Need pie? 9 local bakeries for last-minute Thanksgiving orders
If you aren’t baking your own pies and instead want to pick up dessert for Thanksgiving, you’re in luck ... but the clock is ticking. Make your pie orders for pickup before the big day.
Los Angeles is a city of terrific bakeries and bakers, and ice cream makers too. Yes, there is ice cream pie for Thanksgiving (including plant-based ice cream), and there is cheesecake. Traditional pies include sorghum-sweetened pecan pie, organic heirloom pumpkin pie, chess pie and sweet potato ginger pie (and gluten-free chocolate espresso pie). It’s pies galore.
For the record:
7:51 p.m. Nov. 16, 2022This story previously listed the Pie Room by Gwen as thepieroom@gmail.com; the correct email address is thepieroomla@gmail.com. The entry has been updated to reflect this.
Or, if you want to get into the kitchen and roll out dough, you should definitely check out these recipes from cooking columnist Ben Mims for apple, pumpkin and not-too-sweet pecan pie.
Roast turkey, easy gravy, green bean gratin, bright cranberry sauce, creamy potatoes and two kinds of stuffing (vegan or not) plus three stellar pies — these are all the classic Thanksgiving recipes you’ll ever need.
Clark Street Bakery
Zack Hall’s string of local bakeries began with bread and, fittingly, will be offering a few Thanksgiving bread specials in addition to whole pies. For those looking to fill out the holiday table with pull-apart rolls, the baker’s selling both sesame and plain versions by the dozen ($10) along with loaves of harvest bread studded with cranberry, walnut and golden raisin ($10). When it comes to desserts, Clark Street is vending 9-inch pies in both classic apple and pecan versions (each $48), both made with crusts using Sonora flour from the Tehachapi Heritage Grain Project. Pickup is available at either the Brentwood or the Echo Park locations Nov. 22 to 24. Orders close at 5 p.m. Nov. 20. — Stephanie Breijo
Brentwood: 11702 Barrington Court, Los Angeles, (424) 248-0262; Echo Park: 331 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 529-4252, clarkstreetbakery.com
Cobblermania
The motto of Cobblermania, which sells its goodies in L.A.-area farmers markets, is: “So good you’ll (want to) slap somebody!” Let’s just say I was thankful no one else was around when I tried them. The $12 cobblers, which have crust bottoms (making them somewhat indistinguishable from pie in any practical way) were very good. The strawberry rhubarb nicely balances the sweet strawberry and weedy bitterness of the rhubarb. The sweet potato cobbler, a holiday favorite, is silky smooth with plenty of warm spices. Proprietor Shae Seward, born and raised in L.A., will be at the Torrance and Hollywood farmers markets this weekend as well as the Culver City farmers market on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving for any last-minute dessert needs. She recommends you get there early if you’ve got a particular flavor you’ve got your eye on, which may include the flavors named above, as well as mango-blueberry-peach and a classic peach. — Lucas Kwan Peterson
Dear Bella Creamery
The plant-based Hollywood ice cream shop from Belinda Wei and Alice Cherng is offering a Thanksgiving-only ice cream pie that riffs on a chocolaty, nutty classic: turtle pie. Dear Bella’s version ($35) fills a gluten-free graham cracker crust with vanilla cheesecake ice cream flecked with chocolate-covered pecans, caramel, fudge ribbons and graham cracker crumbs. Preorder for pickup orders at the Hollywood location now through Nov. 23; the Costa Mesa shop will allow walk-in orders. This frozen pie also can be shipped nationwide. The final day to pre-order is Nov. 20; orders must be placed at least two days in advance of pickup. — S.B.
Los Angeles: 1253 Vine St., Suite 12, Los Angeles, (323) 848-4672; Costa Mesa: 2930 Bristol St., Unit A103, Costa Mesa, (657) 600-8104; dearbellacreamery.com/online-shop/p/turtlecheesecakepie-pickup
Honey lightly sweetens these super-tender, pillowy yeast rolls, drenched in melted butter, baked until light golden, and finished with a pinch of flaky salt.
Friends & Family
Roxana Jullapat’s bounteous pastry case is worth a visit year-round, but at Thanksgiving the Friends & Family baker is expanding her heirloom-grain offerings with whole pies at $60 apiece. This year’s menu includes sorghum-sweetened pecan pie; organic heirloom-breed pumpkin pie; a classic chocolate chess pie; and a spiced heirloom-apple pie. An add-on pint of fresh whipped cream is available for $16. Bread options include a sourdough boule ($11), a half-dozen white cheddar biscuits ($24) and a half-dozen pull-apart potato rolls ($22). Friends & Family chef Daniel Mattern also is whipping up a la carte savory sides and salads such as mushroom bread pudding, cranberry dressing and glazed Brussels sprouts. The final day to pre-order Thanksgiving pies and other items from Friends & Family is Nov. 20, with pickup available on Nov. 23. —S.B.
5150 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 668-2000, friendsandfamilyla.com
Hotville Chicken
Kim Prince’s Nashville hot chicken restaurant is offering 9-inch deep-dish pecan pies ($36), 9-inch key lime pies ($40) and slices of chess pie ($7). Prince is also making her banana pudding in two sizes: full ($110, serves 45 to 50!) and half ($65, serves 20). Order by calling the restaurant through Monday for pickup between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Nov. 23 and between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Thanksgiving day. — Jenn Harris
4070 Marlton Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 792-4835, hotvillechicken.com
May Microbakery
Sasha Piligian’s petal-and-fruit-topped, hyper-seasonal cakes are some of the most covetable baked goods in L.A. — and on Instagram, more generally — and now the former Sqirl pastry chef is opening up orders for Thanksgiving pies as well. This season, through her May Microbakery operation, she’s offering three pies for the holiday, each priced at $70. The gluten-free chocolate espresso mousse pie features a salted vanilla meringue crust and topping, while the sweet potato ginger pie involves sweet potato custard, gingersnap crust, candied ginger and meringue. For a fruit option, there’s a See Canyon apple and blackberry pie topped with an amaranth crumble. The last day to order from Piligian is Nov. 19 for pickup on Nov. 23 at Canyon Coffee, where one can regularly find her tea cakes, cookies and other treats in the cafe’s pastry case by the register. — S.B.
1559 Echo Park Ave, Los Angeles, (213) 905-0722, maymicro.getminimart.com
Browned butter, vanilla bean and fresh lemon juice balance the sweetness of pecan pie in this update, teeming with toasted pecans and custard filling.
The Pie Room by Gwen
After Australian chef Curtis Stone temporarily shuttered his tasting-menu restaurant Maude in 2020, he introduced the Pie Room the following year in the same space, a bakery and to-go shop where sausage rolls and sticky toffee pudding were served up alongside Cornish-style pasties and a deep-dish stunner of an apple pie. Well, Maude reopened and that might have been that — bye, pie. But the Pie Room by Gwen has returned for Thanksgiving in a new location. Order brown butter pumpkin-ginger pie ($55), chocolate toffee pecan pie ($56) or key lime pie ($55) by emailing thepieroomla@gmail.com before Nov. 21, for pickup on Nov. 23 or Nov. 24 (Thanksgiving). — Betty Hallock
5373 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles
Sweet Rose Creamery
In both Santa Monica and the Brentwood Country Mart, the Rustic Canyon Family’s artisanal ice cream shop is serving a chilly take on the classic Thanksgiving pie. Sweet Rose Creamery’s ice cream pies cost $55 apiece and come in flavors including pecan pie (brown-sugar ice cream with buttered pecans and fudge in chocolate cookie crust); apple pie (ice cream made with Cuyama Orchards apples and a caramel ripple, topped with salty crumb and caramel sauce); and vegan pumpkin pie (pumpkin ice cream with cinnamon meringue, candied pepitas and cinnamon sugar, all with a ginger-cookie crust). Both shops also sell molasses-and-stout gingerbread cake, available with or without pints of ice cream, plus bake-at-home cinnamon rolls and chocolate chip cookies. Pre-orders end Nov. 18, but both shops will offer the seasonal treats for walk-in orders Nov. 21-24. —S.B.
Santa Monica: 2726 Main St., Santa Monica, (310) 260-2663; Brentwood Country Mart: 225 26th St., Suite 51, Santa Monica; (310) 260-2663, sweetrosecreamery.com
Yangban Society
While it isn’t exactly pie, Yangban Society is offering its light-as-air, super-creamy whipped cheesecake with butter coconut crust ($68) along with jars of seasonal jam ($10), pear crisps ($48) and spiced apple rum cakes ($38) for the holidays. Orders can be placed by emailing info@yangbanla.com at least 48 hours in advance for pickup on or before Nov. 23. — J.H.
712 S. Santa Fe Ave., Los Angeles, yangbanla.com
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