There are a lot of things you can do, to get a good calorie estimate and you can start by weighing the item. Worst case scenario, it's pretty much impossible for anything to have more than about 240 calories per ounce (and only if it's pure fat). You can guestimate fat content fairly well, just by the feel on your lips or your fingertips.
Breads and meats (unless they're unusually fatty) usually have no more than about 100 to 150 calories per ounce.
With the internet, you can get good calorie estimates if you know the name of the dish. If not, you can get a decent idea by comparing it to the closest equivalent you can think of. For example the food you described sounds a lot like a pasty. You could look up the calorie count for pasties or pot pies or empanadas, whichever it appears most similar to (for example if it's mostly meat and appears to be deep fried, check out the empanada calories online - if. If there's a lot of veggies and it appears baked you could look at pot pie calories).
If you're eating out, it's not so easy to estimate, but for carry out, I usually weigh it - given the description I would calculate it at about 150 calories an ounce (unless it felt greasy, then I'd guestimate higher).
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