Houston, TXPie Shops

House of Pies keeps 33 pie flavors, from a traditional apple pie to the chocolatey Bayou Goo, and it always has a long line of people waiting for a seasonal favorite or one of the classic year-round pies such as strawberry rhubarb, with even more demand around the holidays. Order a slice of the Bayou Goo or the strawberry rhubarb.

Flying Saucer Pie Company on West Crosstimbers Street, just outside the Loop, has baked pies for Houston's holiday tables for more than half a century, and it bakes fresh pies every day on a first-come, first-served basis. The case runs from fruit pies (apple, Dutch apple, blueberry, pecan, pineapple and pumpkin) to cream pies (banana, chocolate, coconut and lemon), and some customers skip the pumpkin for the strawberry pie whatever the season. Order the strawberry pie or a cream pie.

Goode Company's famous Brazos Bottom Pecan Pie is a local dessert synonymous with the holidays in Houston, sold whole or in a wooden box, and Goode also bakes a chocolate cream pie. The barbecue house on the Katy Freeway in Memorial is one of the Goode locations where the pies are picked up. Order the Brazos Bottom Pecan Pie.

Three Brothers Bakery has satisfied Houston's sweet tooth since 1949, and its pies come whole or by the slice: chocolate bourbon pecan, pecan, chocolate fudge pecan and salted caramel pecan, pumpkin and apple, and coconut cream, chocolate meringue, lemon meringue and key lime. Order the chocolate fudge pecan or the key lime.

Ms. Myrtle's Bakery Shoppe is a generational family business, founded in the historic Third Ward in 2000, whose desserts have won quite a few awards. Its pies include the shop's own "World Famous" sweet potato pie, a Texas pecan and an Oreo chocolate. Order the sweet potato pie.