Mission Im-pie-sible

Onion burgers in El Reno are quite good.
 
We had 2 dogs with us so we ate at Sid's.  They had a picnic table outdoors... for the dogs. 

And just think, I had Rice krispies for breakfast.

This has been a terrific report!  Of the onion burger places in El Reno, I think Robert's Grill makes the best.  So how did the puppy handle the long car ride?  What kind of dog is it?

Great report,great pictures, I'll be in Scottsdale in a few weeks, looking forward to some Chicken & Waffles. I feel when a person thinks about coconut cream pie during breakfast, that's what makes them a true Roadfood member. Thx for the trip report........pnwc

love2bake


If you or others are interested, here's a link to apply to judge or volunteer in a variety of jobs:  http://www.piecouncil.org...ricanPieFestival  

It looks like the specific classes are for sweet pies only...are there ever any savory entries in the Open class?

1bbqboy


Nothing better than CFS for breakfast.

YES!  Especially if they're made from scratch, in-house. 

Mar - you must have been traveling at a much better time of year!  So happy to hear you took your two dogs.
 
ICM - I eat a LOT of cereal, too--not CFS--especially when breakfast is included with my hotel room.
 
BB - Here's how my puppy (rescued Havanese mix) looked at the time.  He was around 4 mos. old, and slept a lot.  He also started losing his baby teeth on this trip--I found them everywhere.

 
pnw - Thank you--have a great time in AZ!!  Yes, even if I'm ready to pop, I've learned to plan for when I'm going to be hungry enough to eat dessert.
 
Screaming - You're right--so far the rules state that all entries must be sweet.  It would be interesting if they started a savory category, and for judges who've had way too much sugar, it would be very welcome!

From Oklahoma, I drove to St. Louis to visit a friend I met in pastry school.  Her family made us a wonderful, classic dinner of steak (her brother was a butcher at a local grocery store), mashed potatoes, beans, rolls, and a strawberry truffle pie (sorry--no pics!)  It was great.  Next time, though, I really want to go to some of the regional favorite restaurants!  The next day we went to the famous Ted Drewes frozen custard stand--a long-time goal of mine.  I loved the concrete I got with Tedad cookies, caramel sauce, and pecans mixed in.
http://roadfood.com/Resta...verview/296/ted-drewes

It's never too cold for ice cream!!
Speaking of which, the next stop on my journey was at the Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen in Louisville, KY. 
http://roadfood.com/Resta...-cream-and-pie-kitchen
This shop is fantastic--the array of pies, cakes, and ice cream available is dazzling, and the quality was excellent.  I tried a number of things here, including the Dutch Apple Pie, French Silk Pie, Kentucky Bourbon Pecan Pie, Shaker Sugar Pie, and a cupcake.  My favorite was the Kentucky Bourbon Pecan Pie (also had chocolate in it).  It was one of the best pies I've ever tasted, period!  It was so rich I could not finish it in one sitting, no matter how much I wanted to.  My second favorite was the French Silk Pie.  Both of these are unusual choices for me, as I'm not typically a big chocolate fan; however, they were both outstanding.  Sadly, I don't have pictures of half of the items I ordered, because I ordered them to go, and when I had to make a sudden stop while driving, several boxes fell over and didn't look good enough for pics.  So I now always take photos before driving away!
Here's the Kentucky Bourbon Pecan Pie:

 
Here's the Shaker Sugar Pie:

 
Here's the yellow cupcake with caramel icing--funny little thing, isn't it!

 
Next, I arrived at my sister's home in Warrenton, VA, home of the Red Truck Bakery and Carousel Frozen Custard stand.  I'll be back with that report soon!

What a cute puppy!
 
We've made the trip in the summer which was too hot and the winter which meant a different route which was not as interesting.. foodwise.
 
You're hitting some great spots! 
 
That you with the custard?  Looking good!  I need to do that!
 
Those pies are amazing looking.
 
Great pictures.  The driving away before taking a picture isn't my problem.... the eating of item before taking a picture happens more often.
 
Keep 'em coming!

My last trip to Ted Drewe's did not end so well, it was so HOT out that when I showed my friends that a concrete wouldnt come out of the cup....
 
PLOP!!!!

I would very much like to try that Shaker Sugar Pie!

LOL Mar (re: eating before taking pics).  I think we've all done that!  Yep--thanks--that's me.  I wish I could come to New Orleans and meet people, but for now, I decided it would be okay to "unstealth" myself. 
 
Cajun - Nooooo!!!  You lost your concrete???  That's so sad.
 
rumaki - that Shaker Sugar Pie is definitely a regional specialty.  It's a simple pie that wasn't over-the-top sweet as I thought it might be.  I hope you can get there to try it!  If not, there are recipes online, or you can probably find it in a number of states--maybe in yours?  I remember seeing some sugar pie entries at the National Pie Championships last year.

Terrific report, love2bake! I remember watching that Food Network special on TV and all those luscious pies. Cute, cute puppy too!

love2bake...  Nice to meet you. 

tcrouzer - Thanks!  We all wish Food Network would come back, as it's great publicity.  As it is, the two years I've gone we received a little national attention on the Today Show, as they did a short broadcast with Willard Scott during the 8:30 - 9:00a time slot.  
 
Mar - Thanks!  I'm working up to a SoCal trip sometime this year and will try to coordinate with you.
 
So here we are in Warrenton, VA, and this is a medium cone at Carousel Frozen Treats:

 
Honestly, when I ordered it I had no idea it would be this big, but I did manage to finish it, of course.  Open since 1999, this place serves a lot more than frozen custard, although I've not tried anything else.  These soft serves can be swirled with any number of flavors (the above one was orange) and I can recommend it without hesitation.  On my way out of town I went back for a small butterscotch swirl in a cup:

 
In the shopping strip right next to the Carousel is Cafe Torino & Bakery, serving a variety of Italian style pastries and lunch and dinner.  Naturally, I went for the pastries...

 
Also in town is the Red Truck Bakery, recently written up on Roadfood:
http://roadfood.com/Resta.../7877/red-truck-bakery
The frosted red truck sugar cookies could not be any cuter!

 
I also tried their mango and macadamia nut muffin:

 
I did have a beef with this place, however.  In order to try their signature, highly acclaimed Moonshine Whiskey Cake, I would have had to buy a whole cake--they did not sell individual slices of it, nor of many of their other items.  It would be nice if they revised this policy (maybe they have by now), as I'm sure I'm not the only customer who has no need for a whole cake or pie, but would love to have more of their baked goods.
 
Leaving Warrenton and heading south next.  Back soon!
 

I want that ice cream!  Custard!  That is so intriguing.  I've never seen one like it.
 
As far as SoCal... Sounds like a plan.

How do they do that?!
It looks most wonderful.
I'm guessing that's caramel.

Mar - It's so hard to find frozen custard in CA.  What's up with that!
 
MJ - I don't have a clue has to how they do that--some special equipment, for sure!  This one was orange, but I will probably try the caramel this year.
 
So, I headed south from Warrenton and stayed overnight in Manning, SC.  Along the way, I crossed into "Bojangles country" (fast food haters please forgive!) and got a Cajun Fillet Biscuit.  It was fresh, perfectly spiced (for me, anyway), and I loved it.

 
In Manning, SC, there were two BBQ places:  McCabe's Bar-B-Que and D&H Bar-B-Que.  I asked the hotel staff which one they recommended, and they said D&H.  Let's just say next time I'd try McCabe's.
Here's the pork BBQ close up.  Now, I typically like the vinegar-based Carolina style of BBQ, but theirs just didn't work for me.  Still, obviously some do love it!

 
The hush puppies looked fabulous, but they'd been sitting around a while and weren't fresh.   Boo!

 
No biggie - I saved some calories for my next stop: Celebration, Florida, home of the National Pie Championships!
 
On my first day at the competition, I volunteered as a bakers' assistant, assigned to help an amateur competitor get simple things done, such as cleaning various utensils they'd used, providing them with a few hotel-provided utensils they might need, etc.  Competitors must bring their own ingredients and any special equipment required other than what is provided on site.  Bakers' assistants cannot provide any preparation advice or help in making the pies.  (See a typical baking station set-up below.)  I loved watching the men and women at work. 

 
Also on this day, all of the commercial pie entries are judged. (The photos at the very top of this thread show the astounding commercial pie display.)  I've not volunteered to judge commercial pies; however, once the judging is completed, volunteers can try ANY and EVERY commercial pie they want to.  And we do! 
 
Here are a few pics of some of the commercial pies from 2011.  Unfortunately, the pies do not have names for the display--only the company's name.  When I took these pics, some tables will look empty as not all companies had arrived yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 
Next time, it's amateur pie judging day!  "I'll be back."

Just WOW!
 
(Boo to bacon)
 
love2bake:  Nothing wrong with having a Cajun Fillet Biscuit as I don't believe you'll find one anywhere in California.  That means it's Roadfood for us.
 
Those pies are amazing.  I love the spiral braid.  I've never seen anything like that  before.
 
I also like the (what I think is) Apricot lattice.  I'm hoping that lattice is made with almond paste.
 
Dreaming....

Buffet Buster:  Eat your heart out.
 
Paul E. Smith
knoxville, TN

Mar - Yes--I loved the braiding!  It was new to me, and there were several that year.  I tried one and found the pastry tough, though--I don't know if all of them were like that or not.  That apricot (or peach?) lattice was particularly beautiful, and the meringue pie was one of the prettiest I've seen, although it didn't photograph so well.  Almond is a natural with apricot. :)
 
Sundancer - I've strongly suggested to BB that he get himself to this event at some point, either as a volunteer or judge!

love2bake


http://roadfood.com/Resta...verview/296/ted-drewes

It's never too cold for ice cream!!

You realize you're every mans dream, a woman that looks that good and can eat like that. LOL. My wife says the same thing about Ice Cream but my customers disagree, when it gets cold they disappear.

I kept looking for peach desert in Georgia, the only thing I found was a peach cream pie and it was far to mucky.

Hahaha Ice Cream Man - maybe when I was half my age!
 
Seems to me that selling ice cream in colder climates is an ideal occupation, as you can make money when the most customers are there and be off several months when the weather's at its worst (and visit Cocoa Beach!).  I think Ted Drewes sells Christmas trees during its off season, which is an interesting idea, too.

Beautiful report L2B!
 
Nice hoodie!

I don't even think about being busy in the off season anymore, one of the perks of getting older, 6 months on, 6 months off. That soft serve medium on a sugar cone is the same size as ours I've yet figured out how to make a large one. The ripple is put on with a 10,000 dollar add on to the soft serve machine, gives you 8 flavours, you can put 2 on a machine for 16 flavours. We don't do that, we have the old fashion dips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-DYA5iHjeg

That machine is AMAZING!
 
Ice Cream Man...  If you could invent a dipping chocolate that doesn't (didn't?) leak... you could then buy yourself that machine!

Thanks, CC!  More pies and roadfood coming up shortly.
 
ICM - that video is awesome!  Thank you so much for sharing that.  Dip cones are a fine thing, too.  I love them.  Btw, I've never had a peach cream pie that was anything special, either. 

Awesome! I, however, like the bacon added to a pie....