Lauretta Jean's: salted honey pie

On the Division and Clinton side of Southeast, in Richmond, Lauretta Jean's is a pie shop through and through, and that's the charm of it. Come for a slice, or for a whole pie when you're feeding people, and get your bread somewhere else. The shop sits behind a mint-green front and a striped awning. Inside, the walls are robin's-egg and mint, an orange banquette runs along one side like a small vintage diner, and there's citrus-patterned wallpaper behind the counter, with pendant lights over wooden tables and a wood-and-glass case full of all-butter crusts. The big windows look out on the street, which is lovely on a rainy afternoon when there's a slice in front of you.

Kate McMillen started the business at the Portland Farmers Market after learning pie from her grandmother, who the shop is named for, and the storefront has been in Richmond since the early 2010s. The crust is all-butter and made from scratch, and the fruit comes from Oregon farms when it's in season, so the pies in the case change and last month's may be gone.

What to order

Get a slice of pie. If it's your first time, start with the salted honey, the pie the shop is best known for. The filling is a silky honey custard that sets just firm enough to slice, pale gold in the middle, with flaky crust around the edge and sea-salt crystals on top, and you taste honey first, then salt, then butter. Some people skip it to order something less obvious, and they're making a mistake. Get the salted honey, grab a spot on the orange banquette if there's room, and then decide whether your table needs a second slice.

After that, look at the fruit. The case follows Oregon produce, so it's berries, stone fruit, apple or whatever's good that week, and a fruit pie made with a local berry or summer orchard fruit is the natural second order, with dark, glossy juices against the same all-butter crust. Whole fruit pies are the way to go when you aren't eating in, and cream pies fill the gap when the fruit is between seasons. There are also biscuits, quiche, pastry and coffee, and a biscuit makes sense if you show up hungry, but you're really here for pie. If you're buying a whole pie, say so when you order, before the slices distract you.

Before you go

This is a bakery where you sit down and stay a while, and it's popular enough that you may wait in line. If you have a specific flavor in mind, whether salted honey or a particular fruit pie, check with the shop before you drive, because the case changes with the season. Richmond is walkable if you're already on Division or Clinton, and if you're coming from the eastside bread shops, make this your dessert stop.

If you only know the salted honey from photos, know that it's a sweet pie. The salt balances it, but you're eating honey custard, so if you want something tart, order a fruit pie, or order both in one visit when the table is up for it.

The essentials are on the Lauretta Jean's page.