Axios Miami's guide to the 305's best pies
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
We launched a "Best Pies in Miami" series in honor of Pi Day, in which we taste delicious desserts and let you know about them. Fun!
State of plate: We're sampling pies from some of South Florida's most popular spots, like Moises Bakery Miami Beach and Fireman Derek's Bake Shop.
- Did we convince our editor to let us do this so we can expense free pie? You bet ya! Did we use this as an excuse to have lunch together? Also, yes.
Of note: Before you come at us with your "Hey, now, that's not pie!" takes, this is OUR pie tour and we get to do what we want. So, a few ground rules.
- Cheesecake? Pie.
- Flan? Also pie.
- Pastelitos? You guessed it.
Moises Bakery
👋 Sommer here: I went to Moises in North Beach because I'm loyal to my neighborhood. And I ordered a carne empanada ($4.66!) because we make the rules, and what's an empanada if not a meat pie?
- The dough was soft overall, but the corners were perfectly crispy to offer a nice crunch.
- The pie was decently stuffed with a sauteed onion and carne combo that had a nice kick to it, a hard boiled egg (take it or leave it in my opinion) and a random olive or two. Tasty.
The lemon tart from Moises is essentially a key lime pie. (Yes, I enjoyed this after the empanada.)
- The crust was fine, and there was too much meringue for my liking. But the filling was perfectly tangy and tart.
Fireman Derek's
👋 Martin here! A chain-smoking UberEats driver delivered me a salted caramel pie from Fireman Derek's Fort Lauderdale location.
- The rich and gooey filling, loosely held together by an oatmeal cookie crust, is almost too sweet.
- Serving-wise, less is more. A quarter slice will put you to sleep.
The intrigue: I ordered an $11 slice but was accidentally given a $49 whole pie. My theory is that this sticky sucker is so tough to slice that the poor bakery employee said screw it.
- I gladly accepted it, though, because this is a truly delicious pie.
Harry's Pizzeria
We tried three pies from Harry's on Lincoln Road: Prosciutto & hot honey, spinach & artichoke and classic pepperoni.
- We treated ourselves to lunch in the name of research, and the prosciutto pie was by far our favorite, thanks to the subtle heat from the honey.
- The spinach pie surprised us both. The greens weren't overpowering and the combo created a creaminess that paired nicely with the airy, yet crispy crust.
- Frankly, you can't go wrong with classic pep unless the pep-to-cheese-to sauce ratio is off. That wasn't the case here.
Overall, the Neapolitan-style pizza's thin but sturdy crust was perfect for a midweek lunch that didn't leave us wanting a nap.
Where's your favorite place to eat pie? Write to [email protected] with some spots we should check out.