Pies take patience

The only problem I have with dedicated pie restuarants is there are not enough of them. The recently opened Pie Joint aims to fix that around Point Loma's Midway District. Originally a farmers market stand, the business opened a counter service restaurant last month, offering sweet and savory pies, either for on-site consumption or "take and bake" to-go orders.

I do like the idea of taking a pot pie home to finish in my oven, but I dined in house, finding a low-key, comfortable dining room outfitted with a TV showing classic movies, a shuffleboard table, and a massive chalkboard for kids (or adults) to scribble on.

The savory pie choices were limited to four, including your standard chicken pot pie, steak and ale, and a cheesy potato and vegetable pie. The fourth sounded great — a chicken pot pie with bacon added — but it sounded like cheating to me, so I went with the regular chicken pie for $7.50. Mashed potatoes with gravy was available as a side option, as was salad, but I set my sights on adding dessert instead.

The sweet pies on the menu showed a greater variety than savory, including chocolate mousse, lemon merengue, Boston cream, and pecan pies, along with three variants of apple pie. A whole pie runs $20, and a slice $4.50. But I found myself enamored with the adorable, smallest option: a two-inch mini-pie for $2.95.

For that I went with the most appealing of the apple pies: drunken caramel apple. Made memorable by the addition of lightly salted caramel, this was a no-brainer to me. My only disappointment was being able to take the whole thing down in one large bite. Next time, I might go for one of the disc-shaped "hand-held" pies, sufficiently larger at $3.99.

The chicken pot pie wasn't huge either, but it was dense, packed with pulled chicken and gravy made aromatic with carrot, celery, and a fragrant blend of spices — I thought I detected sage, rosemary, and thyme. The par-cooked pies here go into the oven when you order, so they're served hot. The first bite burned a little, but tasted good enough that I lacked the patience to let it cool before going back for bite number two.