The real reason we went to Monterey...

Pie #37-39

Here is the real reason we went to California for Jalyn's birthday... Pie Number One on the Time Out top 17 pies in the US!! When Zane and I went to LA at New Year's to have Grapefruit pie, our original plan was to then head north to San Francisco and then across Nevada to get home to SLC. However, Mother Nature changed our plans for us. Donner Pass was shut down and there was a huge snowstorm that would have been miserable to drive through. I had to have that pie, though. Jalyn was kind enough and up for the adventure of having pie with me in San Francisco. 

We flew into San Jose and drove to Daly City to seek out Devil's Teeth Baking Company. The list recommended the Sweet Potato Pecan Pie as the number 8 pie in the US. I was excited for it. We found the bakery and we were extremely disappointed to find they had NO PIE!! I asked the counter help and was informed that they don't know how they got on the list. They only make pie at Thanksgiving and it has to be special ordered. I was deflated!! I traveled all that way for no pie!

I tried to take it in stride and move on to the next pie on the list. It was actually number ONE and I was ready to be cheered up after that sad, sad disappointment. We headed into San Francisco to find Tartine Bakery. On a Saturday. In San Francisco. During a protest of President Trump's travel ban on certain countries. Ugh! We weren't getting anywhere close to that place. I gave up and headed south to Santa Cruz and Monterey. I begged Jalyn to please leave Jacqui early so we could go back to San Francisco before our flight on Tuesday. Thankfully, she agreed and it was definitely, definitely worth the drive. 

We had no problem getting to Tartine's on Tuesday. The location is not well advertised but the Google Map got us there. Look at those pies!! The number one pie on the list is the Chocolate Banana Cream pie. The location was packed so we got it to go and took it back to the car. We picked up the Lemon Curd Tart, as well, because it looked, well...look at it...it looked amazing! I'm surprised we weren't cited for indecent public activity because of the sounds of deliciousness we were making in the car. The Banana Cream pie was so, so good! I was so sad not to have a cooler to bring the pie home. Zane would have loved it! The Lemon Curd was the perfect blend of tart and sweet and creamy. Thank you Jalyn, for sharing your birthday trip with my quest for pie. It was worth it!

After my initial disappointment in San Francisco, we went on a hunt for good pie in Monterey. The Google search took us to a little bakery and cafe in the middle of an industrial area. They did their best to make it look like a cozy cafe outside but it still seemed very out of place. However, the pie was worth it! When I did my 40 pies before 40 quest, I tried an Ollalieberry pie in 

Southern California. I have asked around for it since then but it seems to be a regional thing. I understand that it is a mix between an eastern blackberry and a western dewberry. I don't know what all that means but I do know that it means a deliciously sweet/tart berry pie for me. This cute bakery did a great job. Apparently, the have amazing quiche, as well. Next time we are out there, we will have pie and quiche.