Julian Pies

November 27, 2005

Will and I made it home last night from Ramona in 8 hours, after avoiding LA traffic and the subsequent straight shot drive up I-5 (possibly the most boring drive on earth). Thanks again to Mike and Susan for being such wonderful hosts. In addition to the great food, great company and fantastic golf, I am addicted to any card game that has ever been invented. Specifically, various forms of solitaire and poker.

So, my last entry told the tales of our day in San Diego and Thanksgiving. On Friday, we had a nice sleep-in day (which was nice in light of the early tee-off times). Will and I headed into the Cuyamaca mountains to a little mining town called Julian, located 22 miles from Ramona. Julian is a charming and quaint town, full of all the tourist trappings of B&B's, antique shops, and cafes. Our plan was to have lunch and wander around in Julian, and unfortunately did not incorporate the fact that it was Thanksgiving long weekend into the thought process. With traffic and a million families thinking the same thing, we managed to eek out lunch before getting out alive.

Based on the lines for tables and insanity, we finally settled on Bailey's Woodpit BBQ, which was a fantastic choice. This fine establishment is a family-run joint that features Texas-style BBQ. Will and I had the sampler, which included all their bbq specialties...yum!

Bailey's BBQ, where the magical combination of meat and bbq sauce comes together

Julian is also famous for its delectable pies, specifically from the Julian Pie Company, which Susan and Mike had previously introduced us to. Last year on the way home from Thanksgiving week, I was distraught to discover that the grocery stores in Ramona were bone-dry of pies when I tried to find some to bring home. Thank goodness for the wonderful world wide web, as I found the Julian Pie Company website and ordered two pies online (original and Dutch Apple), which were delivered in two days. Delicious.

The original Julian Pie Company, where the magical combination of apples and crumble crust comes together

This year, I wasn't going to fail in my pie quest, so I purchased two pies before Thanksgiving to avoid the rush: Apple Mountain Berry Crumb and Dutch Apple.

Famous Dutch Apple pie with crumble crust from Julian Pie Company

If you make it over to my house right away, you may be in time to get a piece of pie...doubtful...