Making a holiday meal is hard enough without having to contend with the daunting task of baking up a perfect pie crust. Free up your oven, and pick up Thanksgiving pies to-go at one of these L.A. bakeries. (And if it’s a turkey you need, there’s a list for that too.)
Bon Temps
Impress guests with treats from Lincoln Carson’s new Arts District cafè, which is winning raves for its pastries. Opt for his traditional pumpkin pie or a chai cream pie dusted with the Moroccan seasoning blend ras el hanout, lending it “floral and warm spice notes,” Carson says. He’ll also offer ready-to-bake biscuits, made with “an obscene amount” of sour cream. “Thanksgiving is the best holiday there is,” he enthuses. Indeed. (Pies start at $42.) 712 S. Santa Fe Ave., Arts District.
Friends & Family
Known for her rustic-yet-refined desserts, Roxana Jullapat, who previously worked at Cooks County, is baking up traditional apple, pumpkin, and chocolate chess varieties. She’s also preparing unique selections, like cranberry brown butter and sorghum pecan. (All pies $40 to $42.) 5150 Hollywood Blvd., Los Feliz.
Dominique Ansel Bakery
The Cronut creator approaches Thanksgiving mainstays with both whimsy and a delicate precision befitting a classically trained French chef. His sophisticated “extra silky” pumpkin number is triple strained for the smoothest custard filling, set in a hand-crimped gingerbread crust, and topped with vanilla chantilly cream. Salted caramel tops off the apple pie, while bourbon pecan reaches new levels thanks to a vanilla sable crust. (All pies $48.) The Grove, 189 The Grove Dr., Beverly Grove.
Valerie Confections
“The apple pie we sell is the same pie I made at home for years,” says Valerie Gordon of her specialty, which features apples roasted in brown sugar and a lot of butter. Other tasty options (below, all $40) include pear and roasted grape with marzipan crumble
as well as winter “luxury” pumpkin. The latter is filled with puréed slow-roasted pumpkin that’s seasoned with a proprietary blend of spices ground in-house. It all makes for a uniquely rich, dark amber filling that’s great on the big day and perhaps even better the next. Gordon says: “My favorite way to eat [it] is the day after, for breakfast, slightly
hungover and feeling all the gratitude.” Various locations.
République
Chef Margarita Manzke is all about careful sourcing. She names her pies ($48) after the farms that supply the star ingredients—Thao Farms Sweet Potato Pie (above) and Fair Hill Farms Apple Pie—and is choosy about her fruit. “I like to use Pink Lady apples because they hold their crisp texture throughout the baking process. They’re juicy and have a slightly sweet and tart flavor,” says Manzke. Have a slice, and you’ll likely agree. 624 S. La Brea Ave., Hancock Park.
RELATED: Where to Get a Thanksgiving Feast To-Go in L.A.
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