2857A Lincoln Highway E.  (U.S. Rt. 30) Ronks, PA 17572 717-687-0111 Review by Gary Hardee Shoo fly pie and apple pan dowdy Makes your eyes light up, Your tummy say "Howdy." Shoo fly pie and apple pan dowdy I never get enough of that wonderful stuff.  We were headed to Pennsylvania's Amish country near Lancaster when our esteemed American Pieways reviewer and friend, John Forsyth, advised: Stop at Dutch Haven for what's reportedly the best shoo-fly pie in Pennsylvania. As I have often discovered, John's advice on pie is to be trusted, and followed.
Still, on a warm August afternoon, I was in no mood to backtrack to Ronks, Pa. We had a long drive ahead and had inadvertently passed Dutch Haven. And I was still uncomfortably full from the stout family-style Amish meal we had at Stolzfus Farm in Intercourse, Pa. The thought of more pie did not appeal. My wife, Camilla, insisted we turn around. "John said we should stop." I whined but turned around. She went in to Dutch Haven's yellow and white brick building with the gaudy pseudo wind mill. I sat in the truck and pouted. She returned and said, "You need to try the sample." As usual, my wife was right. The instant I entered, a woman behind the counter was handing me a slice of this traditional Dutch dessert on paper plate. The pie had been heated in a microwave and topped with a dollop of of warm drizzly whipped cream. Now taste-testing pie on a full stomach is never a fair, but after only one bite I ordered the 9-inch pie to go. One bite was all I needed. It was that good. Dutch Haven claims to have made shoo-fly pie famous. Perhaps, but the Pennsylvania Dutch have been cooking this adaptation of the British treacle tart since the early 18th Century, when syrups such as molasses were a staple of British and Colonial American cooking. In the 1940s and '50s, singers like Dinah Shore and Ella Fitzgerald glorified the dessert in the song "Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy." (Click here to listen to Dinah Shore's rendition.)  Somehow that suggestion seems, well, sinful. The most striking feature of the countryside around Soudersburg and neighboring Ronks is the lack of electrical umbilical cords that connect Amish farms to the 21st century. It feels unholy to zap something that looks and tastes as though it was born in an 18th-century hearth. But do heat the pie in a microwave. It is wonderful that way, so good, in fact, that my wife, a deliberative individual not prone to quick praise, said of Dutch Haven's pie: "I don't know what there is to improve on; I'd rate this six slices." Our first taste of shoo-fly pie was actually about two hours earlier. The Stoltzfus Farm Restaurant serves up a pretty good version as part of an all-you-can-eat lunch that includes incredible fried chicken, sausage, ham loaf, mashed potatoes, cole slaw, green beans, buttered noodles and homemade chow-chow, bread and apple butter. You have to pace yourself to save room for a variety of desserts, which includes chocolate cake, a pumpkin roll, a nice cherry pie and, of course, shoo-fly. We rated Stoltzfus' shoo-fly a four, but only after returning home and savoring Dutch Haven's specialty, which we made last over several days.  The good news is that Dutch Haven will ship its pies anywhere. Go to www.dutchhaven.com for details. Hmmm. Ordering an age-old Dutch pie online seems sinful, too. We'll just have to go back. |
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