Many, many years ago, I found a gas station in Clinton with a sign that said “pies.” And the owner of the gas station made the pies. Maybe the best pies ever. And then, one day, it was gone. I make pies myself, and they aren’t terrible. Maybe I just imagined it and it was like Brigadoon, the fairytale musical about a tiny village in Scotland that only exists every hundred years for only one day. But then I had lunch a couple of weeks ago and a new friend, Betsy, told me the owner sold the station and Deb Hawthorne now bakes the pies and sells them in a bright neon truck outside their sweet old Victorian house and shop, Griffin Garden Market. I bought a peach and berry pie so hot she had to place it in my car. After dinner, I ate one tiny slice. The crust tasted like a shortbread cookie, the peaches were fresh, and the berries had that pleasant acidic sweetness. I gave the rest to three of my neighbors, so I wouldn’t finish the whole pie. Call ahead and ask what is available. I hope my new friend, Betsy, isn’t mad that I told you about it.

Griffin Garden Market • 860-578-6955

129 West Main Street (Route 1), Clinton, CT 06413