Fork Finds: Blueberry Cream Pie from Briermere Farms, Riverhead, NY

Posted June 20, 2012 by Lenn Thompson in Food

My husband is a pretty low energy guy. Mets baseball (even when they stink), air conditioning, and sleeping later than 7 a.m. are pretty much all he needs in a weekend. He’s not loud or hyper or excitable about most things.

So when you spy the pair of us in late June do-si-doing around a gravel covered parking lot, high fiving and screeching like six year olds on a roller coaster, you have to know the inspiration for our behavior must be pretty damn special.

We didn’t hit the Mega Millions. It’s something better.

I present to you: The Blueberry Cream Pie from Briermere Farms in Riverhead, New York.

What makes this dessert so special? Nothing specific, I guess. Other than its perfection.

As you approach Briermere, you aren’t aware you are in the presence of greatness. The simple green and white sign beckons you from Sound Avenue and you pop in ‘just for a second.’ Instantly impressed, you marvel with both the number of herb plants for sale and the overwhelming crowd spilling out the door. You ignore the
fresh veggies and take your place in line, admiring the crisp white cardboard boxes as they go by in the hands of satisfied customers.

Yes, go ahead, wonder what each of them is taking home. You can even feel smug, knowing your choice is far superior
to theirs. While the blackberry apple and raspberry plum are delicious, there is no competition.

It’s your turn.

Inside is a county style bakery seemingly designed with all of my favorite things. Jars of homemade jam and freshly baked bread fill the wood paneled wall. Pies and linzer tarts are displayed in traditional cases. They’re close enough for me to press my nose directly to the glass, so I can examine and choose MY pie, like fresh lobsters in a tank.

And then I see it. Defying gravity with mounds of glistening blueberries brushed with something that I *think * is apricot jam. Somehow they float atop fresh cream, rich with what I can only hope is calorie free magic. The crust could be flakier, but it’s still a great addition — especially when used when ‘batting clean up’ — which is what we call scooping the top of the crust into the remaining cream and fruit like an edible shovel.

Yes, at $20 the Blueberry Cream seems grossly overpriced. But I’ll keep paying it. Sure, it’s nearly impossible to cut into aesthetically pleasing slices, but I’ll continue to enjoy the ugliest pieces of pie imaginable. For breakfast.

The East End of Long Island is well known for its fruit pies. Bakeries, roadside stands and Ina Garten give us the notion that a well-crafted confection of tart fruit, laced with sugar and a buttery crust is the pretty much the insignia of summer.

And they’re right.

Luckily for us, Briermere Farms is open seven days a week 9-5 in season.