Page 172 - United States of Pie

Today Duarte’s is considered a landmark—it was even awarded
“American Classic” status by the James Beard Foundation, one of
only five restaurants in the United States that has received the

honor. One might think of a tavern as dark, smoky, and forbidding,
but Duarte’s is anything but. Bright and bustling, with honey-colored
wood-paneled walls and blond wood floors, it’s more chalet than
speakeasy. I arrived at Duarte’s on a Friday just before noon. Kathy
Duarte and her brother, Tim, are the fourth generation of Duartes
running the tavern. Although the lunch rush was starting, Kathy met
me with a warm handshake and a smile. The inner workings of the
restaurant are an open book, so I was shuttled back into the kitchen.

Together we headed straight for the pie-making station.
Kathy described the unusual dough they use for their crusts. The
recipe comes from Emma Duarte, Tim and Kathy’s grandmother,
who was responsible for expanding the tavern into a full-fledged
restaurant back in the 1930s, and it is clear that this is not your

typical pie dough. Peeking into the large stainless-steel bowl sitting
on the counter, I saw a soft yet crumbly mess of flour and shortening.
The shaggy mixture had large bits of shortening in it, the size of
olallieberries themselves. The concoction looked more like biscuit
dough than any pie dough I had seen. The baker reached into the
bowl—there was nothing delicate about her handling—and scooped
a mass of the mixture onto a very well-floured board. She then

reached for one of the half-gallon containers of milk on the counter
and sloshed a generous splash of it on the ragged mass, kneading
quickly and forming a smooth ball of dough. She rolled the dough
into a rough circle, thicker than I expected, and slipped it into an 8-
inch pie plate. No refrigeration. Nothing automated. Just a few
simple ingredients. The whole process took about thirty seconds. It

was clear that this baker had made more than a few pies in her
lifetime. This relaxed, no-nonsense attitude is something we can all
aspire to in our crust-making endeavors!
Kathy told me that all the berries Duarte’s uses are flash-frozen,
even at the height of the season. “That way we can guarantee the
same quality, no matter what season you come to eat at the
restaurant,” she explained. I was dumbfounded when Kathy

mentioned that Duarte’s goes through thirty thousand pounds of