Fresh Baked Friday: The Pie Place

I still have an entire half hour of Friday left -- so I can still technically post this week's Fresh Baked Friday!
I have been excited to post this for a WHILE now, but just haven't had the time to get out to the deep south.

Let's get one thing strait: I love pie.  I had a friend back in college who once told me he'd never had pie.  Once I regained consciousness after fainting in shock and horror, I baked him a warm apple pie because no human deserves to go a lifetime without the heavenly kiss of a flaky crust on their lips (yes, I truly feel that way about pie).

So what better way to spend my Friday night than by making a long awaited stop at The Pie Place on the way home from a soccer game?  I certainly can't think of one.

Thanks, thepieplace.net

I surprised PID with a few of his favorites (while picking up a few for myself) and we took a detour from our road to healthier living to indulge in a few (bagillion) calories. Hey, it's the holidays. Cut me some slack.

We'll start with the....oh wait, they're all desserts.

(By the way, let me just preface this by saying that while we tried a BITE of each of these desserts to provide you - my loving readers - with a genuine review, we fought the urge to eat every last morsel in one sitting. The idea was to indulge in a sweet treat, not go to bed with a massive 2nd grade, November 1st reminiscent tummy ache.)

These sprinkles reminded me of summer soft serve twisty-cones after a softball game. It took me back to my childhood. And the icing was by far the best I've had in the city.  Not too buttery, not too slimy.  It was JUST right!

If I had one complaint about my Red Velvet cupcake (with yum-mazing cream cheese icing) it was that I shouldn't have waited until 10 minutes before closing time to drop in and pick up my baked goods.  No matter how fresh, fluffy and delicious a cupcake tastes at 9 a.m. when it first comes out of the oven it manages to loose a bit of that warm crumbly perfection over time. I ate it at 10 p.m. so I engaged in a mini-war with the parchment paper which was exhibiting signs of postpartum depression and didn't want to come off clean from the trunk of the cupcake. But again, this was my fault.  The moment I bit down I could tell that had it not been cool and slightly stale from a day of sitting, it would have been sheer perfection.

We liked the cupcakes, but we were more excited to move on to the mini pies!

 PID is a coco-NUT so I brought him home a Coconut Creme mini.  He tried his first (after I selfishly ripped it out of his eager fingers to snap a pic) and was surprised at how fresh it still tasted. His favorite part? Of course, the flaky crust!

 Remember before when I said I loved pie?  Well have I mentioned that I REALLY LOVE pie?  More specifically I really love Key Lime Pie.  Mama TOP always loved this when I was growing up and I always thought she was weird (Mom -- I must now apologize for underestimating your taste all those years).  Who wants a PIE that tastes like a beverage garnish? I thought.  Well 20 years later this girl's eating her words...er...thoughts while CONSTANTLY eating this pie. Its by far my favorite dessert and I look for it everywhere we go.

When I walked in the door at The Pie Place, a Key Lime stared me right in the face.  But sadly, PID doesn't like Key Lime Pie so I sadly had to walk on by.  But what did I see in the very next case but MINI KEY LIME PIES!!!  I could get one just for me!

The crust had a delicious sugar coating and was fabulously flaky. The filling? The creamiest, dreamiest i have ever bit in to. The only complaint I had about this little bugger was that I could have used MORE filling!

 The Swiss Chocolate and Reese's minis were also excellent!  But we must get to the TART of it all...

The Triple Berry Tart was a last minute addition to my carry-out order.  I made the poor girl at the counter re-ring me after I decided I couldn't walk out without it.  And thank goodness I did.

This thing was good. Berry good! (zing.) The fruits tastes fresh and there was just enough "tart" (I've had too much and it's just not pretty).  The crust was crispy which was an excellent textural contrast to the gooey berry filling. I'm kinda sad we saved this for last because we were already full but did NOT want to stop eating.

Oh well. Guess what's for breakfast tomorrow?

The Pie Place prices lay right between pricey and inexpensive. I wouldn't venture to say they're either. A full pie will set you back $19.95 while a bag of peanut butter puppy treats will cost you $2.00.  They also have ice cream at a per-scoop price, they cater and they offer wholesale pricing as well! Here are your cliffs notes:

4 mini pies @ $2.95

2 cupcakes @ 3.00

1 Fruit Tart @ 4.95 (at least that's what she told me, although if my math is correct I believe she only charged me $2.95.  So I'd ask if I were you!)

Total: $20.75

Overall Opinion?

Dear Pie Place,

Please open one slightly closer to me.

Or on second thought, don't.  I need to work on healthy eating and probably wouldn't have the willpower if your delicious pies were sold any closer to home.

Sincerely yours,

TOP

Details:

The Pie Place
1775 N. Highland Ave (near South Hills Village behind Leonard's)
412-835-4410
Hours:
M-Th 7a - 7p
Fri-Sat 7a - 9p
Sun 8a - 5p