INSIDE: Check out where to watch fireworks show in the region tonight.
Growing up on the East Coast, the Fourth of July was all about beef hot dogs and hamburgers, apple pie and Budweiser — all of which was a prologue to a family walk to our traditional spot near the George Washington Bridge to watch fireworks launched from a barge floating in the Hudson River. It was a fine ritual.
These days, beef hot dogs have been upgraded to sausages made of every manner of exotic meat. The hamburgers are exotic as well (or possibly vegan). The beer is craft-made and richly flavored. And though apple pie will never go away, it’s just one of the many pies and pastries and ice creams and sorbets and gelatos we gobble.
These days, the fireworks are watched on TV, especially this year since it’s been such a dry winter, heralding a summer of fire danger.
Apple will always be the iconic pie of choice, for unlike blueberry or raspberry or any number of exotic flavors, it comes with a tasty history. In the 1700s, Dutch and German immigrants brought with them a flaky, buttery crust, to which the English Pilgrims added apples, sliced and spiced. So iconic is the apple pie that it’s found in “American Cookery,” the first known American cookbook, published in 1796.
And the phrase, “As American as apple pie”? It began with folktales about Johnny Appleseed. During World War II, it was offered as a patriotic slogan to motivate soldiers to fight for “mom and apple pie.”
And yet, as with so many of the sundry Fourth of July rituals, apple pie no longer stands alone — anymore than pumpkin
pie is the only dessert inhaled during the Thanksgiving feeding frenzy. After a day of duck sausages and Impossible Beef burgers, served on organic buns with homemade relish and ketchup, washed down with a bottle or three of Sam Adams Summer Ale, a young overeater’s fancy turns to a red, white & blue flag cake; individual cherry pies; stars & stripes cupcakes; strawberry-rhubarb shortcake; watermelon granita; red velvet-blueberry ice cream pie — and so much more.
I’ll never get tired of apple pie — especially the oversized, apple-packed model sold for next to nothing at Costco. But my restless soul craves variety. Especially after a year of pandemic isolation. I have various family members who make some very fine pies. But I’m also fond of store- and restaurant-bought pies, created by some of our best pie and pastry shops. Where to go? Consider the following… and happy Fourth to one and all!
Costco
2200 E. Willow St., Signal Hill; 562-427-2537, costco. com
The prices for Costco pies — including their sublime apple pies and pumpkin pies — are reasonable, and then some. Especially when you consider not just the quality of the pies, but also the size, arguably twice as big as any other pies on the market.
I’ve always wondered if the pies are a loss leader, since the amount of fruit alone would seem to be barely covered by the cost of the pies. That said, they’re a wonder, and a joy — the very quintessence of holiday pie. I’ve been known to sit with a fork, and eat the filling out of the crust. This does not make my family happy. But it makes me ecstatic.
And, depending on the branch you go to, you should expect to find a 70-ounce pecan pie, a lattice crust apple, an early pumpkin, key lime and cherry pie. There’s an All-American Chocolate Cake too (that’s what they call it!). It’s good, even great. But it ain’t pie.
5000 Pies
2064 Santa Fe Ave., Long Beach; 562-901-0615, 5000pies.com
They don’t actually offer 5,000 pies at 5000 Pies, which is “a social enterprise of Fountain of Life Covenant Church,” whose “mission is to transform the lives of young adults in West Long Beach through culinary employment and life skills coaching. We are defining hand-crafted, Long Beach-style deep-dish pizza and sweet pies. The pies are made 100% from scratch using fresh, seasonal, quality ingredients. A lot of love and care goes into each pie. We like to think that they may be the best pies you’ve ever tasted.”
You’ve got to order the pies at least 24 hours in advance. And the salted caramel apple crumble pie is well worth it, made with “fresh apples, homemade salted caramel and crumble topping.” And it’s just the tip of the pastry. There’s also Nutella banana, lemon cream, Mexican chocolate, maple dark chocolate pecan, chocolate raspberry cream, toasted coconut and banana cream, cherry and coconut almond streusel, key lime and peanut butter chocolate. (I gained two pounds just typing that!)
Fine pies, with every bite supporting a blessed cause. Which makes the pies taste that much better.
Jongewaard’s Bake ‘n Broil
3697 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach; 562-595-0396, thebakenbroil.com
There are 55 pies on the menu at Jongewaard’s Bake ‘n Broil, an encyclopedic assortment of tasties, of which just three are apple — the classic apple, the sour cream apple and the French apple. And for the record, there’s a German apple cake as well.
The apple pies are the standby, the pie you’ve got to get no matter which others you opt for. And the temptation to opt for more is certainly significant — how to resist such wonders of the pie maker’s craft as the butterscotch meringue, the banana fudge cream, and the French strawberry rhubarb.
You could eat a different pie every week at the Bake ‘n Broil, and still not go through the entire list by year’s end.
The Pie Bar
450 Pine Ave., Long Beach; 562-444-8743, thepiebarlongbeach.com
The apple pie options at The Pie Bar aren’t many. In fact, as a rule, there’s just one type of pie, a very tasty Dutch apple. But the place is so sweet, such a labor of love, a passion project, that you have to adore and cherish what they do. And every now and then, they’ll do their pies as vegan, gluten-free and sugar-free.
They also do pie-in-a-cup — called Cutie Pies. Pie you can eat with a spoon! What a wonderful idea!
Polly’s Pies
3490 Atlantic Blvd., Long Beach; 562-595-5651, pollyspies.com
Along with having a full menu of classic America dishes, served from 7 a.m. on, Polly’s Pies has 11 whole pies, a very sweet treat every one of them — fresh strawberry, boysenberry, cherry, “Banberry” (banana cream with strawberries), banana cream without strawberries, chocolate cream, coconut cream, lemon meringue. And a passel of apple pies, from the classic Granny Smith apple pie, through the sugar-free apple, the apple crisp — and on occasion caramel apple, and Dutch apple.
While you’re there, get yourself some strawberrylemonade pancakes, or maybe an order of the Hawaiian kielbasa hoagie, or the “giant” cinnamon roll. I mean while you’re there, you might as well…
Marie Callender’s
• 340E. Whittier Blvd., La Habra, 562-691-0705
• 1030N. Western Ave., San Pedro, 310-832-4559
• 307 E. Katella Ave., Orange, 714-633-3112
• mariecallenders.com
There are eight cream pies sold at Marie Callender’s, including double cream blueberry, banana cream and lemon meringue. There are also six “specialty pies” — among them, chocolate satin and Kahlua cream cheese. And 10 fruit pies — which is where you’ll find the classic apple pie, not huge, but certainly big enough.
There’s the French apple, topped with cinnamon streusel, which I suspect I like more for the crunch of the streusel than for the pie itself. In season, there’s a sour cream apple pie. And there’s a “no sugar added” apple pie, which is a reminder that apples all by themselves are sweet enough to make this a fine pie. There’s also the mysterious “razzleberry” — both with and without sugar. And the ever befuddling rhubarb pie. Is rhubarb a fruit, a vegetable, perhaps a mineral? I’ve never been quite sure.
And though there are no branches of Marie Callender’s in Long Beach proper, there are four near enough that when the need arises, you can get there. And maybe get several pies to justify the drive.