Picking out the Perfect Pies

Aside from turkey, the only thing more synonymous with Thanksgiving is pie. With so many flavors, variations and options to choose from, how can you not like pie? Thankfully, we live in an area abundant with bakeries specializing in pies, so if you’re not up for making your own this holiday, you have choices.

Ikedas, with locations in both Auburn and Davis, is a regional favorite. Their handmade pies are so scrumptious that restaurants as far as Lake Tahoe buy in bulk for Thanksgiving. Favorites include marionberry, raspberry, and Dutch and French apple.

Classic pumpkin is a specialty at Freeport Bakery on the border of the Curtis and Land Park neighborhoods. In addition to the traditional flavors of apple, pumpkin, and pecan pies, their holiday menu also features a rustic pear fladen, pumpkin and cranberry cheesecakes, and an apricot almond torte.

Being a traditional European bakery doesn’t preclude Ettore’s, on Fair Oaks in the Arden area, from rounding out the perfect Thanksgiving meal. Choose from, among other sweet delicacies, the poached pear tart, cranberry walnut tart, and apple galette.

Old Folsom boasts Karen’s Bakery. Karen, a former kindergarten teacher and PTA mom, now devotes her time and energy into creating some of the region’s finest dishes, from her egg salad and prosciutto sandwich to mouthwatering banana bread. Some of her creations include spiced apple and pear pie with hazelnut crumble topping, pumpkin pie with gingerbread crust, and orange bourbon pecan pie.