A Sweet Search for Pies That Produce Sighs

There were no apple pies at the first Thanksgiving.

There might have been some pumpkins -- more likely as stew rather than as today's custard pie -- at that first harvest celebration. But unlike pumpkins, apples are not native to the United States. Plymouth settlers brought apple seeds with them, and by 1632, apple trees were growing in what is now New Jersey. Cooked apples were soon a staple of Colonial-era meals.

Apple pies, similar to those made in England since the 1300s, probably were first concocted here in the mid-17th century. They have been a mainstay of Thanksgiving ever since. But not in my family. We are more the sweet potato pie set. My paternal grandmother cooked on a wood-burning stove until at least the late 1950s, but I don't remember her making an apple pie.

So when I set out to find great apple pies worthy of a Thanksgiving feast, I didn't have a lot of preconceived notions. I just wanted a wonderful pie that tasted great, and if it evoked something of that over-the-river-and-through-the-woods feeling, all the better.

For the past six weeks -- aided by my ravenous colleagues and my husband, who ate a lot of apple pies growing up in Pennsylvania -- I have been sampling pies gathered from bakeries, orchards and farm markets from Alexandria to Baltimore and Galesville to Front Royal, exploring many new places at readers' suggestions.

Together, we consumed more than two dozen apple pies. A few seemed little better than mushy supermarket specials. There was a handful of absolutely wonderful pies. And there were a lot of very good pies, with tasty apples and flaky crusts like I wish my grandmother had made.

My sentimental favorite is the pie from West River Market & Deli in Galesville. The market has been in Galesville, a small waterside community in southern Anne Arundel County, for 150 years.

The pie maker is Susan Ulrich, a former corporate sales manager for Citicorp Diners Club who bought the place in 1998, after her life seemed to fall apart. She and her fiancé had planned to buy and run a bed and breakfast in the Shenandoah Valley. Then he "fell over and died" before her eyes, she said. Friends invited her to spend the Fourth of July with them in Galesville, the store was for sale and "nobody could tell me not to buy it."

Ulrich's apple pie is country-store good, with a sprinkling of sugar atop a melt-in-your mouth crust and not-too-sweet apple filling nicely accented with cinnamon and other spices.

She wouldn't divulge her recipe, except to say the apples are Granny Smiths and her secret weapon in keeping the bottom crust crisp is a pizza oven.

The crust is also the star of the spectacular apple pie from Vienna's Pie Gourmet. Bits of pastry are cut into leaf shapes, which are overlapped atop the heaping apple filling to form the top crust. Owner Joe Merenda called it the bakery's "cookie cutter crust" and said the pie is the favorite among the 65 varieties offered by the 15-year-old shop.

The pie is at least three inches high and yields at least eight servings, even considering Thanksgiving-size appetites. The Pie Gourmet beauty tastes as good as it looks. It has a rich apple flavor that is nicely complemented, not overpowered, by cinnamon and other spices.

The Pie Gourmet will open Thanksgiving morning for last-minute purchases.

The apple pie from Wagshal's Bakery and Catering in the District is nearly as deep and makes a stunning presentation when cut, revealing layers and layers of thinly sliced apples. This pie evoked the widest range of comments: Most tasters either loved it or hated it. It wasn't as sweet as other pies, and the apples seemed a bit undercooked to me. But others raved about how the great apple taste wasn't masked by too much sweetness.

The bakery is just behind Wagshal's Butcher Shop and Wagshal's Delicatessen, where the pies are sold. Sylvia Alexander, manager of the six-year-old bakery, said the Granny Smith apples for the pies are peeled and prepared right there.

Mom's Apple Pie, based in Sterling, is one of the largest specialty pie operations in the area, with four retail locations -- in Sterling, Leesburg, Occoquan and Herndon -- and sales outlets across the District and close-in Maryland suburbs. Family-owned, Mom's was established in 1981 and employs four generations.

The pies are baked at the Sterling bakery and delivered daily -- or, if needed, several times a day -- to the stores.

All the apples for Mom's pies come from the Shenandoah Valley, and right now the company is using York apples, a hardy variety, grown in Winchester. The apple pie has a flaky crust, baked to a deeper golden brown than most, and the filling has pleasantly firm apple slices that retain their shape during baking. It's a good pie that could pass for homemade.

Dangerously Delicious Pies is a small storefront operation near downtown Baltimore whose pies are also sold by Dean & DeLuca in Washington. Dangerously delicious is a good description of these creations of owner Rodney "Pie Man" Henry, who also is the front man for a rock band.

The apple pie looks and tastes as if your grandmother made it. The crust isn't quite perfect; it is lumpy, just like the perfectly cooked and seasoned filling inside. But it is oh-so goodMy helpers and I tasted apple pies from all of these places in Virginia, and any of them will make you proud on Thanksgiving Day.

Amphora Bakery, 403 Maple Ave. W., Vienna, 703-281-5631; 1151 Elden St., Herndon, 703-925-0505; 294 Sunset Park Dr., Herndon, 703-964-0500. www.amphorabakery.com. Place orders for Thanksgiving by tomorrow. The apple pie is $10.95.

Virginia

Apple House, 4675 John Marshall Hwy., Linden, 540-636-6329. Thanksgiving orders must be placed by Monday. The apple pie is $7.99.

Brenner's Bakery, 1512 Belle View Blvd. (at Fort Hunt Road), Alexandria, 703-765-4688. Place orders by Sunday. The apple walnut pie is $13.95.

Eclectic Gourmet, 1 Royal St. SW, Leesburg, 703-777-5985. Also sells at the Manassas farmers market. Place orders for Thanksgiving by Tuesday afternoon. There is no classic apple pie, but there's a very good French-style apple tart with sliced apples for $14.

Gold Crust Baking Co., 501 E. Monroe Ave. ( just off Route 1), Alexandria, 703-549-0420. www.goldcrust.com. Place Thanksgiving orders by Monday. All pies are $10.

Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe, 2150 N. Culpeper St. (at Lee Highway), Arlington, 703-527-8394. www.heidelbergbakery.com. Place Thanksgiving orders by Tuesday. All pies are $9.95.

Hill High Orchards, 35248 Harry Byrd Hwy. (Route 7), Round Hill, 540-338-7173. Hill High bakes 38 varieties of pies. Place Thanksgiving orders by Saturday. The apple pie is $7.99; caramel apple walnut pie is $9.19.

Market Salamander, 200 W. Washington St., Middleburg, 540-687-8011. www.market-salamander.com. Thanksgiving orders must be placed by today. We tasted a French apple tart, $20. There are no apple pies on the Thanksgiving menu, but pumpkin and pecan pies are available.

Mom's Apple Pie Co., 22510 S. Sterling Blvd., Sterling, 703-471-6266; 317 Spring St., Herndon, 703-481-5959; 126-A Commerce St., Occoquan, 703-497-7437; 220 Loudoun St. SE, Leesburg, 703-771-8590. www.momsapplepieco.com. Place Thanksgiving orders by tomorrow. Pies are also sold at the Takoma Park Co-op, Silver Spring Co-op, Bethesda Co-op, Chevy Chase Safeway, Chevy Chase Supermarket, South Royal Street Safeway in Alexandria and Sam's Farm Market in Falls Church. The apple pie is $10.99.

Pie Gourmet, 507 Maple Ave. W., Vienna, 703-281-7437 or 800-387-9319. www.piegourmet.com. No more orders are being accepted for pies to be picked up Wednesday, but check with the bakery for pies that can be picked up Monday, Tuesday and Thanksgiving Day. The apple pie is $21.95.

The District

Wagshal's Bakery and Catering, sold through Wagshal's Butcher Shop, 4845 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, 202-363-0777, and Wagshal's Delicatessen, 4855 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, 202-363-5698. Order by Monday. The apple pie is $14.99.