Philadelphia, PAPie Shops

A family-owned North Philadelphia bakery better known for fresh doughnuts and rich pound cake that also knows its way around a pie, sold whole from the display case all year. The sweet potato pie is the fall best-seller, a creamy, bronzed custard in a buttery, crumbly crust. The apple pie runs close behind, its gooey, spiced filling carrying a slight tang inside a dense double crust. Peach, pecan, coconut custard, blueberry and cherry fill out the case. Order the sweet potato pie, then the apple.

A Cherry Hill diner with its own bakery and bar, serving hefty, crumbly slices of house-made pie for dessert all year. The diner's chicken pot pie is a staple of the menu as well. Order a slice of pie with a hot cup of coffee.

The cookies on display at this Chestnut Hill bakery on Germantown Avenue draw the kids, but the pie deserves the attention. The pumpkin pie, topped with sugared pie-crust leaves, is the fall best-seller, and the apple crumb packs five Granny Smith apples into every pie. Pecan, chocolate pecan, sweet potato, double-crust apple, Key lime and sour cherry crumb fill out the list, and pie runs all year with seasonal fillings such as strawberry rhubarb and mixed berry. Order the apple crumb or the sour cherry crumb.

Evelyn Penza turned a family horse barn in Hammonton, the town known as the blueberry capital of the world, into a pie destination, the Red Barn farm, cafe and pie shop. Blueberry pie is a given, and the town's Italian heritage shows in a run of ricotta pies. The pumpkin ricotta is one of the house favorites, along with a massive five-fruit pie that looks like a work of art. The barn's cafe serves breakfast as well. Order the pumpkin ricotta or the five-fruit pie.

This Reading Terminal Market stand is known for whoopie pies and butter cake, and it sells pie all year, each crust rolled by hand from scratch with real butter. The apple crumb is the one to try, warm and buttery under a crumbly oat topping. The rest of the lineup runs to Key lime and s'mores pies in a graham cracker crust baked in-house, a peanut butter cup pie and chocolate cream. Order the apple crumb.