeles Times in 2010 said the price of the pie, then $44, was "jaw-dropping"; it attributed the pie's having "taken New York City by storm" partially to the price.{{Cite web |last=Lynch |first=Rene |date=2010-02-11 |title=Crack Pie: It's love at first bite |url=https://www.latimes.com/food/la-fo-crackpie11-2010feb11-story.html |access-date=2022-12-03 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}} Axios in 2022 called the dish a "cult favorite".{{Cite web |last=Sukin |first=Gigi |date=2022-01-26 |title=Cult-favorite Milk Bar treats hit Denver |url=https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2022/01/26/doordash-milk-bar-dessert-denver-delivery-popup |access-date=2022-11-11 |website=Axios |language=en}} Tosi's first cookbook, Momofuku Milk Bar (2011), contains a recipe for the pie.{{cite web |last1=Andriani |first1=Lynn |date=November 9, 2011 |title=Baking Rules a Pro Says You Can Ignore |url=http://www.oprah.com/food/Christina-Tosi-Cookbook-Milk-Bar-Compost-Cookie-Recipe |access-date=July 16, 2014 |work=Oprah |publisher=Harpo, Inc.}}
Name change
Some food writers and others have criticized naming foods including Crack Pie after addictive substances as insensitive and offensive.{{Cite web |last=McBain |first=Liam |date=17 April 2019 |title=Milk Bar Changes the Name of Iconic ‘Crack Pie' After Criticism |url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/milk-bar-changes-the-name-of-its-crack-pie-to-milk-bar-pie/1076240/ |access-date=2022-12-03 |website=NBC New York |language=en-US}} In May 2019, Devra First of the Boston Globe criticized the name in a column for making light of addiction by alluding to the addictiveness of crack cocaine.{{Cite news |last=First |first=Devra |date=2019-03-20 |title=There's Nothing Cute About Crack Pie |pages=G1 |work=The Boston Globe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/114041763/theres-nothing-cute-about-crack-pie/ |access-date=2022-12-03}} The following month, Milk Bar changed the name to Milk Bar pie.{{Cite web |last=Vera |first=Amir |date=April 15, 2019 |title=Crack Pie is no more as Milk Bar changes name of famous dessert |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/15/us/crack-pie-name-change-milk-bar-trnd/index.html |access-date=2020-11-29 |website=CNN}}{{Cite web |last=Judkis |first=Maura |date=15 April 2019 |title=After complaints that it made light of an epidemic, Milk Bar renames its famous Crack Pie |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp/2019/04/15/after-complaints-that-it-made-light-of-an-epidemic-milk-bar-renames-its-famous-crack-pie/ |website=The Washington Post}}