Culinary Trails
Hoosier Pie Trail
Indiana's contribution to the nation's pie mythology is sugar cream. Nowhere else will you find this deceptively simple, almost translucent pie gracing menus, bake shops and supermarkets all over the landscape. We might take our creamy, clear, melt-in your mouth pie for granted, but the taste is a revelation to foodies from other regions where chess, Osgood and shoo fly pies prevail. Sugar cream, or Hoosier Pie, is Indiana's come-home-to dessert, with cream pies and blackberry cobbler tying second place for local flavor. Fresh top quality ingredients are important, and recipes passed down as family heirlooms have slight differences. A few of these recipes have been shared, others are still a closely guarded secret.
You can find a Hoosier pie or other homemade fruit or cream pies at these local bakeries and restaurants in Indiana.
We recommend that you use an Internet mapping service for the detailed directions you might need to find the recommended restaurants and businesses.
Click here to download a PDF file of the trail information.
Apple Hill Orchard
6235 N. Ford Road 812-324-9010
(Highway 41 N. in Knox County)
Bruceville, IN 47516
Karen Black bakes her pies, tarts, breads and doughnuts in the huge open kitchen at Apple Hill Orchard's airy log lodge. She uses the Orchard's peaches, apples, cherries and blueberries to make full-sized and mini pies that can be eaten on site or taken home and savored later. In the center of the orchard, the lodge crowns the top of a hill and provides a commanding panoramic view front the wide front porch. Karen also uses her produce to make preserves and jellies, and fresh produce is for sale along with the cider made on site. Of course, there is ice cream for peach milkshakes and to cozy up on the plate with a slice of pie. Open July 5-December 23, Mon.-Thu. 9 am-6 pm, Fri.-Sat. 9 am-7 pm. Closed Sundays.
Mrs.Wick's Pies
100 Cherry St. 765-584-7437
Winchester, IN 47394
Mrs. Wick's is the cozy home-style bakery and restaurant next to the Wick's Pies factory in Winchester. Mike Wickersham's father began the pie company in 1944, and his mom opened Mrs. Wick's 20 years ago to showcase more than 32 varieties of handmade pies baked on the premises and offer them the way pie should be served – with a scoop of ice cream. Today the extensive menu includes breakfast, lunch and dinner specialties, but you can still get a slice of freshly baked pie with ice cream for around $3.00, and you can take home perfect pies, "seconds," pot pies and noodles at the factory discount. Wick's patented sugar cream pie, along with pecan and German chocolate pies are carried in the freezer sections of most supermarkets in Indiana. Factory tours are offered on Wed. and Thu. in April, May and June, and Mon.-Fri. in September and October. The restaurant is open Mon.-Fri. 6 am-7 pm, Sat. 6 am-2 pm.
The Attic and Coffee Mill Cafe
631 W. Main St. 812-265-5781
Madison, IN 47250 http://www.atticmadison.com
Judy George's pleasant café has a signature pie – Dutch apple with caramel icing – that makes it harder to choose the very good key lime and Hoosier pies under glass on the counter, so you will have to stop more than once. Her famous pimiento cheese sandwich joins fresh main dish salads, soups, wraps and paninis on the inventive menu, and an array of specialty coffees and teas are offered as well. A small culinary shop at the back of the café features Midwest and Indiana specialty food products to take home. Open Mon. - Sat. 11 am - 2 pm.
Café D'Lish
620 W. Kirkwood Ave. 812-334-2233
Bloomington, IN 47404
Chef Randy Grohe uses his grandmother's recipes as a springboard for the home-style comfort foods like brisket, meatloaf and chicken and dumplings at Café D'Lish where the motto is "celebrate traditions." The traditions include peanut butter pie and generous fruit cobblers, Randy's Hash, biscuits and gravy and that really unique Bloomington specialty: fried pork brains. The stuffed French toast, California-style eggs benedict and quiche are more eclectic, but just as carefully prepared. The café fills all of the rooms in this older roadside home that offers outdoor seating in warm weather. Open Sunday-Thu. 7 am-3 pm, Fri.-Sat. 7 am-8 pm.
TripleXXX Family Restaurant
2 N. Salisbury St. 765-743-5373
West Lafayette, IN 47906 http://www.triplexxxfamilyrestaurant.com
Triple XXX is thought to be the oldest drive-in in Indiana and is located "on the Hill" near Purdue’s campus. This Purdue favorite started life as a root beer stand, serving the famous Triple XXX Root Beer in 1929, and part of the original structure is still in use today. Beloved menu items include buttermilk biscuits and gravy made with local sausage, the 100% sirloin chopped steak sandwiches, the hand-cut pork LeRoy Tenderloin, spicy curly fries and the flaky-crusted fruit- stuffed pies baked on the premises. Retro counter seating gives customers a ring-side view of the prep area and grills. Full breakfast menu, kids menu, ice cream and dinner platters also are available. Open 24 hours, Monday through Saturday.
Clay's Family Restaurant
7815 N. Old Highway 27 260-833-1332
Fremont, IN 46737
If you are driving up I-69, don't leave Indiana without stopping at Clay's, just south of the Michigan border on Lake George. Clay's famous fish dinner is $5.99 with two sides and a roll, but spring for the made-to-order fried biscuits to share and save room for the "made in-house from scratch" pies. We liked the rhubarb and peach, but are told by locals that the Oops! Pie, a warm pecan-chocolate chip dessert, is Clay's signature. Clay's is an all-family establishment, with sons and daughters managing and serving. One of the waitress's sister, Chass Baker makes the tender shortcrust pies daily. Open Tues.-Fri. 11 am-8 pm, Sat. 8 am-8 pm,
Sun. 8 am-3 pm.
Lelli's Hatchery
118 S. Elizabeth 260-665-9957
Angola, IN 46703
Upscale dining on the site of a 1930s chicken hatchery; the building Lelli's is housed in was built prior to 1870. The award-winning restaurant features a scampi recipe from John Lelli's father's restaurant in Detroit and is known for great seafood and pasta, Motor City ribs and the Hatchery classic prime rib. Cedar planked duck, grilled quail and very reasonably priced gourmet sandwiches round out the menu. Lelli's is well known for its homemade pies, so save room for dessert. Open Mon.-Thu. 5-9 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 5-10 p.m.
Cindy's Diner
Corner of Wayne & Harrison 260-422-1957
Fort Wayne, IN 46802
John Scheele bought this classic 1952 diner as a Mother's Day present for his wife Cindy, and they restored it in 1990. Their motto is "feeding the world 15 people at a time" - that's the number of stools at the red counter. Breakfast is served all day and John says that Garbage is the #1 order for lunch. Garbage is Cindy's name for a hearty blend of eggs potatoes, cheese, onion and ham served with excellent raisin, sourdough or wheat toast. Cadillac coffee is served, along with cherry and vanilla cokes, root beer floats and shakes. Besides the full breakfast menu, sandwiches, sides and soup round out the menu. John makes pies several times a week (rhubarb is a favorite) and the Murphy's Dime Store donut machine keeps rolling those fresh cake donuts out, to be topped with maple or chocolate icing.
Open Mon. - Sat. 6 am - 2 pm. Sun. 7 am - 2 pm.
Nick's Kitchen
506 N. Jefferson 260-356-6618
Huntington, IN 46750 http://nickskitchen.net
Home of the breaded pork tenderloin since 1908, this downtown diner is filled with friendly local regulars from 6 am to 2 pm daily. Owner Jean Anne Bailey bakes all the pies and marinates the giant tenderloins overnight to give them their famous juicy tenderness. This is the starting place of our tenderloin trail, since Nick's claims the honor of serving the first breaded pork tenderloin sandwich from a street cart in downtown Huntington. Business was soon good enough to move into a fine brick building on Jefferson Street, and Nick's has been at its cozy location ever since. Sugar cream and black raspberry pie are dessert favorites, and sausage gravy is served over biscuits or potatoes on an extensive breakfast menu that also features Belgian waffles. Very reasonably priced sandwiches, salads and hand-dipped milkshakes round out the lunch menu. The ½ pound Quayle Burger, named after former Vice President Dan Quayle, with fries is the most expensive menu item at $7.95. Open Mon.- Sat. 6 am - 2 pm.
Johnny's
26 Riverside Drive 260-356-5129
Huntington, IN 46750
Johnny's has been a family dining landmark in downtown Huntington since 1948. The little fieldstone building houses a revolving pie case that shows off a variety of homemade pies. Old-fashioned pie, Toll House pie, peach crumble and chocolate silk pie are just a few of the local favorites, so save room for dessert!
Open Mon.-Sat. 11 am - 2 pm for lunch and 4 pm - 9 pm, or until 11 pm on Fri. and Sat. Sunday 4-8 pm.
The Hostess House Reservations encouraged
723 W. Fourth St. 765-664-3755
Marion, IN 46952
This 1912 Georgian Revival mansion is the historic treasure of downtown Marion. Designed by a talented local African-American architect who was the son of a slave, the pillared mansion is a mini-mall of shops, museum displays and beautiful dining rooms. The food is as renowned as the history, with poppy-seed bread, an outstanding fruited chicken salad, and butterscotch and lemon meringue pies taking pride of place. Homemade soups, salads, steamed vegetables and sandwiches are always available, and specials, such as roast pork loin, make the most of local seasonal foods. Open weekdays 11 am to 1:30 pm for lunch only. Shops are open Mon.-Fri. 10 am-4 pm.
Concannon's Pastry Shop
620 N. Walnut St. 765-288-8551
Muncie, IN 47305
Pies, cakes, cookies, candy and pastries …did we mention pies? Mike Concannon's glittering bakery across from Muncie Central High School is filled with temptation from the signature chocolate crème filled cake to turnovers and caramel corn. Fresh bread and doughnuts, cookies, lemon streusel cake and sugar cream pies, oh, my! Concannon's has been family-owned since 1959 and is a sweet Muncie tradition. Open Mon.-Fri. 5:30 am-5:30 pm, Sat. 5:30 am-5 pm.
Cabbage Rose Eatery
118 N. Pendleton Ave. 765-778-1944
Pendleton, IN 46064
The rooms of a Victorian house in downtown Pendleton have been turned into a bustling lunch and tea room, filled with shoppers enjoying strawberry tea, cashew chicken salad, whole wheat croissants and heavenly chicken velvet soup. You can even eat on the front porch if the weather permits. Beth and Gary Yeary own the Rose, and a young pastry chef named Chrystin Adams makes the wide range of desserts that the restaurant is noted for. Coconut cream pie is the signature dessert, but bread pudding, caramel yummies and lemon cakes are among the seasonal specials. Open for lunch only, Mon. - Sat. 11 am - 2:30 pm.
Lisa's Pie Shop
5995 State U.S. Highway 31 317-758-6944
Atlanta, IN 46031
Lisa bakes her award-winning handmade pies daily in the little tan shop beside the highway. She makes a great sugar creme pie from a secret recipe, but her rhubarb and fruit pies are favorites, too. Pick up a "Pie in a Jar" for gift-giving or for opening after your fresh pie has been gobbled up. You'll need to take these pies home, since there is no dining area at Lisa's, and you might want to visit early in the day for best selection. Open Tues.10 am-6 pm, Wed.-Fri. 8 am-6 pm, Sat. 10 am-5 pm. Closed Sunday and Monday.
