New York’s Best Fall Pies

First, the food forecasters said fried chicken was the new burger and pies are the new cupcakes. We think there’s room for allof the above, but pie season is in full swing right now and we couldn’t be more excited by the possibilities this fall. We appreciate old school pies, like the apple and pumpkin pies from Bubby’s, just as much as Four and Twenty Blackbirds modern bourbon pear and caramel apple pies.  Pies-n-Thighs has a winning concord grape pie with an ingenious black pepper crust.  Even places like Serendipity are getting into the action with an expectedly decadent peanut butter pie sundae. Don’t put down your fork just yet,  there’s a lot more to sample this season.

 

First Prize Pies

Phone: (646) 338-6812
Website: firstprizepies.com

It all started when Allison Kave won the 1^st Annual Brooklyn Pie-Off in 2009 with her bourbon ginger pecan pie.  Two years later, she’s still winning us over with her creative First Prize Pies. In addition to her award-winning pecan pie, she also makes a terrific shaker lemon, shoo fly, apple cheddar, and margarita pie.  For Thanksgiving, you might consider ordering one of her pumpkin pie, filled with fresh, local sugar pumpkins, molasses, and pure maple syrup. Or for a non-traditional holiday ending, try Kave’s S’more pie, a graham cracker crust filled with milk chocolate ganache, and topped with handmade toasted marshmallow fluff. 

Ivy Bakery

Address: 138 West Houston
Phone: (347) 598-3452
Website: ivybakery.com

Ivy Bakery takes the concept of a pie shop to a whole new level.  Their selection is so extensive they categorize them by type here  They bake vegetable pies, fruit pies, deep dish pies,  cream, nut, and on.  For fall, there’s an outstanding sweet potato pie, butterscotch pie and chocolate custard pie.  One of our favorites is the buttermilk pie — part crème brulee, part egg custard, part flan.  Owner Daniella Louis bakes each pie from crust to filling from scratch, so plan ahead for holiday orders.

 

Little Pie Company

Address: 424 W. 43rd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues
Phone: (212) 736-4780
Website: littlepiecompany.com

We love apple pie, which is why we’re obsessed with the sour cream apple walnut pie at the Little Pie Company.  A phenomenal twist on the traditional, their twist on this classic is made of Granny Smith apples mixed with fresh sour cream, and topped with a brown sugar, cinnamon and walnut streusel.  If you’re tired of the same old pies, try their Mississipi mud pie or  the ‘little pie sampler’ with a mini version of each fall pie.

 

 

Myers of Keswick

Address: 634 Hudson between Horatio and Jane Streets
Phone: (212) 691-4194
Website: myersofkeswick.com 

Mince pie gets a bad rap in America. Perhaps it’s the name, which you might associate with a savory meat pie.  But head to England and you’ll find it in most bakery windows. Mincemeat is not meat at all, but finely chopped or minced fruit mixed with spices and dried fruits, and it happens to be delicious.  Myers of Keswich is trying to keep this UK classic alive with their fresh   The good news is that the impending holiday madness means Myers of Keswick will be baking fresh mince pies through the Christmas holiday

 

 

Serendipidity

Address: 225 E. 60th St. between 2nd and 3rd Avenues

Website: www.serendipity3.com

Phone: (212) 838-3531
If it sounds excessive, that’s because it always is at Serendipidity, but deliciously so. While a good pie doesn’t need ice cream,it never hurts. Leave it to Serendipity  to take pie a la mode an indulgent step further.  It starts with a creamy peanut butter in a graham cracker crust, then comes ice cream, bananas, hot fudge, and of course,  whipped cream. There’s also a cinnamon fudge version with apple pie, caramel topping, and whipped cream.  Hey, you only live once.

Four and Twenty Blackbirds

Address: 439 3rd Avenue and 8th Street (Brooklyn)

Phone: (718) 499-2917

Website: birdsblack.com

While you may have to wait in line for a slice at Four & Twenty Blackbirds, it’s well worth it. Everything from the crust to the filling is made by hand at this Gowanus bakery. There are a number of seasonal pies to choose from, like the salted caramel apple, ginger pear, bourbon pear, plum, and plum crumble. Beyond the fall fruit pies, there’s also the custard variety, including salty honey, maple buttermilk, and our new favorite, the black bottom oatmeal. Slicing into the black bottom oatmeal pie is like biting into a fresh-from -of-the-oven oatmeal cookie. The crunch of oats on the outside meets a gooey center, all on top of a chocolate bottom.

 

 

Bubby’s Pie Company
Address: 120 Hudson Street and N. Moore Street (second location in Brooklyn)
Phone: (212) 219-0666
Website: bubbys.com

This time of year just about every bakery hastheir own twist on an apple pie.Sometimes, you just want a no-nonsense slice of old school pie, which iswhy we love Bubby’s “mile-high apple pie.”.  It comes piled high with apples and seasoned with  cinnamon and cloves. Skip the a la mode,this pie speaks for itself.     

 

Pies-n-Thighs
Address: 166 S. 4th Street at Driggs Avenue
Phone: (347) 529-6090
Website: piesnthighs.com

Pies-n-Thighs serves — you guessed it – piesand thighs. The fried chicken is reason enough to stop into this Brooklyn soul-food spot, but they also sell pie by the slice to sweeten the deal. For fall, there’s a terrific sour cherry pie, plum crisp, and sweet potato pie.   If you’re even half as obsessed with concord grapes as we are, snag  a slice of the concord grape pie. What appears is an oversized slice stuffed with a rich concord grape filling in a black pepper shortbread crust, lending this pie a unique bite.

 

 

Hill Country Chicken
Address: 1123 Broadway between 25th and 26th Streets
Phone: (212) 257-6446
Website: hillcountrychicken.com 

If you can’t make it to Brooklyn for a fried chicken-n-pie combo, there’s also Hill Country Chicken in Manhattan.  Their pies range from traditional to unique offerings, like crème brulee, the salted margarita in a pretzel crust, and the cowboy. Crème brulee is a classic dessert, but you rarely find it stashed inside a graham cracker crust, giving it a boost of texture and crunch., After an order of fried chicken, you may only have room for a little something sweet, which is why the mini,pies are a genius offering here.  We like the three-inch cowboy pie – graham cracker crust filled with dark chocolate, butterscotch chips, dried coconut, and toasted pecans – which essentially is a candy bar in pie form.