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buffetbuster
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Re:My Year in Roadfood (2011)
Wed, 01/11/12 3:24 PM
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Okay, now that we have other foods out of the way, we can finally get serious and discuss pie! There is too much great pie here to confine it to a list of just ten, so: TOP 20 PIES 20. Cherry Pie - Peggy Sue's Steak and Ribs (Walhonding, OH)  A very unlikely name and location for a premier pie palace, but as soon as walk in the door and see the pie room immediately to the left, you know you have found a place serious about their pies. There seems to always be a good 15+ different pies always available and we tried quite a few of them. The tall, lattice topped cherry, with nicely tart fruit was our favorite. 19. Blackberry Pie - Purple Pie Place (Custer, SD)  This was actually cousin Johnny's pie, but he was nice enough to share. We really liked the way the sweet juice from the berries soaked into the bottom part of the crust, making the pie cobbler-like. 18. Funeral Pie - Hoosier Mama (Chicago, IL)  Has anyone ever heard of a funeral pie before? This was a first for me. A tasty combination of dark raisins, golden raisins, rum, apple cider and lemon juice, in a soft, sugar topped crust. 17. Oatmeal Pie - Connor's Cafe (Heyburn, ID)  Looking for a pie stop to break up the monotonous drive from Boise to Salt Lake City, I got lucky and found this excellent small town cafe and maker of first rate pies. This was also my first experience with oatmeal pie. It had the consistency of a pecan pie without the nuttiness. Delicious! 16. Buttermilk Pie - Hill Country Cupboard (Johnson City, TX)  Truthfully, the only reason why I ordered the buttermilk pie was that the other choices at Hill Country Cupboard was even less exciting. But, this pleasantly eggy and slightly tart slice of pie was a real gem. And I don't know if the photo properly shows it, but this was as pretty a pie as I saw all year. 15. Blueberry Pie - Maine Diner (Wells, ME)  When you think of Maine, you think of blueberries, but how the fruit tasted so fresh in December was a surprise. I'm not normally a fan of ice cream with pie, but the combination of the two was heaven. 14. Maple Cream Pie - P & H Truck Stop (Wells River, VT)  What dessert could be more Vermont than maple cream pie? And this pie delivers maximum maple flavor! 13. Coconut Cream Pie - Woodruff's Cafe & Pie Shop (Monroe, VA)  In an incredibly friendly small town cafe in rural Virginia, we found some of the best pies of the year. The coconut filling was wonderful, but that delicate crust and airy meringue was undoubtedly made by someone who really knows what she is doing. I'm no fan of coconut, but this pie could make me a convert. 12. Do-si-do Pie - Colonnade Restaurant (Atlanta, GA)  Yet another pie I encountered for the first time in 2011. Whether or not any Do-si-do Girl Scout cookies were harmed in the making of this pie, I'm not sure. But, it was an irrestible combination of peanut butter, chocolate, whipped topping and a layer of oatmeal crust. 11. Lemon Cream Pie - Upper Krust (Kansas City, MO)  Located in the basement of a really nice cookingware store, Upper Krust had a dazzling array of pies on display. Unfortunately, they don't sell by the slice, so I was limited to whole pies or their mini pies. The best I tried was the lemon cream, with the wonderfully sweet and tart filling and the light whipped topping. This is a place that needs to be explored much more! 10. Idleberry Pie - Idle Isle Cafe (Brigham City, UT)  One of the sweetest pies I remember, idleberry pie is a combination of blueberries, blackberries and boysenberries, all in a wonderfully soft crust. 9. Chocolate Pie - Bohannon's Brietzke Station (Seguin, TX)  If you are outside of Bohannon's Brietzke Station, you are either a pie lover or you are seriously lost, because this place is in the middle of nowhere! The meringue was fine, but that is a deep, rich fudgy filling on this pies what sets it apart. And the ladies who work here are incredibly nice. 8. Blueberry Pie - High 5 Pie (Seattle, WA)  We were tipped off to this place by the The Travelin Man. My marionberry pie was excellent and probably deserves a spot on this list, but my girlfriend's blueberry pie was even better. Lots of sweet blueberries in a rugged crust that met the fork with resistance. And it was just the right pie for adding ice cream. 7. Smores Pie - Texan Cafe (Hutto, TX)  If I have to explain to you why this pie finished so high up on the list, then you are either not a dessert lover or you need to get your eyes checked! This pie is not for the faint of heart! 6. Apple Fried Pie - Woodruff's Cafe & Pie Shop (Monroe, VA)  I believe the fried pies at Woodruff's are made by the owner's mother, Mary Fannie Woodruff, who is well into her 90's. Larger than the typical fried pie, it was ultra-soft and had a strong taste of cinnamon. The best fried pie I have ever had! 5. Watermelon Pie - Farmer's Kitchen (Atlantic, IA)  Yet another pie I have never seen before, but only heard about from ayersian. This may seem like an odd pie, but it absolutely works. Those are big chunks of watermelon inside the pie. 4. Chocolate Pie - Blanco Bowling Club (Blanco, TX)  This pie had a delicious chocolate filling, but it is the airy, skyscraper meringue that gets this pie noticed. And it is a thing of beauty! This small town restaurant gets bonus points for being inside a bowling alley. 3. Lemon Ice Box - Silver Skillet (Atlanta, GA)  After a big breakfast of pork chops, country ham and biscuits, this slice of pie was just a joy to eat. I love lemon ice box pie and this one sets the standard. 2. Sour Cream Raisin Pie - Crystal Cafe (South Sioux City, NE)  I ate a lot of bad sour cream raisin pie in 2011, but this was not one of them. The meringue on top was a bit too much and kept trying to slide off of the rest of the pie. But that filling, with just the right balance between sweet and sour was world class! 1. Sour Cream Raisin Pie - Farmer's Kitchen (Atlantic, IA)  The winner and still champ, this pie is my favorite two years in a row. I almost feel guilty for crowing about the pie at Farmer's Kitchen, because they have so much other great food besides pie. But, Charlene Johnson is such a gifted pie maker, these can't be ignored. Similar to Crystal Cafe, this pie strikes a delicious balance between sweet and sour, but the delicate meringue here is simply perfect. Because I had the watermelon pie in the restaurant, I got this slice to go. Even though it wasn't eaten until several hours later (outside of Nick's Hamburgers in Brookings, SD), this is undoubtedly the best pie I have ever eaten. Next Five In: 1. Marionberry Pie - Bipartisan Cafe (Portland, OR) 2. Peanut Butter Pie - Texan Cafe (Hutto, TX) 3. Butterscotch Pie - Gus Balon's (Tucson, AZ) 4. Banana Carmel Pie - Honey Pie (Milwaukee, WI) 5. Shoofly Pie - Dutch Kitchen (Frackville, PA)
<message edited by buffetbuster on Thu, 01/12/12 8:23 AM>
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