Route 66 in the News
Ugly Crust Pies a Tradition
2008-03-08 09:16:55
The Panhandle city of Adrian is at the midpoint on Route 66.
It is an equal number of mile from Adrian to either Chicago or Santa Monica, Calif.
The Midpoint Café in Adrian is a popular stop for travelers on the famous highway. One reason for the popularity is Ugly Crust Pies.
Jo Ann Harwell was working part-time at the café when it was in need of a pie maker.
"I thought. 'I could do that. My grandmother left me a lot of recipes and one of them is for a great crust. I'll just get out those recipes and start making pies.' That's how this got started," Jo Ann says.
She thought she would just make pies for a short while until the café found someone who could make pies. But her pies have gone over so well she's been making pies for 10 years.
"The thing just snowballed. It is a great piecrust recipe and I make good pies. What can I say?"
The phrase Ugly Crust Pies has become synonymous with the restaurant.
"My grandmother could make a crust that was absolutely a piece of art. Mine are definitely not of that quality. I cannot make them pretty. I keep asking myself how my grandma could make them so perfect. Every time I made a pie I would get this ugly crust."
One thing in Jo Ann's defense: her grandmother made only a couple of pies a week. Jo Ann makes five to 10 a day.
"I'm in a hurry and looks don't matter as long as the taste is good." She makes the basic pies, such as chocolate, coconut (the biggest seller), pecan and lemon meringue. She also makes some special ones.
"I make a chocolate-peanut butter that is my personal favorite. I created it myself. It's the one my children request for birthdays. It's the favorite pie in my family. I also get recipes from people who want me to replicate what their grandmothers or mothers made. So I have a caramel pie, an egg custard pie, and a raisin pie. I make all different kinds of pies."
Jo Ann has a fulltime bookkeeping job in nearby Hereford.
"I have two names. I've always referred to myself as the Queen of Ugly because I make the ugly crust pies. And now I have become the Pie Fairy. The Pie Fairy goes into the café at night and makes these wonderful pies. Then in the morning when the help gets there, all the pies are done, they're ready to eat," says Jo Ann, who also makes cobblers.
~MyWestTexas.com
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