Photos by Stacey Angel

“When you die, if you get a choice between going to regular heaven or pie heaven, choose pie heaven. It might be a trick, but if it’s not… mmmmmm, boy!” -Jack Handey

By Brooke A. Brown

Some folks prefer cake. Others may go with cookies or brownies, seven-layer bars, scones, cinnamon rolls, cupcakes, honey buns or bear claws. (And why on earth wouldn’t they?) But as for this veteran consumer of everything pastry-related, when a bakery visit is penciled onto my to-do list (and yes, this actually happens), there is only one thing to seriously consider: fresh baked pie. And there is no finer place in the Capital City to purchase a pie than Gram’s Specialties in Kanawha City.

I first tried a Gram’s pie last summer. The Lovely Miss S and I typically spend Friday evenings with her grandmother, Marguerite, and occasionally pick up something for dinner when none of us are in the mood to cook. Well, it was one of those days that we decided to stop in Gram’s place for something sweet to complete our take-out round-up. It was a revelation! You can purchase pie by the slice (as available), whole pies (both fruit and cream), or special “by order only” pies. I don’t remember what all we left with that day, but it was a variety of individual slices that proved equally delicious.

Fast-forwarding to this year’s Memorial Day Weekend, my dear wife informs me that she has a surprise. She has ordered a whole blackberry pie from Gram’s Specialties and will pick it up in time for the long weekend. For a moment, I felt like a kid again… only one with options. I was not only allowed, but fully prepared to take too big a portion and put way too much vanilla ice cream on that first and often imperfect slice. And so I did, and it was incredible.

First of all, a fruit pie from Gram’s far exceeds any amount of fruit found in a typical pie. I’m not talking a piece of fruit in every other bite, but rather multiple pieces – in this case, berries – in every forkful. And their pies are not overly sugary, so you can discern the delicate sweet tartness from the fruit. But the true test of any homemade pie – and you can confirm this with any grandmother – is the crust. Flaky? Check. Buttery? Check. Tender? Check. This crust is the quintessential blue ribbon champion. The golden brown standard, if you will. Its perfection is ultimately realized, though, when consumed in concert with its tasty filling.

Naturally something this fantastic comes at a corresponding cost. There are no whole fruit pie options at Gram’s Specialties that cost under $20. There are a couple of custard pies for less, but most – including the cream varieties – average somewhere around $24. The price may seem drastic in black and white, but I assure you these pies are worth it. But you don’t have to pick up what I’m laying down, so to speak. You can try a Gram’s pie, depending on what’s available, for under four bucks a slice. You’ll be oh-so glad you did.

IF YOU GO: Gram’s Specialties by Dorothy Lee, 3624 MacCorkle Avenue SE, Charleston, W.Va., (304)-925-7PIE (7743)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 at 12:16 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.