Celebrate National Pie Day(s): These Are A Few Of Our Favorite Pies

by Steven Doyle

There seems to be a dispute as to when National Pie Day is celebrated. We try to follow the food holidays as best and accurately as possible. One very reliable list marks today as pie day, and the Pie Council (I guess there is a Pie Council) states that it is in January. We say why chance it and go with both. You can never be too handsome or have too much pie.

Let there be no doubt, we like pie.

We have known our fair share of great pies. We are not sure we can limit our pie fever to just five, and we are not quite sure we can do that, so we plan on name dropping a lot of pies out of our pie-hole.

When we think of pie we almost always have an image of Norma’s Café pop up in our brains. Our favorites lean towards Peanut Butter, Chocolate, Buttermilk and Coconut Mile High at Norma’s. Was that the entire list on their menu? Almost.

The Mescal & Key Lime Meringue Pie at Smoke rates high on our list of favorites.

More Key Lime from The Place at Perry’s.

We have talked about this pie several times and once even listed the recipe. The Coconut Pie at Malai’s is one of the best examples of pie we have ever tasted.

We were actually tipped off to Pie Day by local radio aficionado Chris Jagger. He said he was off to The Original Market Diner on Harry Hines for a slice and that reminded us of a recent pie visit. This Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie will sooth the savage radio mobster, but their best seller is the Coconut Cream.

There can be no pie list in Dallas without the careful inclusion of the pastry from Mama’s Daughters Diner. There is always a safe selection of pie to end each meal at the diner, including breakfast.

Another great traditional pie in Dallas comes from Highland Park Cafeteria, which is no longer in Highland Park but still a very awesome cafeteria. Each day they make from scratch a giant list of pies from their original recipes. You may buy them by the slice or whole to-go. If you spot the fabulous Millionare Pie, grab it and call us.

There can be no baked goods mentioned here without including one of our favorites, Empire Baking Company. You can usually get a sample before you buy a whole pie, and there is always a great selection. We are partial to their Texas Pecan.