6. Big Slice, Small Town
Royers Round Top Cafe built its reputation one really big slice of pie at a time. Owner Bud Royer cuts his pies generously for your desserts. In this cafe in tiny Round Top (population 77), many diners love Bud's Chocolate Chip Pie and the cafe's Original Buttermilk Pie, among several other varieties. Enjoy your pie your way: dine in, take out, or mail-order from home. For more information visit www.royersroundtopcafe.com, or call [979] 249-3611.

7. Chappell Hill Sawdust
Yes, it's really called Sawdust. Customers at Bevers Kitchen in Chappell Hill often ask for this creamy dream of sugar, coconut, pecans, graham crackers, and egg whites atop a bed of graham crackers and under a canopy of bananas and whipped cream. Owner Alejandra Ray, her daughter, Olga Kesee, and Staci Edwards make more than 50 varieties of pie throughout the year, including favorites such as fudge-pecan, white chocolate-strawberry, and sugar-free apple. For more on the restaurant, visit www.bevers-kitchen.com, or call [979] 836-4178.

8. "Life's Short. Eat More Pie."
We agree with Julie Albertson and Spencer Thomas of The Texas Pie Company in Kyle. Julie bakes 18 flavors from her grandmother's recipes, including strawberry-peach and blackberry. Many customers enjoy a lunch of comfort foods such as King Ranch Chicken Casserole. Others pop in for pies and casseroles to go. Look for the cafe's sign with the big slice of cherry pie at 202 West Center Street. To mail-order a pie, call [512] 268-5885.

9. In Praise of Tootie
Like some notable chefs, she's known by one name: "Tootie." Ruby Lorraine Feagan began perfecting her pie recipes in the early eighties. In the nineties, she grew famous selling hundreds of those pies at the Medina Apple Festival. These days Tootie Pie Company in Boerne sells a dozen varieties of her creations by mail order. (If you're in town, you can stop by the bakery to pick up a pie or two in person.) First among all is Tootie's 'Original Apple' Pie, a 6-pounder that can feed 12-15. Don't miss out on the buttermilk and lemon velvet creations as well. And be sure to order Tootie's Pecan Pie for the holidays. For more information visit www.tootiepieco.com, or call [210] 737-6600.

10. One Last Bite
You can get one last, sweet taste of Texas up on Route 66 (and just off I-40) high in the Panhandle. There, MidPoint Cafe and Gift Shop in Adrian serves its famous "Ugly Crust Pie." While owner Fran Houser whips up lunches, Joann Harwell bakes pies from her grandmother's recipes. "She was an artist with pie crust dough. I'm not," Joann says of her grandmother, in explaining the name. The cafe serves four kinds of her pies, including chocolate chip pie with whipped cream, homemade fudge, and a cherry. The cafe closes for a brief break in January, but will reopen by February 15. For more information visit www.uglycrustpies.com or www.midpointroute66cafe.com, or call [806] 538-6379. If you call a day or two ahead, they will tell you what pies will be available when you arrive. You can even have your favorite waiting for you.

"Top Ten" is from the November 2007 issue of Southern Living.