Pies: meh.
Everyone has their favorites. When it comes to dessert, pies have always been easy to skip. Even pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. Just, no thank you. It leaves more stomach space for cookies and banana bread.
Even when a food isn’t a favorite, a decent critic can still understand the characteristics of a good pie, a critic understands a quality filling and appreciates a flaky crust.
So read these words carefully:
If anyone eats my last piece of Stevens Tollhouse Pie, I will punch them right in the face.
Because Stevens Bakery & Orchard has caused a serious conversion in pie-attitude. It makes pies so good, they’re worth fighting for. It bakes pies that make you feel conflicted: you want to share the joy; you want to hoard the joy.
Case in point, the aforementioned Tollhouse Pie. There’s a flaky crust, yes — but inside, it’s not just a chocolate chip cookie. Nooooo, at the bottom are dark chips, then pecans, then a brown sugar crust forms at the top to hold it all together. That’s right, a sugary crust. The world needs more of that.
Even cherry pie is good. The filling isn’t that neon red, goopy stuff. And it’s not the too-sour, pale glop either. It’s perfect: a pink-tinged red with a little tartness, a little sweetness, and a whole bunch of natural cherries.
Steven Bakery & Orchard is located in Springfield, Ohio. According to the website, it makes 25 flavors of pie, and they’re available at gourmet grocers here in Columbus. A half-pie is $9.99, and totally worth it.
The pies are packaged in a plain white cardboard box. On that box, these words are printed: “With God, all things are possible”. Apparently, there’s something to that; pie had never been a favorite – but Stevens Bakery & Orchard made a believer out of this critic.
For more information, visit www.stevensbakeryandorchard.com.