[title subtitle=”words: Dwain Hebda
image: courtesy featured locations
and the Arkansas Department of Tourism”][/title]
Oh, the glory of pie! Sure, cake may be dressier and cookies more portable, but nothing says, “Thanks for dropping by,” like a beautiful slice of pie. Variety? There’s a pie for every day of the year and two on Sundays. Artistry? There’s nothing more beautiful in all the world than a perfectly browned meringue, a flaky crust curled around the season’s brightest fruit or the story of a family captured in Grandma’s pecan masterpiece. Arkansas certainly knows how to do pie! Here’s a short list of shops that every true pie junkie should visit before they die. We know this doesn’t begin to cover every one of the great bakers in the Natural State, so don’t be shy. Let us know where you get your favorite slice for the benefit of your fellow pie junkies. Together, we can make the world a nicer, sweeter, more delicious place.
HONEY PIES
315 North Bowman Road, Suite 14
Little Rock, AR
501.613.7950 | myhoneypies.com
There may be pie places in Arkansas that are older, but none quite like Little Rock’s Honey Pies.
Launched in 2016 as a delivery service, Honey Pies moved up to partnering with food trucks then finally opened its stylish West Little Rock storefront. The place is the brainchild of baker extraordinaire and northwest Arkansas native Sharon Woodson, who learned the art of baking pies at her grandmother’s side.
Honey Pies has expanded into other sweet treats and features breakfast and lunch menus, but the headliner is still the decadent pies the place cranks out one after another. Workers start baking at 6AM and continue throughout the day to meet demand, with an average of eight varieties available at any given time.
Chocolate lovers need to try the chocolate fudge brownie pie, a consistent winner with food critics and the store’s number one seller. Think of a gooey fudge brownie that poses as pie (or vice versa), and you’ll understand why people lose their minds over this treat. Rounding out the top three sellers are coconut cream with toasted meringue and possum pie, comprised of layers of cream cheese and pecans, chocolate cream and toasted meringue in the signature all-butter crust.
Honey Pies was even a People’s Choice nominee for the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame last year. The Food Network listed the store’s peanut butter cream pie as one of the best in the country. Staff are loath to share too many trade secrets, saying only that lots of love and butter make all the difference, which are words we can all live by.
CHARLOTTE’S EATS & SWEETS
290 Main Street
Keo, AR
501.842.2123
Keo, Arkansas, is a sleepy little bend in the road about a half hour from downtown Little Rock. Hunters annually whiz past it to get to the duck hunting fields of the Grand Prairie, and antique lovers know it as a prime spot for scouring for treasures (although the stalwart Morris Antiques is no longer here, having called it quits last spring).
But one corner of this tiny community on the threshold of the Arkansas Delta is known for something else, year-round. Charlotte’s Eats and Sweets has become a landmark for delicious pie creations that are favorites of locals, visitors and national media alike.
The headliner here is coconut, named one of The South’s Best Pies by Southern Living a couple of years back. Charlotte Bowls, owner and master pie-maker, can’t make these treats fast enough to satisfy her legions of fans, mixing fresh coconut into both the filling and into the dish’s towering pompadour of meringue. As if that weren’t enough, Charlotte also cranks out a dozen other varieties—the chocolate and caramel are also highly recommended—so you’re sure to find something you’ll like.
A word to the wise: It’s generally only the tourists, out-of-towners and rookies who stand in line to experience Charlotte’s creations. Locals know to call in their order and pick it up. Also, if you order off Charlotte’s lunch menu, it’s not only something of a tradition to order dessert with your entrée but highly recommended. When the day’s supply of pie is gone, it’s gone.
RHODA’S FAMOUS HOT TAMALES
714 St. Mary Street
Lake Village, AR
870.265.3108
It’s hard to say who it is that comes to Rhoda’s: Tamale fans who venture into pie or pie fans that start with tamales. Both dishes are equally legendary.
Rhoda Adams has been making both the sweet and the savory from this spot for decades and has developed a nationwide following as a result. She once said God called her to make pies, which she sold out of her house and then turned the proceeds over to her church. Originally, she only made sweet potato pie, but eventually caved to popular demand that she make a pecan variety. The dessert world has never been the same.
Rhoda also makes mini pies that perfectly polish off a meal or tide over pie pilgrims. The other thing she’s perfected is the half-and-half pie (get the pecan and sweet potato variety).
Rhoda’s Famous Hot Tamales was enshrined in the lexicon of Arkansas food in 2017 as part of the inaugural class of the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame. But it’s not such accolades or the stack of glowing reviews that have cemented this spot in the public’s consciousness. It’s the line of people that continues to wind its way to her door, from all points in the nation and beyond that truly speaks to her mastery in the kitchen. Take one bite, and you’ll understand.
FORK & CRUST
5208 W. Village Parkway #11, Rogers, AR, 479.268.6634
600 N. Mission, Fayetteville, AR, 479.445.6925
forkandcrust.com
What makes pie great—or any food or meal for that matter—is how it inspires conversations and creates connections. But sometimes it’s the story behind the dish that’s equally captivating. So it is with Lori Rae, creator of northwest Arkansas’ Fork & Crust Pie Company. The mother of four, her family was rocked by the sudden diagnosis of her daughter—an aspiring soccer athlete—with a heart condition that ended her dream of playing college athletics.
The mother/daughter duo was watching TV one day after the diagnosis and happened upon a cooking show where they were hand-pitting cherries for pie. The youngster asked her mom if they could try making one, and, despite having never baked a pie before, Lori agreed. It was an afternoon project that somehow eased the stress and pain of what had entered their lives.
The cherry crumb pie baked that day is still prominently on the menu at Fork & Crust, and while it is a sentimental favorite, the pie elbows for top honors among a dizzying array of other varieties. Notables include the Salty Honey, a custard number made with local honey and finished with sea salt. Or, try the carrot cake pie which contains exactly what the name suggests.
Fork & Crust has grown to two locations and hundreds of fans. But for Lori, the magic of that first creation has never quite worn off.
“I wasn’t looking for pies; instead, they found me,” she writes on her website. “I never would have guessed how therapeutic making that pie would be for both of us. It gave us something new to focus on, and as we watched our creation bake in the oven, we shared a feeling that, somehow, everything was going to be okay.”
