Lunch in Pie Town, New Mexico

Gatherin' Place Cafe

​Today, it's about 100 degrees in Houston. I'm thinking back to a cozy lunch last February, in Pie Town, New Mexico!

Road Trip to California

I heard about Pie Town a few years ago and I made a mental note. So last winter when Don and did a TX to CA road trip, I was pretty excited to study the map and realize we could go a little off-route, between Truth or Consequences, NM and Gallup. 

Open!

The weather was a little worrisome, but the winding drive on US 60 was scenic. Luckily, one of the three pie-related cafes was open.

A Welcome Truck

The old truck outside of Gatherin' Place was a pretty good reminder that we'd made it to Pie Town. Evidently the town of under 200, got its name because of a bakery that served up pie to travelers, back in the 1920's. Pie is still pretty much what the town is known for.

The Bakery Door

There were two doors on the front porch. The door on the right took us into the bakery where 3 women greeted us, while their flour covered hands worked at various tasks.

Eating Room

We stepped into the other room which held 3 community tables.  An older couple from Iowa was finishing up their pie. We chatted a little road trip talk, until they headed off. Then we had the place to ourselves.

Snowed In?

We kept an eye out the window, watching the snow. We worried a little over the drive ahead, but also figured this would be a pretty good place to get snowed in. Not only did the place have pies to last for days, but each table had a few games. We could have played Cribbage and Checkers, into the night.

​Cowboy Bob

Bob the Cook, popped up in the window when our food was ready. He seemed pretty eager to come out and chat since there were no other food orders.

Chat Break

​Bob didn't grow up in Pie Town. He told us he sold his ranch and retired to Pie Town, where his wife worked as a school teacher. 

Somewhere in the conversation, Bob mentioned that he usually wore a gun. Hmm? The town seemed safe enough to me. But, I guess the gun was more about completing his outfit, than safety. "They wanted me to wear it when I started working here. But it was just too heavy." He laughed. 

Chili and Cornbread

Don ordered chili, which seemed like the perfect food for a snowy day.  Bob did a good job. The chili had big chunks of meat and the cornbread was fresh. 

I ordered a baked potato, which is my comfort food of choice. We saved room for pie.
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Pie Waitress

I was excited to know our waitress was actually from Pie Town. She didn't have much to tell us about the town, because there wasn't much to tell. She was mostly excited about the weather. "It's been so dry. We need the moisture!" 

Small Pies

​We had about 25 pie flavors to choose from, but only one size. I kind of loved the mini size, which is good for people like me who love a good crust!

We split a caramel-apple pie and got a chocolate-cherry to take on the road. Both were fresh out of the oven, rolled out on the cooling cart!

Yum!
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Bye Pie Town!

Five months later, I'm still thinking about that snowy visit to Pie Town. I can't believe we got to spend a cozy time chatting over chili and pie, with a few welcoming people. We also had just enough snow to make it fun! We faced no travel issues after we got back on the road.

​Yay for Pie!