Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
Today is 3/14, where math and meals meet. That's because 3.14 are the first three digits of the mathematical constant pi. Nerdy people celebrate by eating pies, but where to do that in L.A.?
Take Two turned to Josh Scherer, formerly a food writer with Los Angeles Magazine, who picked the 14 best pies in L.A. a few years ago.
Number 2 on his list is just down the road from KPCC: the butterscotch meringue pie at Pie 'n Burger in Pasadena.
"Lemon meringue pie is also one of my favorites, so they replace that with this incredibly rich, roasty sweet butterscotch custard," he says. "Is it sweet-on-sweet? Yes. But that's what makes it so perfect for me."
Eating pies also has a special place in American culture.
"There's such a sense of place associated with pie," Scherer adds. "Like, if you tell someone, 'Meet me for pie and coffee,' it's different than, 'Meet me for a cupcake!'"
Wherever you go for Pi Day, he says that old school diners and restaurants are the place to be. They serve the quintessential pies of your geometric dreams.