Adelaide Heritage Icon · Pie in Pea Soup
Pie Floater
Photo: Experiment 47 / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
It was officially recognised as a South Australian Heritage Icon by the National Trust in 2003 — a meat pie sunk upside-down in pea soup, once the late-night feed of choice outside Adelaide's horse-drawn pie carts.
A meat pie is turned upside down into a bowl of thick, mushy pea soup, then topped with a squeeze of tomato sauce and eaten with a spoon, not held in the hand. Adelaide's surviving pie carts, descended from horse-drawn stalls dating back to the 1860s, still serve it late into the night.
Why it's made this way: Adelaide's pie carts have operated on the city's streets since the 1860s, and the pie floater, reputedly popularised by Port Pirie baker Ern 'Shorty' Bradley in the 1890s, became the after-dark meal of choice for generations of Adelaide night owls.
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