March 14 is National Pi(e) Day, a playful play on words that marks a peculiar occasion where the world can celebrate both math and delicious desserts in one day. To honor it, we’re digging into local pies from our favorite bakeries, starting with our neighbors in Lodi and working our way into Ripon.
At Michael David Winery, there are 17 different fruit pies to choose from, all made from scratch using Grandma Phillips’ family recipes. Baker Micaela Toledo suggests the apple, peach-boysenberry, strawberry-rhubarb, pumpkin walnut (pictured), or blueberry (pictured). The secret behind Sweet Mel’s pies in Lodi are its one-of-a-kind recipes, which the baker, Mel Haining, made up himself. “Marionberry is the number one pie, but apple, cherry, and peach are also good sellers,” he says. At Toots Sweets Bakery Café in Stockton, we’ve got out eye on the Very Berry (pictured), made with perfectly tart blackberries, but the family-owned shop also boasts nut and cream pies. “The very silky fudge inside [the fudge pie] souffles up between six to ten inches, under a flaky top crust,” says Kim Kelson, who co-owns the bakery with his wife.
Throughout Ripon some of the best pies come from The Pie Company, a Ripon-based wholesaler known for its fruit, cream, and nut pies that can be found in small businesses—including, oddly enough, hardware stores—throughout San Joaquin County. Here, the focus is on local goods; the apricots hail from Patterson and the nectarines from Hughson. The most popular pie is the peach cobbler, but Dutch apple and mixed berry are tough competition. If you’re looking for a pie for a hot day, The Creamery serves two unique ice cream pies in its old-fashion Stockton diner. “The Grasshopper Pie (pictured) starts with a handmade Oreo cookie crust, filled with mint chip ice cream, topped with thick old-fashioned hot fudge sauce, whipped cream, chopped-up Andes mints, Oreo cookie crumbs, and nuts,” says owner Cisco Cordero.
Where to Buy:
Michael David Winery
4580 CA-12, Lodi
(209) 368-7384
MichaelDavidWinery.com
Cost: $4.95 per slice, $17.95 per pie
Toot Sweets Bakery Café
4755 Quail Lakes Dr., Stockton
(209) 474-6692
TootsSweetBakeryCafe.com
5.85 and $6.95 per 5-inch individual pie, $23.95 and $27.95 per 10-inch deep pie
The Creamery
5756 Pacific Ave. # 3, Stockton
(209) 952-1111
$6.60 per slice, $24.95 per pie
The Pie Company
Various locations, including Van Ruiten Winery in Lodi, Nature’s Country Corner in Manteca, and Country Club Ace Hardware in Stockton
(209) 599-0200
ThePieCo.com/San-Joaquin-Valley
$13-$15 per pie
Sweet Mel’s
623 E. Oak St., Lodi
(209) 329-0918,
between $9-$16 per pie