Briermere Farms Ranked #1 Place To Buy A Pie In NY State

RIVERHEAD, NY — The world is now in on the secret that the many who flock to Riverhead have known for generations: Briermere Farms have some of the best pies, well, anywhere.

A new post by BuzzFeed listed the best place to buy a pie in every state and Briermere Farms on Sound Avenue in Riverhead won the title for New York.

The post listed Yelp reviews in describing the winning pies in every state.

"This was quite possibly the best pie I've ever eaten. We stopped in on the way out to wine tasting and picked up a peach raspberry pie and a couple pastries. The pie filling was amazing and the crust was just perfect. If it weren't such a long drive there from the city, I'd start to worry that I might be eating pie every day!" —Yelper Heidi T. was quoted in the post, lauding the yumminess of Briermere Farms.

"Blueberry cream pie is the best pie I've ever had. Worth driving out to from NYC just to get the pie." the post said, from Yelp contributor Samuel T.

Clark McCombe, who, along with brothers Michael and Phillip, runs the family business, Briermere Farms, which was started by his parents Gertrude and Leonard in 1961, said the BuzzFeed honor was "wonderful."

All the pies that have customers lining up outside, tempted by the delicious aromas wafting outside, are baked from scratch with most of the fruits grown right on the farm. Customers' favorites, he said, depend on the season.

"This time of year, it's apple —and we have pumpkin, starting next week," McCombe said. "In June it's strawberry rhubarb; July, we have raspberry, blueberry, peach."

McCombe said other longtime fans clamor for flavors including blueberry cream, chocolate cream, or the perennial crowd pleaser, the homemade apple crisp.

As for McCombe, he also loves the "pure, straight-up blackberry. That's a really good pie," he said.

Reflecting on a family business that has created family memories for scores of hungry customers for decades, McCombe said the work is deeply rewarding.

"I grew up on the farm. I always loved every bit of it," he said. "I've been doing it for as far back as I can remember, since I was three years old. A lot has changed over the last six decades. Every day, there's another challenge."

But, he said, despite the day to day responsibilities, the joys are infinite. "When it's a beautiful day like today — I was just out in the orchard — and you see the fruit, or when it's springtime and you see the blossoms on the fruit trees, and smell the earth, there's a really romantic part of it. This is a really great thing to be able to do."