Guide: Long Island's best pies for Thanksgiving and beyond

This roadside establishment's flagship (a second market is in Jamesport) boasts a wondrous selection of local produce and a much smaller — but not to be overlooked — pie concern. Among the five or so flavors available at any one time are all the usual suspects, but the peach is a standout. You won't find a better sweet-but-not-too version on the Island.

It’s Destination One on any new Long Islander’s list, but don’t be fooled by the aw-shucks farmhouse facade. Briermere is nothing short of a pie factory, a well-oiled (buttered?) machine where two dozen flavors are sold by the hundreds on gorgeous fall weekends. Don’t miss various iterations of its "cream pie," an open-faced pie filled with fluffy cream and topped with fruit.

Carissa Waechter sells a double-crust apple pie around Thanksgiving and a seasonal fruit tart and a double chocolate flourless cake with Swiss meringue frosting, but the rest of the stock is subject to the market and the baker's inspiration. Other locations at 221 Pantigo Rd., East Hampton; and 3 Bay St., Sag Harbor.

This venerable bake shop opened in 1982, and its blueberry-raspberry-strawberry pie remains the most popular, but Diane Margaritis’ chocolate mousse and banana cream versions are equally prized, followed closely by pecan and apple, the perennial favorite. Apple aficionados take note: When it comes to the cinnamon-nutmeg divide, Diane’s allegiance is to the nutmeg camp. Together with lemon juice, the bewitching spice tends to heighten and not mask fruit flavors.

In addition to produce, herbs and cut flowers, this family-owned farm stand features extensive pie varieties including apple, apple blueberry, four berry, pecan, chocolate pecan, pumpkin and more than 20 other fruit pies. There also are potpies, including a rich-tasting duck and chicken potpie.

Don’t let the name fool you. This is one of the Island’s premier pie shops, offering an extraordinary variety on the daily, and many more made to order, from strawberry rhubarb to bumbleberry. But don’t overlook the refrigerated pies, especially Hallock’s Key lime and Black Bottoms, a dark chocolate version, graham cracker crust with strips of Belgian dark chocolate and a layer of Key lime; another simply called Sinful; and a peanut butter mousse pie drizzled with fudge and baked in a peanut and chocolate chip crust.

Sweet or savory? So many decisions, so little time. A compendious and creative list of dessert pies commands the most attention, and deservedly so, but don’t overlook the British meat or chicken potpies. As for the sweet, expect all the traditional and new favorites that change daily, such as black bottom pies with a bourbon oat filling, burnt butter chess pies, cannoli pies, devil’s food — you get the idea.

The cider mill is Nassau's go-to location for all things apple-related. There's an unsurpassed selection of varieties, all from New York State, and that bounty is used to make a number of fine pies, including apple, apple crumb, apple cherry, apple peach and apple cranberry.

Christopher Junda once sold his wares on the street. But that was 25 years ago, before the popularity of his apple strudel, based on a family recipe, began attracting fans from all over the Island and beyond. These days he’s happily ensconced in Jamesport’s oldest private structure, making from scratch with local produce, fabulous pies in flavors like apple pear, apple caramel crumb, sweet potato brown sugar meringue, pumpkin and more, all of them available at his shop and sometimes at restaurants and many local farm stands. Pro tip: Don’t like jelly doughnuts? Junda’s will make a believer out of you.

Antonio Trozzo moved from England to New York and dearly missed the savory pies of his homeland. So he learned to make pork pie, steak-and-kidney pie, chicken-and-bacon pie, shepherd’s pie, Cornish pasties (filled with beef, potato and turnip), vegetarian, Indian-inspired Balti pie — 35 pies in all, including six made with fruit. After a year of farmers-market success, he took over a pizzeria in East Meadow and added his pies to the menu. They also are available refrigerated or frozen. Other location: Kensington Pies II, 435 Clinton St., Hempstead; 516-544-6100, kensingtonpiesny.com

Prepare to be assaulted by the delirium-inducing aroma of freshly baked pies as soon as you walk through the door, with apple, peach, strawberry rhubarb,blueberry, cherry, coconut cream, s'mores and Key lime (seasonal) in the air. And the Kerberry — a mélange of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries — counts Oprah among its fans.

"It’s the kind of pie you think of when you think of an old-school pie," says the counter attendant. Old school is generally a good thing when you’re talking pie, and so it is with this stalwart 40-plus-year-old shop, which takes a lightly sweet approach to fruit pies, and counts among its fans the Hamptons crowd. A few varieties are available every day (don’t miss the top-selling lemon pie, with its impossibly tall peaks of meringue), but many more are made to order. Favorites include apple, chocolate pudding, pecan and Boston cream.

Pot pies have been a specialty at Cooperage Inn in Baiting Hollow since Jonathan Perkins purchased the farm-country restaurant in 1999. During the pandemic, his team began distributing frozen “NoFo Pot Pies” to retail locations all over Suffolk and, in 2024, they opened this stand-alone pie specialist in Mattituck. The shop sells up to 10 varieties of savory pies, from traditional chicken, beef and shepherd’s pie to more out-there lobster-shrimp-scallop, jambalaya and chicken Marsala. Sweet offerings include Key lime, coconut, chocolate cream and apple-pear puff.

Owner Donny Olish prefers to source fruit locally for his prodigious shop, although given the variety of pies on offer — more than 30, several with no sugar added (available by pre-order only) — he’s sometimes forced to look farther afield. Berry fans, meanwhile, need look no farther than this Suffolk stalwart and Olish’s Fruit of the Forest, in which strawberries, rhubarb, apples, blackberries and raspberries join forces to produce a pie for the ages.

This place never seems to disappoint, particularly when it comes to everybody's favorite — the apple. The shop's year-round devotion to the fruit includes everything from double crust to streusel crumb to an irresistible caramel variety. Fall brings companion fruits like cranberries to the apple mix, along with its ever-popular coconut custard, bourbon pecan and pumpkin pies.

This North Fork bicentennial farm specializes in growing fruits. With more than 100 acres in production, you can find fresh fruits from April through October. In the farm kitchen, they are baking pies daily with a standard selection including apple, blueberry, cherry, peach and strawberry rhubarb, plus seasonal mixed fruit pies throughout the year. Thanksgiving orders start in early November.

For some, pie-buying means farm stands, and there are few quainter than this charmer. The pastry for the terrific pies is made in an unorthodox fashion: Youngs’ pie crusts are an unusual blend of vegetable shortening and flour, bringing small-batch credibility to a large-batch affair. Autumnal apple pies and pumpkin pies are always big sellers, along with perennially popular Linzer tarts.