Fun Times at Pie Town

Great food, music and beautiful arts and crafts were featured at the Pietown celebration September 12. Around 40 pies were entered in "fruit", "nut" and "other" categories. It was a beautiful collection of pies. We would have gladly volunteered to be judges, just to taste them all, but that would have been conflict of interest!



Cathy Bissey and Midge Bishop worked countless hours organizing the contest. Many thanks to both of you and to all of the others who made this event a success.



Kathy Knapp runs an amazing restaurant called the Pie-o-neer in Pietown. We had a hard time deciding which kind of pie to choose, but finally settled on apple crumb. If you read this entire blog, you will find that over the past four months we have eaten a lot of pie at restaurants all across the country. Although we didn't try every kind of pie offered (this would take several weeks) we both agreed that the apple pie had the best crust we have ever had -- light, flaky and flavorful! If you make the trip out to Pietown, make sure to buy a couple of whole pies to take home and share!


BTW, our pecan carmel pie won the grand champion ribbon and a $100 cash prize! We will post pictures later.

Click here to see more pictures from Pietown and vicinity, including the Wild West gunfight crew. I will keep adding to this, so keep checking it.

We're not done yet!

Don't give up on us, we're not done yet!!

Our next planned post is September 11-12 for the Pie Festival in Pie Town, New Mexico, but if we find another worthy story in the meantime, we will definitely post it.

Just a word about our posts: If we visit an establishment and are not excited about the quality of the pie, we simply don't post anything. We will not reveal the names of places we did not like, following the adage "If you can't say something good...."

If you have establishments to nominate, please let us know. Our blog is mostly about the story of the people who make the pie and not the pie itself, so if you know of a unique pie maker...

Waiting to hear from you!

The Blackbird Bakery in Bristol, Virginia

This bakery has been in business just over a year and is already developing a reputation as the best place around to buy donuts and pies. There was a steady stream of customers on a Thursday morning.

Ratha Shabeldeen bakes all of the pies and pastries. When she immigrated from Lebanon over 40 years ago, she didn't know how to read. She started to learn by reading pastry recipes, working at a restaurant for 33 years and with the school district for 11.

She said she could give us the recipe for her flaky crusts, but with crust making, technique is what really matters. "Don't knead the dough," she advises, because it only makes it tough and chewy.

We had the pecan and peach pies, served in individual tins. Other specialties of the house were chocolate, coconut cream, apple, cherry and butterscotch.

Mrs. Hardesty's Tea Room in Harrisonburg, Virginia

Mary, the owner of the Tea Room, is a retired kindergarten teacher. She has been in business for about four years and makes all of the desserts served. The raspberry custard pie we had was a new item and a big hit! We had to speak up before the end of our meal to get the last piece. It came as no surprise that this establishment had recently been featured in the travel section of the Washington Post.

We also tried Mary's scones, which are incredibly light and flaky. Of course, Mary won't give out her recipe, but she did give us a hint: They contain no butter or eggs!

One of the special events at the Tea Room during the past year was historic 1850's Court Days. Mary served old fashioned chicken pot pie, Virginia Brunswick Stew and gunpowder green tea. the most popular tea of the time. This tea is made up of leaves hand-rolled into tiny pellets, therefore the name. Click here to view Hardesty's web site.

Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, New York

Moosewood is an internationally famous vegetarian restaurant. We have been using their cookbooks for years and now finally had the opportunity to eat at the restaurant.

Our waitress was Natalie. She is an architecture student at Cornell University and has been working at Moosewood for five years. She has fond childhood memories of her mother cooking from Moosewood recipes.

Natalie is currently working with a solar house design team.

Click here to read more about Cornell's solar house project. They are designing and building a 100% solar power house, to be entered in a competition in Washington D.C. in October. The competition is called the Solar Decathlon. Click here for more information about the Solar Decathlon!

The food here is incredible! We had spinach and vegetable polenta and vegetable ragout. The preparation, blending of spices and presentation make eating almost a spiritual experience. Eating here makes one at least seriously consider becoming a vegetarian.

The desserts pictured are a vegan chocolate cake and a berry crisp topped with a locally made ice cream.

Earl's Real Food Family Restaurant in Chaffee, New York

As a child, Earl Northrup picked up soft coal along the railroad tracks. His family burned it to keep warm during the long winter nights of western New York. Earl says he walked 6000 miles before he owned his first car. People say they knew he was coming because was always whistling.
In 1956, Earl and his wife Marilyn started a drive in restaurant. The restaurant was successful because the employees were always treated like family. Everyone (at least 99%) was pulling in the same direction.
When Earl closed the business in 2002, many ex-employees were hurting. He reopened to give them a paycheck again. The senior employee has 23 years. Our waitress, Rachel, has worked there only two months, but is already getting glowing reports from customers because of the attentive service she offers.
Guests from Australia, South Korea, Canada, and all over the world have signed the guest book there. Earl's has been featured in local newspapers and even the New York Times!
We ate delicious apple crumb and peach/apricot pie here. Stop by and see Earl if you are ever in the neighborhood!

Lorraine's Place in Castile, New York

Marcy starts making pies, rolls and cinnamon rolls every morning at 5:30.

Lorraine’s has been in Castile serving up great food for over 12 years.

One regular customer makes a weekly 50 mile pilgrimage from Rochester just to eat Lorraine’s apple pie, served warmed up and with a dollop of ice cream.
Go ahead and ask for Lorraine’s recipes, but you won’t get them. The most coveted recipe is for her crust, the most flavorful and flaky that we have had to date. Her signature pie (pictured) is the crème cheese raspberry. We preferred the Dutch raspberry. Other offerings include mince meat, Toll House, cherry, pecan and elderberry.
If you are going to Lorraine’s for pie, you might as well visit Letchworth Park also. Just make sure you eat at Lorraine’s and not at the pricy joint located inside the park.

The Pie Factory in Sandusky, Ohio

The Pie Factory has only been in business for six months, but they are off to a great start!
They offer a menu of Pizza, Italian Food, salads and pies, all available for take out or delivery. Delivery is available in a six mile radius, sometimes to homes and sometimes to pre-arranged locations.

They already have faithful return customers.

There are 15 pies on the menu. We tried the banana cream with a delicious graham cracker crust and a butterfinger brownie pie.

Riegsecker's Clear Spring in Shipshewana

There are dozens of Amish and Menonite owned businesses in Shipshewana, Indiana, including a place to buy spices and other Amish food products in bulk. Unfortunately, we arrived on a Sunday and virtually everything was closed.

The Clear Spring was the only restaurant open, and fortunately, they had some outstanding pies. It is located in the Amish Country Inn. This hotel includes a popular indoor water park.

Linda was our waitress and told us a little about the pies. The first pie we tasted was a beautiful peanut butter pie, with a wonderful flaky crust, topped first with peanut butter filling and then a homemade custard. Wow!

The old fashioned sugar cream pie happens to be the favorite of the owner. It is rich and much creamier than traditional custard, with a wonderfully flaky crust. Click here for a recipe.
An Amish family taking a Sunday ride in Shipshewana.

Baked Alaska in Jefferson, Iowa

June (Bixby Laivison Davis Eppler) Emmert turned 90 on June 8.

She celebrated her birthday with a beautiful Baked Alaska, a specialty of Marilyn Emmert, the best cook in Jefferson, Iowa.

June grew up on a northern Minnesota farm. Her father was a hard working farmer and a teacher at a one room school house.

Her Grandfather Bixby and Grandfather Davis both served in the Union Army during the Civil War era. Uncle Ike survived the horrors of World War I only to return home, go skating on one of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes and fall through the ice. Cousin Glen Bixby was killed on Iwo Jima.

June remembers growing up on the farm with a brother and three sisters. They are all still living; three are now over ninety.

A Seventh Day Adventist grandmother and a Methodist father obligated June to attend church on both Saturday and Sunday. Her strong religious beliefs led to her desire to dedicate her life to studying the Bible and serving God. In 1937, the young high school graduate was sent to Minneapolis with a new Bible in her hands. Her destination was Northwestern Bible School. She worked as a store clerk and house cleaner to support herself.

In was in Minneapolis that June met another Bible student named Glenn. Besides the Bible, Glenn loved June. He also liked cars. He was always available to give June a ride. One day, Glenn gave her a ride to Basswood, Minnesota, where they were married.

Next, he took her to Lone Tree, North Dakota, where she gave birth to her first two children. The church parsonage barely slowed down the bitter winter winds. There was no indoor plumbing. This was the glamorous beginning of over forty years as a "preacher's wife."

Baked Alaska has a beautiful meringue exterior baked at 500 degrees while the ice cream inside stays frozen solid, insulated by the cake and whipped egg whites. It is the perfect metaphor for the celebration of the life of a beautiful survivor of ninety freezing winters.

Russell's Restaurant in Salina, Kansas

Richelle, holding our delicious piece of lemon meringue pie, has worked at Russell's restaurant in Salina, Kansas for six years. There are two waitresses with more years than her. Velma has the most seniority with over 15 years. Richelle attributes the longevity of employees to the fact that employees feel like members of one big family.

Russell's is famous for its variety of delicious pies and its chicken fried steak. They even deliver all over town.

Bon Ton's Café in Colorado Springs

Samantha, who has worked at this restaurant for four years, shows off their delicious apple pie.
Catherine, the owner of this restaurant is a single mom and has operated this business fo 16 years.

Bon Ton's is in the heart of historic Old Colorado City.

Joke found in Colorado Springs on the "Bon Ton" restaurant menu:

Early one morning, a mother went in to wake up her son.
"Wake up, son, it's time to go to school."
"But why, mom? I don't want to go."
"Give me two reasons why you don't want to go."
"The kids hate me, one. And the teachers hate me, two."
"That's no reason not to go to school. Come on, now. Get ready."
"Give me two reasons why I should go to school."
Well, for one, you're 52 years old.
For another, you're the school principal.

Trinidad Diner, Trinidad, Colorado

The Trinidad Diner used to be a drive-in. The restaurant was physically moved across town and a patio area with additional seating was built around it.

John Smirniotis is the current owner. What a friendly place this was! Customers are greeted and treated like family here. Food is served up promptly and in ample portions.

Eleanor, our waitress, has lived in Trinidad her entire life. She has worked at this diner for ten years.

We topped off our meal with a delicious piece of blueberry pie.

La Brewja in Carrizozo, New Mexico

At La Brewja, would Andrea then be called a "brewjista?"













Cindy greets the friendly new kitten, "Mi amor"





What a delightful place this is! Interesting art work makes for a great atmosphere. Their specialty is healthy sandwiches, but they also serve delicious coffee, scones, and cookies. Their signature dessert is this carrot cake muffin, made with carrots, pineapple, whole wheat and walnuts.

The restaurant is owned by Loretta and her daughter, Andrea, both from nearby Ruidoso.

Loretta told us that a surprising number of "refugees" from New York, California and other urban areas are moving to the isolated small town of Carrizozo, in the middle of the New Mexico desert.

Mountain Top Mercantile in Cloudcroft

Marion and Teresa pose behind a display of some of the pies at the bakery of Mountain Top Mercantile in Cloudcroft. Their signature pie, "Fruits of the Forest" contains apples, rhubarb, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries.

The rich, flavorful crust of these pies certainly make them the best we've eaten in New Mexico.
Regular customers agree, as they pack the bakery to standing room only on weekends.







The flag of the state of New Mexico.

Michael and Peter Serve Boston Creme Pie

Boston Creme Pie is not really pie. Created by French chef M. Sanzian at Boston's Parker House Hotel, opened in 1855, this pudding /cake combination comprises two layers of sponge cake filled with vanilla custard or crème pâtissière.

It was served to us by two Boston natives, Michael and Peter, now living in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Peter and Michael have an impressive collection of turquoise jewelry. An expert can tell the mine of origin of the jewelry by the color, from green and greenish blue to sky blue. Click here to read more about the history of turquoise.

Memorial Day

Our locations

Tentative locations for each night on our trip out east:

June 4: Colorado Springs
June 5: Salina, Kansas
June 6 - 14: Jefferson, Iowa
June 14 : Chicago
June 15: Cleveland
June 16-23: Bliss, NY
June 23: Binghamton, NY
June 26-29: Gathersburg, MD

If you know of the best pie in these locations, please write to us!

The search for the best pies

Hi! We are Dale Emmert and Cindy Brace.
In June and July of 2009, we will be traveling across America looking for the diners and restaurants that serve the best pie. If you know of a place that serves great pie, please write to us!!!

There will be much more to come, so keep watching!