pie and mash

On Bethnal Green Road. White marble table tops. White tiles on the walls. A stack of pies. Two large metal vats, one containing mash, the other a form of gravy. You can buy:

One pie and mash.
One pie and double mash.
Two pies and mash.
Two pies and double mash.
etc.
Up to four pies and a vat of mash.
Although no doubt if you asked for thirty pies and ten vats of mash, that wouldn't be a problem.

The mash is smooth and tastes more like smash.
The pie is a meat pie. The most basic mince in a pastry shell.
The gravy is pallid, grey-green, with hints of parsley.
Chirac would not approve.

The clientele all know the woman who works there. She asks a girl why she's got a plaster on her chin. The girl's not sure why she fainted. She wasn't drunk.

They only serve pie and mash. They don't serve anything else. It keeps you warm on a cold day.