New Zealand native Jake Harvey arrived in Atlanta via New York, his first stateside stop as a budding hip-hop producer. While pursuing musical aspirations and taking on side gigs, Harvey got to missing the savory meat pies that were a staple back home. (New Zealanders consume some 70 million meat pies a year. That’s pretty impressive for an island country that’s roughly the size of Colorado.)
So, what is a New Zealand meat pie? It resembles a pot pie but holds together more. It’s sturdy, like a turnover or empanada, but has an impossibly fluttery crust akin to a croissant. The pies are meant to be eaten out of hand. A pie ordered to-go comes in an old-school wax paper sleeve. But they can also be eaten at a more leisurely pace with a knife and fork.
“They’re synonymous with how New Zealanders view themselves, I think—as humble and unassuming,” says Harvey, owner of the newly opened Heaps, his savory-pie emporium and eatery in Decatur…