Growing up on the East Coast, the Fourth of July was all about beef hot dogs and hamburgers, apple pie and Budweiser — all of which was a prologue to a family walk to our traditional spot near the George Washington Bridge to watch fireworks launched from a barge floating in the Hudson River. It was a fine ritual.
These days, beef hot dogs have been upgraded to sausages made of every manner of exotic meat. The hamburgers are exotic as well (or possibly vegan). The beer is craft-made and richly flavored. And though apple pie will never go away, it’s just one of the many pies and pastries and ice creams and sorbets and gelatos we gobble.
These days, the fireworks are watched on TV, especially this year since it’s been such a dry winter, heralding a summer of fire danger.
Apple will always be the iconic pie of choice, for unlike blueberry or raspberry or any number of exotic flavors, it comes with a tasty history. In the 1700s, Dutch and German immigrants brought with them a flaky, buttery crust, to which the English Pilgrims added apples, sliced and spiced. So iconic is the apple pie that it’s found in “American Cookery,” the first known American cookbook, published in 1796.
And the phrase, “As American as apple pie”? It began with folktales about Johnny Appleseed. During World War II, it was offered as a patriotic slogan to motivate soldiers to fight for “mom and apple pie.”
And yet, as with so many of the sundry Fourth of July rituals, apple pie no longer stands alone — anymore than pumpkin pie is the only dessert inhaled during the Thanksgiving feeding frenzy. After a day of duck sausages and Impossible Beef burgers, served on organic buns with homemade relish and ketchup, washed down with a bottle or three of Sam Adams Summer Ale, a young overeater’s fancy turns to a red, white & blue flag cake; individual cherry pies; stars & stripes cupcakes; strawberry-rhubarb shortcake; watermelon granita; red velvet-blueberry ice cream pie — and so much more.
I’ll never get tired of apple pie — especially the oversized, apple-packed model sold for next to nothing at Costco. But my restless soul craves variety. Especially after a year of pandemic isolation. I have various family members who make some very fine pies. But I’m also fond of store- and restaurant-bought pies, created by some of our best pie and pastry shops. Where to go? Consider the following…and happy Fourth to one and all!
Costco
2640 Lomita Blvd., Torrance, 310-891-1020; 14501 Hindry Ave., Hawthorne, 310-727-0403; www.costco.com
The prices for Costco pies — including their sublime apple pies and pumpkin pies — are reasonable, and then some. Especially when you consider not just the quality of the pies, but also the size, arguably twice as big as any other pies on the market.
I’ve always wondered if the pies are a loss leader, since the amount of fruit alone would seem to be barely covered by the cost of the pies. That said, they’re a wonder, and a joy — the very quintessence of holiday pie. I’ve been known to sit with a fork, and eat the filling out of the crust. This does not make my family happy. But it makes me ecstatic.
And, depending on the branch you go to, you should expect to find a 70-ounce pecan pie, a lattice crust apple, an early pumpkin, key lime and cherry pie. There’s an All-American Chocolate Cake too (that’s what they call it!). It’s good, even great. But it ain’t pie.
Hermosa Pie & Cake
33 Hermosa Ave., Hermosa Beach; 310-374-2323, www.hermosapieandcake.com
The website for Hermosa Pie & Cake speaks volumes about the pies, especially the apple which is clearly the “apple of their eye,” proclaiming that they “carefully select our pie apples under the following criteria: They must be non-GMO. They must be barn apples, not warehouse apples. They must be from the Pacific Northwest, and they must be in-season. Our apple pies are big, fat and juicy. The crust is golden flaky and buttery with just the right amount of sugar. We have fresh-baked apple pie daily and you should try one of our old-world apple strudel during the weekends, straight from the Bavarian hinter lands into your TUMMY!”
And there are many more — blackberry, blueberry, boysenberry, wild mix berry, and both Granny Smith apple and rosemary apple. There are seasonal pies as well — peach, cheery and pumpkin. The pies come both large and mini, all following the Hermosa formula.
This isn’t just pie — it’s the beginning of a movement: Better living through pie.
Patisserie Chantille
2383 Lomita Blvd., Lomita; 310-257-9454, www.patisseriechantilly.com
As you might expect at a French-Japanese bakery, the pie at Patisserie Chantille isn’t so much a pie as it is orchidaceous, somewhat-over-the-top, too-beautiful-to-eat tart/cake creation. This isn’t so much a bakery as it is a tribute to the aesthetics of truly beautiful pastry. And the apple pie is as much for admiring as it is for eating. It’s one of dozens of creations on display, museum like, at this Lomita destination.
The apple model is called the Pommier, a lovely thing filled with caramelized Fuji apples, over a bed of more caramel, atop a cinnamon spiced pate chou. You may not be able to bring yourself to eat it. You may simply take it home, put it in the fridge, and admire it, the way you might a Picasso. Or…you’ll just gobble it down. Unlike Picassos, there are always more.
And there’s the pecan pies, which are mini, and even easier to inhale — a couple of bites…and it’s gone.
Torrance Bakery
1341 El Prado Ave., Torrance; 310-320-2722, www.torrancebakery.com
Amidst the many cakes and other pastries at the Torrance Bakery, you’ll find three pies — cherry, pumpkin and apple — all packed with crunchy, juicy fruit, in a near-perfect crust. They’re a joy to behold, and even more of a joy to gobble.
And what’s better than to follow the apple pie with a cherry pie and a pumpkin pie chaser. Can you ever have too much pie? I’ve spent my life trying to find an answer. To date, I’m leaning toward no, you can never have too much.
M.F.K. Fisher wrote you can never have too much caviar. On that, I disagree. But pie as good as you’ll find at Torrance Bakery — never.
Marie Callender’s
15466 S. Western Ave., Gardena, 310-516-9595; 1030 N. Western Ave., San Pedro, 310-832-4559; www.mariecallenders.com
There are eight cream pies sold at Marie Callender’s, including double cream blueberry, banana cream and lemon meringue. There are also six “specialty pies” — among them, chocolate satin and Kahlua cream cheese. And 10 fruit pies — which is where you’ll find the classic apple pie, not huge, but certainly big enough.
There’s the French apple, topped with cinnamon streusel, which I suspect I like more for the crunch of the streusel than for the pie itself. In season, there’s a sour cream apple pie. And there’s a “no sugar added” apple pie, which is a reminder that apples all by themselves are sweet enough to make this a fine pie. There’s also the mysterious “razzleberry” — both with and without sugar. And the ever befuddling rhubarb pie. Is rhubarb a fruit, a vegetable, perhaps a mineral? I’ve never been quite sure.
Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Email mreats@aol.com.
