HOTSPOT: Petsi Pies Bakery and Cafe

Petsi Pies Bakery and Cafe

31 Putnam Ave., Cambridge



Thanksgiving is approaching; that, of course, sets us thinking about pumpkin pie. Then, once you’ve started thinking about pumpkin pie, apple pie comes to mind (another autumn pie, a natural next step). This opens up a whole wealth of fruit pie thoughts—not to mention one-crust versus two-crust versus lattice-top—and suddenly you’re standing in front of Out of Town News slack-jawed and drooling with no recollection of how you got there, screaming at people about blueberries and buttery flaky crust.

Wait, that’s never happened to you?

Fine, call me an addict. But I’ve found my perfect fix down a side-street on the way to Central Square.

Petsi Pies has been up and running in Somerville since 2003, and opened on Valentine’s Day in what used to be an Italian grocery store called Cremaldi’s. The shop’s sign still says Cremaldi’s, which caused a bit of confusion for me at first, and apparently I am not alone.

According to Paul Clark, the managing partner of the Putnam Ave. location, people still come from all over Massachusetts to look for Cremaldi’s famous pasta sauce. Luckily Petsi kept the sauce, and has managed to absorb a lot of the Cremaldi’s customer base, won over, no doubt, by the smiley staff and best damn pie around.

Petsi pie is the only pie around, as far as I am concerned. I went first on a Thursday afternoon and found it suffused with the genial hum of satisfied customers. Think the coziness of Darwin’s with a bit of the mismatched, worn-in charm of Charlie’s Kitchen, but without the seating problems of either. People came and went at a pretty steady pace the whole time my friend and I were there, but the staff still managed to get us our baked goods and coffee without much of a wait.

My slice of sweet potato pie was generous and looked like it could have come out of my oven at home, as opposed to the factory-processed fare we get from HUDS. Once my fork hit my mouth I could hardly stop going back for more, and paused only to sip on my latte—smooth and delightful, with just the right level of bitterness.

The pie was well-spiced without obscuring the delicate flavor of its namesake ingredient. My only critique is that the crust was a bit tough, a flaw that I was willing to overlook by virtue of its golden butteriness. My friend had a latte and a Whoopie cake: the classic chocolate cupcake filled with vanilla cream. I snuck a taste of the chocolate ganache frosting when he wasn’t looking and just about melted with joy.

When I went back on Saturday afternoon to speak to Clark, the store was quieter, although I did spot a Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies TF at a table with her laptop. In addition to coffee and their signature line of sweet pies, Petsi offers savory pies and frittatas, soups, sandwiches, cookies, and breakfast goods, all at prices slightly lower than the typical Harvard Square café.

Clark said that they had seen a pretty steady flow of students since the start of the school year, especially since Head of the Charles, on top of the consistently “great” neighborhood contingent of moms and babies. He also gave special credit to Renee McLeod, the founder and namesake of Petsi Pies—“Petsi” was a childhood nickname—who brought her “grandmother’s crust-constructing knowledge and a fabulous sense of whimsy” to the business, according to www.petsipies.com.

Hotspotter extraordinaire and Crimson editor Richard S. Beck asserted two weeks ago that “1369 Coffeehouse stands as the closest purveyor of great coffee,” but I challenge that notion. Not only does Petsi Pies make a great latte, it is closer than 1369 and serves up one heck of a slice of pie.

So if you ever find me mumbling vaguely about meringue, just lead me gently to Petsi Pies at 31 Putnam Ave. I’ll be happy there.

—Jillian J. Goodman