A little while ago I went on a mini-road trip to Kingston, and one of my friend’s asked me (okay, she practically threatened me) if I could stop at this place called The Big Apple on the way and pick her up some apple pies. I’m thinking, what’s so special about this particular apple pie that you’re telling me to veer off the highway and make sure I get you a couple boxes when I get back to Toronto?
Boy, did I sure I find out when I tasted a juicy morsel. These pies were delicious!
The Big Apple is easy to see off the 401. About 1 1/2 hours from Toronto, there’s a giant apple that can be seen from the highway once you reach the city of Colborne and a short drive to the front doors from there. There’s a small petting zoo outside the grounds (including ducks, llamas and goats) and even a mini-putt golf course.
When you get inside the restaurant, you go through a couple of turnstiles and greeted with a large menu sign that lists all the pies available. The kitchen is also right there, so you can
view the bakers making the pies. Once baked, the pies are put into colourful boxes and rested on the counter for customers to choose from. They go for a whopping $10 each, but it’s so worth it. Took me about a week to polish one off… that pie was huge.
There’s also non-apple things on the menu, such as fries, burgers and hot dogs. And of course they have candied apples. The only thing I still don’t understand which my friend had warned me about was their reluctance to provide forks to people who purchase whole pies. When my mom had ask for a fork the cashier had said that they were only for people who buy slices to eat in the restaurant. They’d probably make more money selling forks for 0.25¢ than by losing business of people who’d opt to buy a slice over a whole pie just to get a fork. I had to wait until I got home to eat my wonderful-smelling pie, but it was well worth the wait.
There were about 20 different types of flavoured apple pies to choose from. I purchased Apple-Maple (my favourite out of the two I got) and a Mumble Crumble. Others I was tempted to get were Apple-Strawberry and the Caramel Apple pies (next time!).
So if you’re in the GTA and planning a road trip east to somewhere like Ottawa or Montreal via the 401, make sure you make a stop at The Big Apple in Colborne, Ontario.
that apple pie and icecream is making me hungry. Do you still have those pictures you took of me and dad?
I stopped in here n the weekend and bought a pie for the first time. Opened the box and found a long black hair on top and cooked into the pie. Searched on the WWW to find a thread where most people were trashing this establishment. So you might want to reconsider the recommendation. I personally would not recommend a stop here to anyone.
Hairy pie? I’ll be sure to be more careful about purchasing my pies there in the future (but I still think they taste delicious)! I found a hair baked into a donut from Country Style once before… never ate there again, so I see your point. :P
I bought a Mumble Crumble apple pie. What did I find? Bananas!!! Huge chunks around the edge inside the pie obviously used as a filler. It was disgusting. I will nevery buy from there again.
After driving right by the Big Apple on the 401 for more than forty ywears, finally stopped in this week and bought an Apple Raspberry pie
We were disappointed – there was absolutely NO raspberry to be found, the apples were OK, the crust so-so.
Overall, at $10 a very poor value – next time we want pie we’ll go to a local bakery for fresh-baked goods.
Hey Maxie! Yes, I do agree that those pies are rather pricey. Especially for the cheesecakes! I guess I’ve lucked out whenever I purchased my pies, b/c they all have been delicious. They should cut the price by at least 30% though!
ive visited twice and I am never going back….The food that they serve there was disgusting and over priced. I paid 4.59 for a ham and swiss sandwhich that was so stale and dry, the bread was hard. The french fries were cooked in old grease. The pie was good except for the fact it had apple stems in it and that is not great for a two year old….I will never go back and do not recomend this place for anyone unless you enjoy looking at the sad little petting zoo in the back, or the over priced mini put and bumper cars.
I have driven past the big Apple many times.One time I did go to it.
The pie was really good and the view was great.I would like to go again.
Complain, complain complain. It is a wonderful break and the park with it is nice. The bunnies are great too. The pies may cost a bit but they are huge and delicious. I say its GREAT!!!!!!!
Worst pie I have ever tasted. My daughter makes better in her Easy bake oven. The grounds were messy and the attractions boring. They should tear the joint down and build a Tim Hortons. At least you’d know what you were getting.
love the place, kids have a great time and the pie is great. keep up the great work guys
My friends and I stopped at the Big Apple on the way home form Montreal last Sunday. We both purchased an apple pie crumble. Both had an uncooked bottom layer. Based on comments on this site, TripAdvisor, and Yelp, my experience is not a unique one. I wonder how what, if any, quality control practises this company has in place and why they are not being followed. For very good pies I recommend the Apple Factory in Brampton. http://www.applefactory.com. A busy place but the pies are always fresh and properly baked.
I used to stop on my way to and from visiting in Trenton and purchase an apple pie or two and was very satisfied. Recently though I purchased four pies and had to throw them awa as they were either full of fruit flies , not cooked or had gone moldy. I was very dissapointed as Their pies were very good at one time.
Haven’t been there for years. But sure looks like the quality is still there. Uncooked,large chunks of apple core and whatever. My brother purchased one there a few years ago and they told him they weren’t sure what was inside the pie because they ran out of labels. LOL.Everytime I pass the site I chuckle.
Full Disclosure: I am an former employee.
If you eat a pie from the Big Apple, there is a significant chance many of the following will be true during your visit:
– Your pie will be under cooked
– Your pie will have old disgusting apples
– You will see depressed/nervous/crying employees
– No one will have washed their hands before preparing the pies
– You will see and hear an angry old man (Ted Sayers, owner/boss) yelling/screaming/swearing/sexually harassing the employees
– You will see and hear an angry old man (Ted Sayers, owner/boss) loudly laughing and joking/swearing/sexually harassing employees
– Your pie filling was dropped on the floor before being baked
– The pie filling had mold growing on it before it was mixed
– You will be refused utensils to eat your pie you just bought
– There was a cigarette butt in the pie mix before being baked
– The washrooms will be disgusting
– You will be told to leave and never come back by the owner for complaining about the pie
– You will be refused a refund for a disgusting pie
– The place will be deserted and you won’t wonder why
– The place will be absolutely packed with Asian or European tourists and you will realize why this place is still operating
– You will see bus operators receiving free food and you will realize why this place is still operating
– You will be offended by the profane, sexual, violent and racist items for sale in the gift shop
For the least likely chance of being upset by your visit just: use the washrooms, do not enter the restaurant area through the turnstiles, do not enter the gift shop, head outside and climb up the apple, then leave.
Wow… remind me to make my own apple pies in the future! Thankfully I lucked out on the pie I bought all those years ago! But I’ll second guess going there again after reading some of these negative reviews… :-/
turn-styles (sic): you meant turnstiles.
Fixed… thanks, RT!
I just came back from my first visit to The Big Apple, and had a slice of this very expensive ( $12.00) Apple pie that I purchased. Wow..what a disappointment ! This pie was not good at all !
I love apple pie, so I felt I had to purchase one during my visit. I should have checked the internet first. I have never seen so many negative comments about this tourist trap. The pie was not cooked properly, the crust was almost raw, and the filling was undercooked as well. Everything in the store was outrageously over priced. The only reason for its success is the fact that it must bribe bus drivers to bring in loads of unsuspecting foreign tourists. There were four huge busses there this morning, and it was only 10 am ! I would not recommend this place to my worst enemy. Don’t trust the glowing reviews you might find. It is a known fact that many of them are written by friends and families of the owners. A farmers market pie from the grocery store is better, AND ONLY $5.00 !
All the pies I ever purchased there were great! I guess you can’t please everyone… there’s always going to be mixed reviews!
The Big Apple changed hands in 2014 (might have been 2013). I live in the area and when the old owner had the place the food was not the best. I have been back multiple times since the new owners took over and the pies are amazing, so is the apple bread! We have gone in for lunch several times and not been disappointed. There are many more products to buy and they also work with other small, sometimes local business to sell local produce and products. Give them another try. Yes the pies are 12.99 however they are same price as any other farm market/bakery in the area except theirs are much larger ;)
Anyone know who looks after those bunnies? They are not wild they are domesticated rabbits. It concerns me, one rabbit I saw the other day looked ill.
I’ve been there a few weeks ago and I’m from The Netherlands so i should know how it would taste and I got a apple crumble pie and it was the best I’ve ever had little expesive but okay it was delicious!