No. 168

Pie Town: "Great Pie on the Great Divide - It's All Downhill from Here." So goes the motto of the Daily Pie Cafe in Pie Town, New Mexico, a little slice of heaven deep in the heart of the desert. Surrounded by dry junipers and ghost ranches, perched near 8,000 feet on the top of the Continental Divide, Pie Town is an unlikely location for the pie capitol of the world. But rest assured, this is no mirage. Travelers willing to trek the dusty Highway 60 backroad to nowhere are handsomely rewarded with a mouth watering array of fresh daily slices.

Two cafes in Pie Town - The Daily Pie Cafe and the Pie-O-Neer - vie for your pie business with lovingly crafted fruit, nut and cream pies. Standards like cherry, pecan and banana cream never disappoint. Inventive delicacies like peanut butter pie and New Mexican apple pie, made with green chilies and pinon nuts, sizzle your taste buds.

Reportedly founded in the 1920s by a bake-happy Texan named Clyde Norman, Pie Town's population has risen and fallen with the area's agricultural fortunes. Though there may not be much of an economy these days, there will always be pie for the willing - not to mention an annual Pie Festival every Fall. So how do you get here? First, quit your diet. Second, make Pie Town a destination on your next big road trip. And plan on spending the better part of a day at The Daily Pie Cafe where you can chat easy with locals, drink a bottomless cup of coffee for $5 (and then keep the souvenir mug), and order frequently from the ever-changing menu board, otherwise known as "The World's Only True Pie Chart." Just don't forget to make it a la mode.