About the Author

Pascale Le Draoulec is the restaurant critic for the New York Daily News. Her stories ran over the Gannett wire service and in USA Today among other magazines and newspapers. She lives in New York City. This is her first book.

Reviews

"Like a good slice of apple, sweet without being cloying and tart without being bitter." -- Publishers Weekly"[American Pie] will move pie enthusiasts to dust off their rolling pins and get busy." -- Chicago Tribune"As satisfying as a slice of homemade pie...an armchair traveler's heaven." -- Library Journal (starred review)"American Pie is to be savored, slice by slice, chapter by chapter." -- San Diego Union-Tribune"A rich, satisfying account of one woman's cross-country search for the age-old dessert." -- Entertainment Weekly"Le Draoulec has an instinct for where the most interesting story might lie...as this book charmingly demonstrates." -- Washington Post Book World"Le Draoulec explores America's relationship with pie with a journalist's instinct and curiosity." -- Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers

"Like a good slice of apple, sweet without being cloying and tart without being bitter." -- Publishers Weekly"[American Pie] will move pie enthusiasts to dust off their rolling pins and get busy." -- Chicago Tribune"As satisfying as a slice of homemade pie...an armchair traveler's heaven." -- Library Journal (starred review)"American Pie is to be savored, slice by slice, chapter by chapter." -- San Diego Union-Tribune"A rich, satisfying account of one woman's cross-country search for the age-old dessert." -- Entertainment Weekly"Le Draoulec has an instinct for where the most interesting story might lie...as this book charmingly demonstrates." -- Washington Post Book World"Le Draoulec explores America's relationship with pie with a journalist's instinct and curiosity." -- Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers

As satisfying as a slice of homemade pie, Le Draoulec's cross-country journeys in search of "the real stuff" are an armchair traveler's heaven. Le Draoulec was raised in Southern California by her French parents and American-style pie was not part of her culinary vocabulary. Her first quest began with a job opportunity in New York. In the company of a good friend, she chose to head eastward via the leisurely "pieways" of the United States. Beginning in Pescadero, CA, with a slice of Emma Duarte's Olallieberry Pie, Le Draoulec's first journey ended in Nyack, NY, with Deborah Tyler's Apple Plum Pie. It was several years later when the pie quest resumed in Ohio (bereft of memorable, homemade pie) and ended in Washington, DC after swinging West and South for such treats as Kathy's Apricot Cream Pie from the Pie-o-neer Cafe in Pie Town, NM, Libby Bollino's Turtle Pie in Abbeville, LA, and Lora Hansen's Rustic Huckleberry Peach Pie in Coram, MT. There are recipes for the best pies, photos of pie makers, and a plethora of pie puns in this delightful book. Journalist and restaurant critic for the New York Daily News, Le Draoulec is an enthusiastic tour guide with a quirky sense of humor and a personal life as unpredictable as piecrust. American Pie takes the reader into the heart and soul of a fading icon and inspires us to get out the rolling pin and take to the road. Highly recommended for all public libraries. Janet Ross, formerly with Sparks Branch Lib., NV Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.