There's no denying the pleasures of pie. Something about that sweet crust cradling a forkful of filling appeals to the epicurean in all of us. Everyone has a favorite pie, be it apple, pumpkin, or strawberry-rhubarb, but pie-making can be a labor-intensive process, and sometimes you don't want to wait by the oven for hours for that first mouthwatering bite. Here are a few places around town that serve up pies you won't find in your grocer's freezer:

Baum's Fine Pastries and Chocolates: Fall means produce around these parts, and what better way to indulge than with a piping-hot fruit pie? Baum's offers a sweet twist on the apple delectation by adding a crispy, crumbly crust, liberally layered with rivers of caramel. Easier and sweeter than eating it from a stick, a Baum's caramel apple pie might become your new flavorful fave.

Ambrosia Bakery: Forget the strawberry cake just for a moment and let yourself taste ambrosia through a different avenue. Their version of the buttermilk pie is as sweet a Southern delicacy as you could ever wish to taste, a custard pie with a sugary, almost crème brulee top. Is your mouth watering yet?

Gambino's: This Big Easy transplant is best known for their king cakes, but that's not all they have up their sleeves. They also serve up decadent pecan pies, but none more than the bourbon pecan pie, which features a full pound of Louisiana pecans marinated in a bourbon sauce. Don't worry about going over the limit, though—the sauce is mercifully nonalcoholic.

Fresh Market: A relative newcomer to the Baton Rouge supermarket scene (it opened in November 2007), Fresh Market at Perkins Rowe offers a variety of freshly-baked fruit pies, from apple to black cherry. Our favorite is the strawberry rhubarb: ultra-tangy chunks of rhubarb dance with sweet strawberries in decadent, sweet filling. Finished with a dollop of fresh whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it's an unforgettable finish to any meal.

Literally hidden off of Airline Highway on Delcourt Avenue, Baton Rouge's Dim Sum Restaurant might not catch your eye straight away—but if you pass it by, you're missing out on a unique culinary experience. Though their menu includes the typical somewhat Americanized offerings that you can find on almost any Chinese take-away place, it's their second menu that sets them apart. Dim sum, a Cantonese tradition that sprang from "yum cha" or afternoon tea-tasting, involves a meal made of several small dishes, essentially finger food, most of it in manageably bite-sized portions. At the Dim Sum Restaurant, this tradition is alive and well, and the food is truly authentic. Some dishes, like the stewed chicken feet and the jellyfish salad (with, yes, real jellyfish) might worry even an adventurous eater, but there's plenty to appeal to the tamer Western palate. Shrimp siu mai, for instance, is a delicious dumpling stuffed with ground shrimp and veggies, steamed to firm and tasty perfection. The ha gow is another kind of dumpling, thinner-skinned and also shrimp-stuffed. And even the pickiest eater can appreciate the cha siu bao, a steamed bun filled with sweet Cantonese-style barbequed pork. The restaurant is jumping on the weekends, especially Sunday morning, when Asian families from all over the Capital Area pack the place for a weekly dim sum indulgence. But weeknights are quieter, and a table can usually be gotten right away for a leisurely and very traditional Chinese meal meal. You can get a preview of some of the restaurant's dishes at their Facebook page, and decide if dim sum is right for you. (Photo by Dave Gallent)

For the last 59 years, the Downtown Kiwanis Club has been holding their annual Pancake Festival, serving up an all-you-can-eat buffet of buttery pancakes, sausage and OJ to waiting crowds. This Saturday, you can be there for their 60th. For just $4 (for advance tickets, tickets are the door are $4.50) you can have as many fresh, hot pancakes as you wish. With just this small entry fee, the Kiwanis Club manages to raise between $40-70K each year, and has generated over two million dollars from the event since its inception. The morning will also feature an all-ages youth talent show,  a student art competition, as well as a display of the past 90 years of Kiwanis club history, as this year's breakfast coincides with the organization's 90th anniversary. 6 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on LSU Campus. (Photo courtesy the Downtown Kiwanis Club)

Aunt Sally's Pralines has been chosen as one of the most influential new products of the year by the National Confectionary Sales Association. Among the top three award recipients in the non-chocolate category, the New Orleans-based confectionary was honored for their "Lite" pralines, as well as the new "caramel pecan chewy" and "sugar and spice" varieties—the latter of which is made with McIlhenny Tabasco sauce. The praline shop was the first business in the French Market to reopen after Hurricane Katrina, and made pralines for rescue and aid workers. The NCSA praised the company for forging ahead with new ideas even while the city was still recovering. Frank Simoncioni, CEO of Aunt Sally's, said that he was "deeply touched and humbled" by the award.

Twenty years ago, LSU graduate and budding entrepreneur Sam Sanguanruang was at a crossroads: open an auto shop or a restaurant.  Years of working in kitchens from Juban's to Waffle House gave him the confidence to try his luck at the food business. And, he figured, why not show off the cuisine of his native Thailand? At the time, the Capital City sported only one other Thai restaurant, Rama, in the Perkins Road Overpass District. Sanguanruang and his family started by scouring the region for other Thai restaurants, whose menus he pored over for ideas. "We must have collected about 20, and we looked at them to see what people were serving in this part of the country," Sanguanruang recalls. To read more about Thai Kitchen, click here.—Maggie Heyn Richardson

To read previous Du Jour features on local chefs and other culinary experts, click here.

"My obsession is the deli special at Anthony's Italian Deli off of Florida Boulevard. It's a sandwich served muffuletta-style, cut into quarters, with different Italian cheeses, hams and seasonings. I can't tell you everything that's on it, just that it's delicious."

Find out who else in Baton Rouge has food obsessions by clicking here.  

Tri-colored candy corn was created in the 1880s by George Renninger of the Wunderle Candy Company of Philadelphia. According to TLC, the candy—made of sugar, water, corn syrup, fondant and marshmallow—was popular among farmers and was revolutionary for the industry. Goelitz Candy Company—which later changed its name to the Jelly Belly Candy Company—started making the confection in 1900 and continues to make it today. The National Confectioners Association says candy companies will produce nearly 35 million pounds of corny candy—about 9 billion individual kernels—this year. Halloween may be over, but you can still have a sweet treat. Click here for a Candy Corn Martini recipe that serves as a liquid substitute for the sugary confection.—Scott Gremillion

Leisurely pies at LCI: If you desire to dig in and roll your own crusts, the Louisiana Culinary Institute is holding a leisure class that's right up your alley. Learn how to make exquisite dessert pie fillings and crusts from scratch, and take home your pie at the end of the class. Visit louisianaculinary.com to register. $100 per person.

Dalton's goes pink: Dalton's downtown is holding a Pink-themed benefit for the American Cancer Society. All proceeds from the night will go towards the ACS, so that $5 cover is going to a good cause. 7 p.m.

"You know you're a serious eater when the calendar flips to November and your thoughts turn obsessively to Thanksgiving dinner," writes 225 food blogger Maggie Heyn Richardson. "I'm not even hosting the meal this year, but I still can't stop fantasizing about the perfect dish to bring and the ideal execution of the meal." Read Maggie's solution for a perfect Thanksgiving day potluck dish by reading this week's Spatula Diaries here.