Fresno's Chicken Pie Shop (official name: Grandmarie's) has a central location in Fresno's Tower District, right across from the marvelous Tower Theater. Booths in the CPS are clad in yellow and green vinyl, and the east wall features three gigantic, vibrant plastic chickens. The dining area is spacious.
The specialty is a chicken pot pie meal. The lunch involves the pie itself and mashed potatoes covered in a vivid yellow gravy, as well as coleslaw and a pair of warm biscuits. I asked the waitress about the yellow gravy, and she said it is a reduction of the chicken stock used to boil something like "60 chickens at a time." It is creamy and thoroughly chickeny tasting and enhances the flavor of the pie.
The pie is maybe seven inches in diameter and absolutely crammed with chicken meat; none of the usual peas or carrots you get in a frozen pie. So what looks at first glance like a small pie turns out to be quite a feast when cracked open. The pie has a very nice, crispy pastry crust that stands up to the contents of the pie and the yellow gravy.
The best part of the meal, however, is dessert. The apple crumble is a cakey kind of crumble, soaked in cinnamon and sugar; very good, especially with the coffee. And the rice pudding is one of the best I have had.
