This is what Monday looked like heading out to the East County via the 8.
We were on our way to Julian, a place we visited exactly two years ago on Veteran's Day...
Just our luck, we were stuck behind a #$%@ slow school bus the last ten miles to Julian. But thankfully, it pulled over after five miles and let us go ahead!
You could see the leaves turning color...This stretch of road was particularly windy. I'm glad that TC took her Dramamine before we left. She got a little carsick the last time we went. With TC was her good friend Sherlock to keep her company...
Downtown Julian is quite small. Everything is within walking distance and the majority of the business are on Main Street. Of course in Julian, apples are king! Because I am
Despite the sign here...
I didn't really want a pie or even a tiny slice just yet...
We got here before 10 am by the way. It pays to go early to beat the crowds. Even though many places weren't open yet, it was nice walking around scoping things out first before the streets were crawling with out-of-towners (like us, haha). Actually, this restaurant was open already...
The teens were next door at the candy store while Bert and I checked out their pie offerings. You could see that pumpkin and strawberry rhubarb were out. Their caramel pecan looked quite tempting!
It wasn't pie I was after though..
See the pie in the top right corner? This is the one of the few places in Julian that sells the combination of Mango Apple (the other is Miner's Diner a few steps down the street). It's kinda pricey here too, at $14.95 a pop! Later on, before we left Julian, Bert was a nice guy and ended up returning here to get one of the mango apple pies for my brother as a favor. That's what he gets for posting that we were in Julian on facebook.
Our first bite of anything in Julian were these babies, the Pie Crust Cookies. I'd read about them in my "500 Things to eat before it's too late". They mentioned pie crust cookies, but not at this place, but at the Julian Pie Company (where we would also go later that day!)...
The pie crust cookies were on the larger side (in comparison to the ones we bought at the JPC). They were 3 for $1.25....
I liked that the cookies were kinda "doubled" since there was a heart on top of a circle, so I felt we were getting "more". They were dusted with sugar and cinnamon and ever so flaky...
Bert and I only had one and saved the rest for the girls later (who I was secretly hoping wouldn't want them)...
OMG, the crust is the best part of the pie. Forget the filling for me. I just like the crust, so these cookies were perfect for a crust-lover like myself.
Bert also liked these but not as much as the other version we had. This was my favorite of the two. I'm going to have to attempt making these with Trader Joe's pie crust! When can I start???? Ha ha!
Who else went to Apple Alley?
Mary did, of course about three years ago! This post details THREE bakeries in Julian...
Apple Alley Bakery
2122 Main Street
Julian, CA 92036
(760) 765-2532
There is no website but here is their FB page along with a few reviews from yelp and tripadvisor.
Next stop...actual apples but in different forms!
4 comments:
What a nice local vacation! Good on missing crowds yet still being able to try all the various pastries. Apple mango sounds good. I love making cookies and savory cheese sticks with pie crust- flatten the refrigerated pie crusts after you top them (push the ingredients INTO the crust); they bake and puff a bit...flaky layers!
hi cathy, yes, i HATE crowds! there was none of that nonsense during our visit, except when we left. by that time, it was "see ya suckahs!!!!!"....
i need to make those pie crust cookies myself so i can eat them anytime.
When we stayed in Julian over the summer and went into town Sunday morning to get pie it was blissfully quiet and not too busy there. I loved it! I had the caramel apple pie at Apple Alley but I thought the caramel was too much on the pie, it was like all over the top and not inside like I was hoping. I'll have to try the pie crust cookies here though! I have made the pie crust cookies with TJ's dough - it is really excellent. :D
hi mary - we liked the dutch apple caramel pie we had at the julian pie company. it was bert's choice (he is a caramel fan) and my first time trying that variety of pie.
TJ's pie crust rules!
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