Tucson, AZPie Shops

Pies are among the signature house-made items at this scratch-cooking breakfast diner on East 22nd Street near Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, beside homemade breads and cinnamon rolls. The cream pies sell most, banana and coconut above all, rhubarb has a dedicated following, and the case also holds butterscotch and raspberry pies with apple, blueberry, cherry, peach and apple-cranberry. The diner has stood at this address since 1965 and is run by Kelli Phillips, whose grandfather Gus opened the original in the 1960s. Order a slice of coconut cream pie.

Luis Portillo bakes the pies at this tiny south-side diner, open since 1952, from recipes handed down since the cafe opened, and the family who run it call themselves caretakers rather than owners. He turns out sweet potato, pumpkin and fruit pies alongside loaves and cheesecakes: the old-fashioned pumpkin is spiced the way it has been for decades, the Dutch apple keeps its fruit between fork-tender and slightly crisp, and the pecan is sticky and sweet. Shift workers drop in for chorizo and scrambled eggs or a BLT with potato salad. Order a slice of Dutch apple or pecan.

An east-side pie shop run by baker Sydney Adams, who traces her love of baking to her grandmother and a family cookbook with recipes dating back to the 1940s. The pies come in about two dozen flavors, fruit and cream alike, with cherry among the fruit pies. Order a slice of cherry, then a slice of one of the cream pies beside it.

Paulette Griggs's northwest-side bakery and restaurant on Oracle Road, straddling Oro Valley and Tucson, has been a pie destination since it opened in 1996, and she has owned it since 2002. Every pie is made from scratch down to rolling out each crust, sold as deep-dish 10-inch pies and as minis, and apple, pecan and cherry are among the favorites. Order a whole apple or cherry pie to take home.

The pie selection rotates and is made in house at the cafe inside Hotel Congress, with key lime and coconut cream always a hit, and the dessert case around it, worth talking about on its own, holds vegan brownies and a chocolate lover's cherry cake. The downtown hotel is known for the capture of John Dillinger and its expansive patio with live music. Order a slice of coconut cream pie.