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American Pieways reviews

YOUR GUIDES TO GREAT PIE




John Forsyth is a book author and world traveler with discriminating tastes and a storyteller's heart. He and his wife, Jennifer, are traipsing along America's backroads and "pieways" in search of good desserts by the slice and sweet stories. You can find all of their reviews linked from the home page.  Here's to good eating and good reading.
"There are lots of jokes involving pies; they’re funnier than other foods, somehow."
-- The New York Times, June 15, 2009


OUR RATINGS





One slice: You’re in danger of suffering pie withdrawal, and no alternatives in sight.



Two slices: You used to think this was good pie, before American Pieways set you straight.




Three slices: If pies came out of your oven this tasty, you’d start a bakery.




Four slices: Buy another slice to go, ’cause this’ll still be good in the morning.



Five slices: Whoa! Redraw that vacation itinerary to include this pie.





Six slices: Member of the Holy Church of the Flaky Crust.

CONTACTS

 

Dysart's Truck Stop, Hermon, ME







530 Cold Brook Rd.
Hermon, Maine
(207) 947-8732
Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
A truck stop conjures up images both good and bad for the interstate traveler, and Dysart’s, a much-publicized outpost on I-95 in the cuisine-challenged Bangor area, fills that bill to a T.
    A line of trucks is parked outside, and cars are pulling up to the pumps for gas. The restaurant menu includes a bit of everything, from seafood to burgers to chicken teriyaki and the best breakfast on this part of I-95. And yes, maybe a diner has to overlook a hair in the batter of his fried clams, as John did.
    Hey, hairnet abuse happens occasionally. Dysart’s still has some of the best people watching anywhere, with faces to match coastal Maine’s weather-beaten cragginess. And on bitter cold winter nights, the lights of this oasis at the highway exit must be a huge relief.
   But then there are the pies, which included sugar-free and regular apple, raspberry, peanut butter cup ice cream, Oreo ice cream, banana cream, coconut cream and graham cracker cream, not to mention pastries like banana-split puffs, sundaes, pudding and ice cream. Jennifer went for the sugarless blueberry pie, packed with a thick filling of tiny, wild Maine blueberries, tart and tasty, even if we were visiting off season.
    John was stumped over his choice until he saw a slice of chocolate cream go by the table, with a 2-inch pudding layer topped by another inch of cream standing up like a bouffant hairdo, with chocolate sprinkles on top. The bottom crust was so flaky it was stratified, almost like phyllo.
    Dysart’s has been honored for using Maine products whenever it can. And it’s known for some of its specialties, like the poutine, which is a platter of French fries smothered in gravy and cheese. Truckers even have a room of their own at Dysart’s because they don’t like the easy-listening music being played in the main dining room.
    But we were appalled by our lunch tab of $54, so when we saw a sign by the door asking, “What do you love most about Dysart’s?” the answer seemed obvious. It wasn’t “the prices,” it was “the pies.”

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