Cleiburne Cafeteria Burned Down

One of my favorite places for homemade pie was one of Houston's oldest cafeterias (part of the 70+ club of restaurants still in business after 70 years). Yesterday the restaurant started in 1941 by a Greek immigrant burned to the ground. Apparently this isn't the first time that fire has hit the restaurant and amazingly spared the paintings of the original deceased owner. Hopefully they can rebuild again soon.

http://abc13.com/news/fire-destroys-houstons-historic-cleburne-cafeteria/1309192/

As of May 1 I will begin a new project to identify the best savory and sweet pies in Houston. I would have included Cleiburne and Kindli Haus (which I reviewed last year) in my list, but now both are gone, the latter permanently. Anyone who would like to suggest a pie or pie restaurant that I should put on my list, please leave a comment. A good restaurant pie for consideration at minimum has to have 1) an individually made crust (can't be frozen crust), 2) have good (and hopefully creative) flavor combinations, and 3) not have filling thickeners that create a bad texture. I will also be contributing to a list of restaurants or food trucks outside Houston in Texas (and nationwide) with excellent pie.

Best Austin Pies 2015 (Eater)

Upper Crust 4508 Burnet Rd Austin, TX

How did I miss all of these pie bakeries in my many past trips to Austin? Has there been an explosion of new pie bakeries with the comfort food trends during the Great Recession? I've got my work cut out for me to try all of these:

Royers Pie Haven, Sugar Mama's Bakeshop, Bribery Bakery, Eastside Cafe, Elaine's, Mother's Cafe and Garden, Cake & Spoon at Franklin Barbecue, Odd Duck, Lucy's Fried Chicken, Dai Due Butcher Shop, Tiny Pies, Micklethwait Craft Meats, Olamaie, Blackbird Bakery, Pie Plante, Quack's 43rd St Bakery, Upper Crust, Peché, Hoover's Cooking, and Lambert's Downtown BBQ

http://austin.eater.com/maps/best-austin-pies-desserts-bakeries

Texas Highways 2015 Top 5 Texas Pies

Texas Highways published their top five places for pie in Texas in the Nov 2015 issue (along with their pics for CFS, BBQ, burgers, Tex-Mex, seafood, and kolaches. They named Blue Bonnet Cafe (Marble Falls), Koffee Kup (Hico), Coffee Shop Cafe (McGregor), Texan Cafe and Pie Shop (Hutto), and Oxbow Bakery (Palestine, reviewed here a few months ago). #1, #2, and #4 overlapped with Texas Monthly's top 10 (also posted here). The pie news continues to raise my interest in visiting Marble Falls and the Hill Country.
http://www.texashighways.com/food-drink/item/8008-comfort-food-pies

Pie News: Pie-Eating Bear

Bear Eats Everything In Bakery Except One Terrible Pie