Brownwood's Favorite Pie ?

Posted on Wed, May. 17, 2006

Official state pie: A wedge issue ?
By Amy Culbertson
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

KRT ARCHIVES
Plenty of Texans go nuts over a good pecan pie.
In Florida, it's almost official: The state legislature has proclaimed Key lime the Florida state pie -- though not without a nasty debate in which advocates for pecan, sweet potato and strawberry pointed out that Key limes aren't grown in Florida anymore.
Still, Key lime prevailed: All that remains is for Gov. Jeb Bush to sign the bill, and Florida will become the second state to have an official pie (Vermont's is apple). Naturally, all this has gotten us to thinking whether Texas ought to have a state pie, too. If you think so, we're giving you a chance to vote for one in the online Star-Telegram ( www.star-telegram.com).
Universally, pecan seems to be the first choice that comes to mind -- "since it's the state tree," notes Brent Klett, manager of Marble Falls' Blue Bonnet Cafe, which is so noted for its country-style pies that it has a pie happy hour.
Certainly, as famed as Texas is for its peaches, we firmly believe peach ought to be in the running. But as for the other candidates, the Texas pie mavens I've been consulting aren't unanimous.
Some suggest that we should be guided by the pies that are most commonly in evidence at funeral gatherings, church suppers and potlucks, which would have to include lemon meringue, chocolate meringue and coconut.
Fort Worth's prince of pies, Mike Smith of Paris Coffee Shop, says his vote would be for coconut meringue. Followed closely by chocolate meringue, it's the top seller at his cafe, known far and wide for its pies and other desserts. Star-Telegram "Texas at Large" columnist Art Chapman notes that he uses coconut cream as his standard in judging Texas cafes. But therein lies the question: coconut cream or coconut meringue?
Moreover, Star-Telegram restaurant critic June Naylor, whose definitive Texas pie overview appeared in Texas Highways' November 2004 issue, says she can't see anything specifically Texan about coconut or chocolate meringue, popular though they may be. We tend to agree: As far as we know, neither coconuts nor cacao beans are grown in Texas.
Lemons are, though. And buttermilk -- on the state-pie short lists of Naylor, Chapman and Star-Telegram columnist Bud Kennedy -- is available wherever there are cows.
Finally, as a dark horse, we think that chuck-wagon favorite, the fried pie -- almost always made with dried apricots -- uniquely reflects Texas' heritage.
The larger issue, perhaps, may be whether cobbler qualifies as pie, because the case could be made for cobbler as the quintessential Texas dessert. Personally, I feel that the pie family encompasses fruit cobblers, crisps, buckles, bettys, slumps, crumbles and all their siblings -- but I sense this is a debate best avoided.
Besides, then we'd have to argue blackberry (or dewberry) vs. peach, and that kind of partisanship could really get ugly. So, for the purposes of our rhetorical state pie, we're ruling out cobbler.
Here, then, are our somewhat arbitrary candidates for state-pie-hood. I wouldn't be embarrassed to have any of them representing my state.
Cast your vote at www.star-telegram.com. If you're steamed that we overlooked your favorite, e-mail me at aculbertson@star-telegram.com with your suggestion. We'll reveal the winning pie next Wednesday.

Apricot fried pie
Buttermilk pie
Lemon meringue pie
Peach pie
Pecan pie

Amy Culbertson, (817) 390-7421 aculbertson@star-telegram.com
source: http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/living/columnists/amy_culbertson/14599481.htm