THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PIES TO EAT & DRINK

In case you  couldn’t tell by now, we ♥ pie! And we have fallen totally in love with a few pie establishments who have been turning out some of the most beautiful pies and pie ideas to eat and drink (yes we meant drink!).  

The Four & Twenty Blackbirds pie shop, founded by sisters and extraordinary pie makers, Melissa Elsen and Emily Elsen, totally takes the cake! They come from a midwest, pie-baking, pie-loving family.

Named “Artisans of the Year” by Time Out Magazine, the Elsens’ pies are truly works of art. They are a masterful fusion of perfectly executed old-fashioned pastry-making ideas with new wave ingredients and flavor notes.

Four & Twenty’s brilliance can be discovered with a single taste of their Salted Caramel Apple, Chili Chocolate, Black Bottom Oat, Birch Beer Float, and Malted Chocolate Pecan, to name a few. But of course you’ll want a nice fat slice to tuck into.

Beyond their spot-on pie-baking technical skills, perhaps just one reason why Four & Twenty Blackbirds’s pies are so incredibly beautiful is that Emily has a BFA in Sculpture from the esteemed Pratt Institute and is a co-founder of the non-profit art and design studio the Gowanus Studio Space in Brooklyn. Another is Melissa’s penchant for exploring new food ideas through her travels.

Four & Twenty’s pies are lovingly made with seasonal fruit fillings, from-scratch custards and beautifully pattened hand-formed crusts.

 

On Friday, Pi Day, Four & Twenty Blackbirds is making another beautiful mark in Brooklyn. It is moving into the café space inside the Brooklyn Public Library. The Elsen sisters have partnered with a pair chef-brothers, John and Mike Poiarkoff, of The Pines and Vinegar Hill House, respectively, to offer a truly wonderful menu of custom made sandwiches and pies.

 

Check out “The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book, Uncommon Recipes From the Celebrated Brooklyn Pie Shop,” in our post 10 Most Beautiful Pie & Pi Books.

Here’s a genius idea: Cocktails & Pie together in one fabulous place! Alyssa Lewis (who owned and operated the Seattle Pie Co. in Magnolia) and her twin sister, Natalie Delucchi (who managed a bar in Arizona) had this epiphany, and opened Pie Bar.

Lewis bakes an assortment of fruit pies, while Delucchi makes a variety of savory pot pies, quiches and cream pies. Delucchi will also wow you with her “Pie-tinis,” pie-infused martinis:

 

Lemon Meringue Pietini

Whipped Vodka, Limoncello, muddled, lemon garnish, pie pastry flake rim

 

Marionberry Pietini

Vanilla infused vodka, whipped vodka, marionberry liqueur, cream, shaken, muddled, fresh blackberries, pie pastry rim

 

Blueberry Pietini

Blueberry infused vodka, whipped vodka, blueberry nectar, muddled and shaken with fresh blueberries, pie pastry rim

Cherry Pietini

Cherry Infused vodka, whipped vodka, cherry nectar, muddled and shaken with fresh sour cherries, pie pastry rim

 

Pumpkin Pietini

Vanilla infused vodka, RumChata Cream, pumpkin liqueur, cinnamon, shaken, pie pastry flake rim

Key Lime Pietini

Licor 43, Key West lime juice, cream, shaken, lime wedge garnish, pie pastry flake rim

 

Chocolate Cream Pietini

Chocolate infused Whipped Vodka, coconut rum, cream, shaken, chocolate curls, pie pastry flake rim

 

Dutch Apple Pietini

Vanilla infused Vodka, Apple Schnapps, Butterscotch Schnapps, shaken, cinnamon sticks garnish, pie pastry flake rim

 

Peach Pietini

Whipped Cream Vodka, Peach Schnapps, fresh squeezed peach juice, cream, shaken, peach wedge garnish, pie pastry rim

For those on-the-go, as well as those under 21, Pie Bar also offers a walk-up window for pie. Smart!

If you want to make your own beautiful pies, you can learn how to do it like a true artiste at

the Art of Pie pie-making workshops hosted by Kate McDermott. It’s a pie-making intensive, with five hours of lessons, held in McDermott’s Port Angeles, Washington, Pie Cottage.

 

There you can learn all sorts of tips and tricks for the flakiest crusts and the jazziest fillings, with a few sprinkles of pie trivia and history thrown in for good measure. You’ll leave the class with a fully finished pie to take home!

But if a single day workshop isn’t enough to satiate your love of pie-making, Kate also offers a five day version called the Pie Camp. Pie Camp is tailored to the “campers” so no matter what your skill level you’ll be sure to learn a lot about the art of pie making from Katie while having a ton of fun as well. You’ll get lots of “butter, flour, lard, and Love!”

 

Read more about Beautiful Pie, it relates to Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact including 10 Most Beautiful Pie and Pi Books, and Science Makes Pie a Piece of Cake. Check out this super-beautiful pi etching on a gorgeous sapphire crystal in our post: Sapphire Science Rocks

 

Enter this week’s BN Competition. Our theme this week is Beautiful Pie. Send in your images and ideas. Deadline is 03.16.14.

PHOTO CREDITS

 

1. Courtesy of Four and Twenty Blackbirds. Lavender Blueberry Pie.

2. Courtesy of Four and Twenty Blackbirds. Blueberry Pie.

3. Courtesy of Four and Twenty Blackbirds. Chopping for pie.

4. Courtesy of Four and Twenty Blackbirds. Rolling Pie Crust.

5. Courtesy of Four and Twenty Blackbirds. Placing the top on a pie.

6. Courtesy of Four and Twenty Blackbirds. Apple Pie.

7. Courtesy of Pie Bar. Pie and Cocktail.

8. Courtesy of Pie Bar. Sour Cherry Pie.

9. Courtesy of Pie Bar. Pie and Ice Cream.

10. Courtesy of Pie Bar. Cocktail and Chocolate Pie.

11. Courtesy of Sweet Tooth in Seattle. Pie Bar.

12. Courtesy of Art of the Pie. Pie.

13. Courtesy of Art of the Pie. Pies from the Art of Pie.