MORE SOUTHERN CLASSICS
Apple Stack Cake: This traditional Appalachian dessert has all but disappeared from households and restaurant menus. But we found it among the homemade delights at Early Girl Eatery ([828] 259-9292) in Asheville, North Carolina. Call ahead to be sure it's on the daily dessert menu.
Banana Pudding: Almost every barbecue joint worth its sauce serves some version of this regional favorite, still we located a truly exceptional recipe at Galax Smokehouse ([276] 236-1000) in southwest Virginia. Co-owner Ron Passmore says he uses three ordinary yet nontraditional ingredients to make his creamy pudding.
Beignets: At Café du Monde (1-800-772-2927) in New Orleans, doughnuts dusted with powdered sugar and dunked in chicory coffee remain a classic. At Washington's D.C. Coast ([202] 216-5988), New Orleans native David Guas serves his beignets with a petite cup of Café au Lait Crème Brûlée. At nearby Acadiana ([202] 408-8848), they're accompanied by coffee-laced chocolate panna cotta.
Fried Pies: Roadside signs point the way to Original Fried Pies, located in a Sinclair gas station at Exit 51 off I-35 near Davis, Oklahoma. Try the fried pecan or chocolate cream. Call ahead ([580] 369-7830), and they'll have fresh, hot pies waiting for you.
Key Lime Pie: The Blond Giraffe Key Lime Pie Factory ([305]293-6667) makes us smile with their chocolate-covered Key lime pie on a stick. Blue Heaven ([305] 296-8666) gets an A for their tangy pie topped with waves of golden brown meringue.
Derby-Pie: This Kentucky dessert was created 50 years ago at the Melrose Inn in Prospect, Kentucky. Today, the walnut-and-chocolate chip pie is a trademarked product of Kern's Kitchen in Louisville ([502] 499-0285). (Derby-Pie® is a registered trademark of Kern's Kitchen.)

above and left: Owner Charlotte Freeborn and baker Doris Hicks make everything from scratch at Fredericksburg Pie Company, including the Italian meringue.