If only Lady Luck had been on my side. All I had to do was roll a 4 or a combination thereof, and I would have won a $40 gift card from Emporium Pies. As usual …
The game was part of the Dallas mini-chain’s grand opening weekend on South Main Street on the Near Southside. The store is the fourth Emporium Pies in North Texas. Another little promotional trick, the 40th person in line on every day during the weekend won a free slice of pie every week for one year. #yolo My luck only involved a short line for my three slices of warm pie, certainly a victory but not, y’know, free. Definitely not free.
Emporium Pies, 411 S Main St, Ste 121, FW. 682-703-1202. 11am-9pm Sun-Thu, 11am-11pm Fri-Sat.
At this time, the pie shop is operating with a walk-up window while their dining room is under construction until the end of summer. Unfortunately, they do not provide outdoor seating, so you have to take your pie to go. Each goodie is served in a small, sturdy basket wrapped in floral parchment paper and held together by a string bow, so if you’re eager, you can easily enjoy your pie on the move.
Megan Wilkes and business partner Mary Sparks own and operate this Emporium Pies. Sparks runs the kitchen while Wilkes manages growth.
Their shop features three house flavors: Smooth Operator, Lord of the Pies, and The Drunken Nut. All of their pies are made from scratch using their own recipes. Aside from the three mains, their menu changes seasonally. All the pies and future ones receive their quirky names before being introduced to the public.
What makes Emporium Pies unique to Fort Worth is the creativity they use in taking classic recipes and giving them a new perspective.
The Drunken Nut tasted like a sweeter spin on pecan pie. Rather than corn syrup, Emporium used caramelized butter and brown sugar as the sweet filling. A hint of bourbon burst through in every bite. What gave the pie an even sweeter taste was the shortbread crust. It’s the perfect slice for your dessert craving.
Smooth Operator appears simple, but a thick layer of French silk chocolate sits on top of a salty pretzel crust. The chocolate was smooth and light, not as decadent or rich as it appeared. Though the combination of sweet and salty tends to pair tastefully, the pretzel crust wasn’t as complementary to the chocolate as I had hoped. The saltiness was a direct distraction.
A slice not lacking in girth is Lord of the Pies. The deep-dish apple pie contains an overload of fruit, with its highlight being the cinnamon streusel that heavily blankets the top. Its crust backing is thick to support the generous layers of apple slices. Indulge yourself in the sweet aroma before tasting. The apple-cinnamon scent intoxicates you into a holiday-like euphoria.
“We do two things really, really well,” Wilkes said. “First thing is pie, obviously. And the second thing is we really care a lot about everybody who comes to the pie shop. We want everyone to have a great experience.”
Though Wilkes believes that for $6 you have a way to treat yourself or celebrate something special, I feel it’s a steep price to pay for a slice of pie. Knock a dollar or two off that, and now we’re talking.
Emporium Pies delivers within a 35-miles radius of their Dallas kitchen. “We pay our drivers a living wage to deliver pies,” Wilkes said. “People who like what they do are going to produce more delicious pies because it’s made with love and pride. … All of our neighbors have been so kind. … I’m really excited to see people who have come to visit our Dallas store for the last 10 years and now people who are finding out about us for the first time.”
