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There’s something about pie. It doesn’t matter if it’s sweet or savory; filled with fruit or custard or steak and ale; conventionally round or half-moon-shaped; store-bought or baked at home. Whatever the particulars, pie is somehow accessible and comforting and irresistible in a way that, say, muffins, cake, or doughnuts can never be.
“Never say ‘no’ to pie,” counsels “Today Show” personality Al Roker. “No matter what, wherever you are, diet-wise or whatever, you know what? You can always have a small piece of pie….” Or a big piece.
Pie has a long history in America. We’ve been eating it ever since the Pilgrims brought the idea of enclosing things in dough across the Atlantic. What they ate was probably mostly meat pies, though a recipe for pumpkin pie did first appear as early as 1675. (We can only imagine what early American pumpkin pie-eaters would have thought of all those pumpkin spice things we don’t need this fall.)
Regional pie styles developed over the years, reflecting locally available ingredients — pecans in Texas, Key limes in Florida, peaches in Georgia, blueberries in Maine, apples almost everywhere — and more elaborate confections like lemon meringue, banana cream, and black bottom pies attained classic status.
Click here to see the best pie shop in every state
Many American cities boast pie shops today — dessert emporiums that make a specialty of pies. Then there are bakeries with a wider repertoire which nonetheless turn out a variety of first-rate pies. And some places known primarily as diners or even full-scale restaurants make pies of some distinction, too, selling them to take out as well as to enjoy in situ. A number of purveyors offer both sweet and savory examples, and some of the signature items singled out below are dinner rather than dessert.
All those kinds of places are included in this list of top-notch places to find pie. Whatever the particulars, all of them will delight the pie-lover, and many of them are among the 40 best pie shops in America.

1. Alabama: JaWanda’s Sweet Potato Pie
> City: Birmingham
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Pecan sweet potato
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2. Alaska: A Pie Stop
> City: Anchorage
> Yelp rating: 4
> Sample specialty: Coconut custard
[recirclink id=595920]

3. Arizona: Piefection
> City: Mesa
> Yelp rating: 4
> Sample specialty: Lemon blueberry sour cream

4. Arkansas: Rymolene’s Pies
> City: Fayetteville
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Cranberry Key lime
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5. California: I Like Pie
> City: Claremont
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Chocolate chip chess

6. Colorado: 3.14 Sweet & Savory Pi Bar
> City: Colorado Springs
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Amaretto cherry almond
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7. Connecticut: Cutie Pies
> City: Thomaston
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Grasshopper
[recirclink id=593725]

8. Delaware: Sweet Somethings
> City: Wilmington
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Banana cream

9. Florida: P Is for Pie Bakery
> City: Orlando
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Caramel pecan hand pie
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10. Georgia: Pie Society
> City: Savannah
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Steak and ale

11. Hawaii: Hawaiian Pie Company
> City: Honolulu
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Strawberry guava
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12. Idaho: Pie Hut
> City: Sand Point
> Yelp rating: 4
> Sample specialty: Crème brûlée
[recirclink id=564221]

13. Illinois: Bang Bang Pie & Biscuits (Logan Square)
> City: Chicago
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Blueberry pistachio

14. Indiana: Pots and Pans Pies
> City: Indianapolis
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Biscuits and gravy pot pie
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15. Iowa: Kathy’s Pies
> City: Cedar Rapids
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Dutch apple

16. Kansas: The Upper Crust Pie Bakery
> City: Overland Park
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Raspberry peach
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17. Kentucky: Homemade Ice Cream & Pie Kitchen
> City: Louisville
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Double crust apple
[recirclink id=594894]

18. Louisiana: Not Just Pie
> City: Monroe
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Banana caramel

19. Maine: Two Fat Cats Bakery
> City: Portland
> Yelp rating: 4
> Sample specialty: Blueberry
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20. Maryland: Dangerously Delicious Pies
> City: Baltimore
> Yelp rating: 3.5
> Sample specialty: Baltimore bomb

21. Massachusetts: Petsi Pies
> City: Somerville
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Mississippi mud
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22. Michigan: Sister Pie
> City: Detroit
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Salted maple
[recirclink id=581649]

23. Minnesota: The Buttered Tin
> City: Minneapolis
> Yelp rating: 4
> Sample specialty: Pumpkin chiffon

24. Mississippi: Tom’s Fried Pies
> City: Jackson
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Pizza pocket hand pie
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25. Missouri: Pie Oh My
> City: Maplewood
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Dulce de leche mini pie

26. Montana: Black Cat Bake Shop
> City: Missoula
> Yelp rating: 4
> Sample specialty: Huckleberry
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27. Nebraska: The Village PieMaker
> City: Eustis
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Cherry
[recirclink id=568213]

28. Nevada: Mix Bakeshop
> City: Reno
> Yelp rating: 4
> Sample specialty: Mixed berry

29. New Hampshire: Just Like Mom’s Pastries
> City: Weare
> Yelp rating: 4
> Sample specialty: Chocolate M&M
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30. New Jersey: The Pie Store
> City: Montclair
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Chicken tikka

31. New Mexico: Pie-O-Neer Pies
> City: Pie Town
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Apple green chile piñon
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32. New York: Petee’s Pie Company
> City: New York City
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Black bottom almond chess
[recirclink id=568977]

33. North Carolina: Fayetteville Pie Company
> City: Fayetteville
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Peach crumble

34. North Dakota: Nichole’s Fine Pastry & Café
> City: Fargo
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Key lime
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35. Ohio: Just Pies
> City: Westerville
> Yelp rating: 4
> Sample specialty: Chocolate silk

36. Oklahoma: Pie Junkie
> City: Oklahoma City
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Drunken turtle
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37. Oregon: Pie vs. Pie
> City: Gresham
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Coconut cream
[recirclink id=564221]

38. Pennsylvania: The Pie Place
> City: Pittsburgh
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: California raisin

39. Rhode Island: Wayland Bakery
> City: Providence
> Yelp rating: 4
> Sample specialty: Boston cream
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40. South Carolina: Sugar Bakeshop
> City: Charleston
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Buttermilk

41. South Dakota: Pistachio Pie
> City: Rapid City
> Yelp rating: 4
> Sample specialty: Pistachio
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42. Tennessee: Buttermilk Sky Pie Shop
> City: Murfreesboro
> Yelp rating: 5
> Sample specialty: Peanut butter cream
[recirclink id=593725]

43. Texas: Emporium Pies (Emporium Arts District)
> City: Dallas
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Father Christmas (peppermint cream with dark chocolate crust)

44. Utah: Rocky Mountain Pies
> City: Salt Lake City
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Sea salt caramel French silk
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45. Vermont: Piecemeal Pies
> City: White River Junction
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Rabbit bacon

46. Virginia: Proper Pie Co.
> City: Richmond
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Raspberry chocolate
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47. Washington: A la Mode Pies
> City: Seattle
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Bourbon butterscotch
[recirclink id=595920]

48. West Virginia: Oliver’s Pies
> City: Wheeling
> Yelp rating: 4
> Sample specialty: Pineapple

49. Wisconsin: Elsie Mae’s Canning & Pies
> City: Kenosha
> Yelp rating: 4.5
> Sample specialty: Ginger lime
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50. Wyoming: The Bread Doctor
> City: Torrington
> Yelp rating: 5
> Sample specialty: Chicken pot pie