photo: courtesy of Bridget Montgomery; get a slice at Pie
Pie is an understated pastry. Long overshadowed in life's list of craveable desserts by delicate, chichi tarts and elaborately decorated cakes, the humble pie deserves more play. From rustic double-crust fruit pies to silky cream pies loaded with whipped cream, nothing says go-on-and-get-your-fingers-dirty decadence like a fat piece of pie. Happily, it is possible to ferret out a killer slice in this cake-saturated city. Here's where we go to score a wow-worthy wedge.
Hoosier Mama Pie Company bakes classic diner pie like no other
Paula Haney raided a stack of old cookbooks before starting Hoosier Mama Pie Company—and the research shows in every scrumptious bite of classic diner pie. Look for old Southern classics like maple pecan pie, classic apple and lemon chess pie, layered with thick, viscous lemon custard. Banana, chocolate or coconut cream, key lime and lemon meringue all beg to be taste-tested, while the peanut butter pie made with a gingersnap crust and salted peanuts is absolutely addictive. There's no storefront to this bakery, so stop by Glenn's Diner, Dollop Coffee Co., Metropolis Coffee Co., Unicorn Cafe or the recently opened Noble Tree Coffee & Tea for one of these noteworthy nibbles.
Lovely: A Bake Shop keeps it sweet, Southern and, yes, lovely
Chockfull of farmhouse furniture, like wooden rocking chairs and oilcloth-covered barstools, Lovely: A Bake Shop is the perfect small-town-feeling spot to take a break from the big city and indulge your pie-loving sweet tooth. Tucked among the jars of homemade jam, star-shaped muffins and pink-icing-topped cupcakes are plenty of rustic, mouthwatering pies. Brooke Daily and Gina Howie, co-owners who met at the French Pastry School, bake up a rotating roster that ranges from sweet (s’mores pie with silky chocolate, buttery graham crackers and gooey marshmallow) to tart (creamy lemon custard under a mountain of feather-light meringue). Wash it all down with mugs of Intelligentsia coffee or glasses of sweet Southern iced tea.
Tipsycake will have you sending your fork Down Under
Picture it: a concave crumb crust filled with layers of fresh bananas and fudge, drizzled with condensed milk that's been boiled into a thick toffee, and piled high with whipped cream. It's known as a Banoffi pie, and it's 10 times as tasty as it sounds (believe it). Aussie-transplant Naomi Levine has brought a line of desserts from Down Under to Chicago's West Side. In addition to Banoffi pie, sample the quirky Hungarian Pancake Pie, piled high with crepe-like pancakes, sweet jam, Belgian chocolate, chopped pecans and whipped cream. Though you can’t order either by the slice at this itty-bitty bakery, somehow whole pies never seem to languish long.
Medici on 57th is a South Side staple for apple extravaganza
There are no short cuts to killer dessert, and the apple pie at Medici is worth the wait. A thick wedge of apple pie is slowly warmed in the oven and then topped with sweet vanilla ice cream and homemade whipped cream. The end creation is like a party for the mouth: gooey bits of cinnamon-flecked apples, melting mouthfuls of creamy ice cream, and a flake-at-the-fork buttery crust. A pie so tasty it honors the baker who created it, Gracie's Apple Pie has made Medici the go-to spot for apple pie on the South Side for almost 20 years. Non-fruit fans can opt for a salt-tinged slice of super-gooey pecan pie and both are available whole or by the slice in the adjoining bakery.
Pie can cure any crusty craving you've got
The name says it all. This pie-only place is located in the back of a floral design studio owned by two of the bakery's investors. There, filling every nook and cranny of the ample yellow display case, you'll find temptation in every hue, flavor and season. Think blueberry, lemon chess, lemon meringue, peanut butter, chocolate cream, banana cream, key lime, maple pecan, coconut cream, apple and pumpkin—pies so plentiful (and wonderfully redolent) it would take a ravenous appetite to sample them all. Bonus: most of the pies are made with organic ingredients and can either be sold whole, by the slice or frozen—so when you heat it up at home, you can pass that sweet pastry goodness off as your own.
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