There’s something about pie. It doesn’t matter if it’s sweet or savory; filled with fruit or custard or steak and ale; conventionally round or half-moon-shaped; store-bought or baked at home. Whatever the particulars, pie is somehow accessible and comforting and irresistible in a way that, say, muffins, cake, or doughnuts can never be.
“Never say ‘no’ to pie,” counsels “Today Show” personality Al Roker. “No matter what, wherever you are, diet-wise or whatever, you know what? You can always have a small piece of pie….” Or a big piece.
Pie has a long history in America. We’ve been eating it ever since the Pilgrims brought the idea of enclosing things in dough across the Atlantic. What they ate was probably mostly meat pies, though a recipe for pumpkin pie did first appear as early as 1675. (We can only imagine what early American pumpkin pie-eaters would have thought of all those pumpkin spice things we don’t need this fall.)
Regional pie styles developed over the years, reflecting locally available ingredients — pecans in Texas, Key limes in Florida, peaches in Georgia, blueberries in Maine, apples almost everywhere — and more elaborate confections like lemon meringue, banana cream, and black bottom pies attained classic status.
Click here to see the best pie shop in every state
Many American cities boast pie shops today — dessert emporiums that make a specialty of pies. Then there are bakeries with a wider repertoire which nonetheless turn out a variety of first-rate pies. And some places known primarily as diners or even full-scale restaurants make pies of some distinction, too, selling them to take out as well as to enjoy in situ. A number of purveyors offer both sweet and savory examples, and some of the signature items singled out below are dinner rather than dessert.
All those kinds of places are included in this list of top-notch places to find pie. Whatever the particulars, all of them will delight the pie-lover, and many of them are among the 40 best pie shops in America.
1. Alabama: JaWanda’s Sweet Potato Pie
> City: Birmingham
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Pecan sweet potato
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2. Alaska: A Pie Stop
> City: Anchorage
> Yelp rating: 4
> Sample specialty: Coconut custard
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3. Arizona: Piefection
> City: Mesa
> Yelp rating: 4
> Sample specialty: Lemon blueberry sour cream
See all stories featuring: Arizona
4. Arkansas: Rymolene’s Pies
> City: Fayetteville
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Cranberry Key lime
See all stories featuring: Arkansas
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5. California: I Like Pie
> City: Claremont
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Chocolate chip chess
See all stories featuring: California
6. Colorado: 3.14 Sweet & Savory Pi Bar
> City: Colorado Springs
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Amaretto cherry almond
See all stories featuring: Colorado
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7. Connecticut: Cutie Pies
> City: Thomaston
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Grasshopper
See all stories featuring: Connecticut
8. Delaware: Sweet Somethings
> City: Wilmington
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Banana cream
See all stories featuring: Delaware
9. Florida: P Is for Pie Bakery
> City: Orlando
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Caramel pecan hand pie
See all stories featuring: Florida
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10. Georgia: Pie Society
> City: Savannah
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Steak and ale
See all stories featuring: Georgia
11. Hawaii: Hawaiian Pie Company
> City: Honolulu
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Strawberry guava
See all stories featuring: Hawaii
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12. Idaho: Pie Hut
> City: Sand Point
> Yelp rating: 4
> Sample specialty: Crème brûlée
See all stories featuring: Idaho
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13. Illinois: Bang Bang Pie & Biscuits (Logan Square)
> City: Chicago
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Blueberry pistachio
See all stories featuring: Illinois
14. Indiana: Pots and Pans Pies
> City: Indianapolis
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Biscuits and gravy pot pie
See all stories featuring: Indiana
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15. Iowa: Kathy’s Pies
> City: Cedar Rapids
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Dutch apple
See all stories featuring: Iowa
16. Kansas: The Upper Crust Pie Bakery
> City: Overland Park
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Raspberry peach
See all stories featuring: Kansas
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17. Kentucky: Homemade Ice Cream & Pie Kitchen
> City: Louisville
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Double crust apple
See all stories featuring: Kentucky
18. Louisiana: Not Just Pie
> City: Monroe
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Banana caramel
See all stories featuring: Louisiana
19. Maine: Two Fat Cats Bakery
> City: Portland
> Yelp rating: 4
> Sample specialty: Blueberry
See all stories featuring: Maine
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20. Maryland: Dangerously Delicious Pies
> City: Baltimore
> Yelp rating: 3.5
> Sample specialty: Baltimore bomb
See all stories featuring: Maryland
21. Massachusetts: Petsi Pies
> City: Somerville
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Mississippi mud
See all stories featuring: Massachusetts
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22. Michigan: Sister Pie
> City: Detroit
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Salted maple
See all stories featuring: Michigan
23. Minnesota: The Buttered Tin
> City: Minneapolis
> Yelp rating: 4
> Sample specialty: Pumpkin chiffon
See all stories featuring: Minnesota
24. Mississippi: Tom’s Fried Pies
> City: Jackson
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Pizza pocket hand pie
See all stories featuring: Mississippi
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25. Missouri: Pie Oh My
> City: Maplewood
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Dulce de leche mini pie
See all stories featuring: Missouri
26. Montana: Black Cat Bake Shop
> City: Missoula
> Yelp rating: 4
> Sample specialty: Huckleberry
See all stories featuring: Montana
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27. Nebraska: The Village PieMaker
> City: Eustis
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Cherry
See all stories featuring: Nebraska
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28. Nevada: Mix Bakeshop
> City: Reno
> Yelp rating: 4
> Sample specialty: Mixed berry
See all stories featuring: Nevada
29. New Hampshire: Just Like Mom’s Pastries
> City: Weare
> Yelp rating: 4
> Sample specialty: Chocolate M&M
See all stories featuring: New Hampshire
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30. New Jersey: The Pie Store
> City: Montclair
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Chicken tikka
See all stories featuring: New Jersey
31. New Mexico: Pie-O-Neer Pies
> City: Pie Town
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Apple green chile piñon
See all stories featuring: New Mexico
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32. New York: Petee’s Pie Company
> City: New York City
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Black bottom almond chess
See all stories featuring: New York
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33. North Carolina: Fayetteville Pie Company
> City: Fayetteville
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Peach crumble
See all stories featuring: North Carolina
34. North Dakota: Nichole’s Fine Pastry & Café
> City: Fargo
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Key lime
See all stories featuring: North Dakota
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35. Ohio: Just Pies
> City: Westerville
> Yelp rating: 4
> Sample specialty: Chocolate silk
See all stories featuring: Ohio
36. Oklahoma: Pie Junkie
> City: Oklahoma City
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Drunken turtle
See all stories featuring: Oklahoma
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37. Oregon: Pie vs. Pie
> City: Gresham
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Coconut cream
See all stories featuring: Oregon
38. Pennsylvania: The Pie Place
> City: Pittsburgh
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: California raisin
See all stories featuring: Pennsylvania
39. Rhode Island: Wayland Bakery
> City: Providence
> Yelp rating: 4
> Sample specialty: Boston cream
See all stories featuring: Rhode Island
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40. South Carolina: Sugar Bakeshop
> City: Charleston
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Buttermilk
See all stories featuring: South Carolina
41. South Dakota: Pistachio Pie
> City: Rapid City
> Yelp rating: 4
> Sample specialty: Pistachio
See all stories featuring: South Dakota
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42. Tennessee: Buttermilk Sky Pie Shop
> City: Murfreesboro
> Yelp rating: 5
> Sample specialty: Peanut butter cream
See all stories featuring: Tennessee
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43. Texas: Emporium Pies (Emporium Arts District)
> City: Dallas
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Father Christmas (peppermint cream with dark chocolate crust)
See all stories featuring: Texas
44. Utah: Rocky Mountain Pies
> City: Salt Lake City
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Sea salt caramel French silk
See all stories featuring: Utah
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45. Vermont: Piecemeal Pies
> City: White River Junction
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Rabbit bacon
See all stories featuring: Vermont
46. Virginia: Proper Pie Co.
> City: Richmond
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Raspberry chocolate
See all stories featuring: Virginia
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47. Washington: A la Mode Pies
> City: Seattle
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Bourbon butterscotch
See all stories featuring: Washington
48. West Virginia: Oliver’s Pies
> City: Wheeling
> Yelp rating: 4
> Sample specialty: Pineapple
See all stories featuring: West Virginia
49. Wisconsin: Elsie Mae’s Canning & Pies
> City: Kenosha
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Ginger lime
See all stories featuring: Wisconsin
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50. Wyoming: The Bread Doctor
> City: Torrington
> Yelp rating: 5
> Sample specialty: Chicken pot pie
See all stories featuring: Wyoming
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