Giddyup To Puyallup For Some Dang Fine Pie

By Seattle Mag June 4, 2012

donspie

Went to the Mother Earth News Fair at the Puyallup Fairgrounds yesterday to hear the “high priest of the pasture” Joel Salatin and, please don’t string me up, I was underwhelmed. Oh, he’s an entertaining speaker and the enthusiastic shouts of “Amen!” proved he was preaching to the choir. Maybe I was expecting too much, but he didn’t bring anything new to the table in terms of serving up concrete advise about how individuals could make the planet a better place. (“We should plant fruit trees in the medians on interstates!” just didn’t speak to me.)

Fortunately, a post-fair trip to Don’s Drive In turned my frown upside down. This is just the kind of Mom-and-Pop shop I adore, the whole famdamily working hard on a Sunday to a packed house. Still, I didn’t want to let my expectations soar before I tried a slice. Too often, those “homemade” pies are leaden with phony Crisco flavor and too-sweet, gloppy filling.

Praise the lard, not this time. The slice of marionberry was like time-traveling to my grandmother’s kitchen. The crust was flaky and flavorful and wore a sprinkle of sugar on top, the filling was not sticky sweet, but tasted of that dark fruit. And it was ridiculously cheap at just $3. You can buy a whole pie for $13 and I sure was tempted. Guess I’ll just have to make another trip. You can find Don’s at 925 South Meridian, near the fairgrounds. Call 253-845-1790 to check on what pies are being served. (The sour cream lemon and chocolate cream pie were tempting, too.)

 

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