Salem, OR: Willamette Valley Pie Company

I have heard it referred to as the pie "factory", and in fact there is a large pie factory next to the shop and building we visited recently.

Over the summer they have an outside stand with hot dogs and chili.

But year round you can order lunch and have it served in these cute pie tins.

The shop is filled with food products and Americana.

Obviously you can buy pie. There are stacked boxes of ready to eat pies, and pies in the freezer case ready to be shipped, though those can also be ordered on line. Plus, there are the slices of pie you can order with your meal.

Pies tried by my family included key lime, peach raspberry, and marionberry. They were all good.

The grilled cheese sandwiches and potato salad got high praise.

My sandwich was okay, but I was only told that what I ordered was out of stock after the rest of the party had their lunch. In finding that out, I also found out that they were out of ham, eliminating some potential substitutes. It was a little frustrating.

I get that they are really about the pie.

From the pie choices offered, it looks like they sometimes try out new flavors there, or that there are flavors that they don't ship. There is a field with a play structure, so it can be a nice family destination.

Accessibility: The play structure is not. The building seems pretty navigable, though I would hate to run into any of the displays considering how much merchandise they hold.

COVID: Masks are not commonly worn. There are the outdoor options, and that may be the way to go. Or, of course, you can order through the web store.

I would have felt remiss if I had not tried the pie shipping service.

You can order a pack of two 40 ounce pies for $39.99. Given the size of the pies, I believe this is reasonable.

You can then expect another $20.00 or so on shipping, but for two good-sized pies to arrive frozen, this is expected.

Please understand that you cannot eat the pie right out of the box. It will take either a few hours thawing or over an hour in the oven and then a few hours of cooling. Instructions are on the box. I did need to check on the pie in the oven, deciding to use the shortest cooking time and to add foil to the top, based on the rate at which it was browning.

Unfortunately, the blueberry crumble pie was disappointing. Though the topping was delicious, our mother's blueberry pie filling was better. I am not sure how much of that is sentiment, and how much of it is needing the pie to be able to stand up to freezing, shipping, and baking. I suspect I should have gone for something with bigger fruit, like peach or apple.

Tomorrow we will try the chocolate cream pie, after it thaws overnight.

https://www.wvpie.com/