New England Pie-O-Rama

If you are ever looking for an excuse to ride (like there are not enough of them), you can always trust the brilliant minds on ADVRider to come up with something specific, enticing, and just plain entertaining. Like this example: New England Pie-O-Rama

Simple, eh? Ride, stop someplace, eat a pie, post a review, and it will be added to the ADV pie map :)

Well, since I like riding, and I also like eating pie, I could not resist.

Here are my three recent contributions:

Entry 1 - Ray's Seafood Restaurant at Rye Beach, NH:

When you say beach, this is what usually comes to mind:

But alas, it is October in NH, and this is a family-friendly site, so the only pie I'll be reviewing is the cool Keylime Pie served at Ray's in Rye.




The day started cold, but turned out to be rather nice by mid-day. I rode a total of 367 miles for that pie. But I was in good company, the pavement was dry, and the leaves in color provided some spectacular views.

So, what can be said about this pie?

The pie was served cold, as it should be. The crust was deliciously light and pillowy with the right amount of crumble when I bit into it. The lime was not overwhelming, and despite eating this pie after consuming some crabcakes and fried shrimp, it did not make me feel stuffed, or uncomfortable. All the textures were right, and I would vote for this pie as a refreshment during the hot summer months.





 Entry 2 - The Foothills of Warner, Warner NH

Blueberry Pie:
 

This pie was served warm but not hot. Just right to warm you on a cool autumn day. The pie had a traditional pie crust (home made) and was baked in-house. The pie was full of blueberries and blueberry juice, which just tickled as it dripped down my chin. There was a hint of cinnamon in there, but not overwhelming the taste of blueberries. Not too sweet, not tart - this pie was just right.

Entry 3 - The Sunflower Cafe, Jaffrey, NH

I must admit that I'm a long-time fan of this establishment. There is something special about a small town cafe which has life jazz music and lobster/asparagus crepes on their Sunday brunch menu. And while I usually take their other deserts (a thin sliced caramelized pear with a Crème brûlée crust is one of my favorites), I took one for the team and ordered a pie.

The four berry pie-ette (or a small, personal size pie filled with four different berries) was simply the best of the three samples taken for this post. Served warm without any cremes to distract from the experience, it was bursting with tender berries mixed together in a wonderful melange of savory flavors bringing to mind images of autumn days and berry picking. The crust itself was flaking on the sides, firm on the bottom, and sprinkled with sugar/flour crumbs at the top. Baked to perfection, it was neither too dry nor too juicy. This pie reminded me of European pies, as it had just the right amount of sweetness and all the flavors worked together like a symphony for my taste buds.  Recommended.