What was Pi Day like in Portland? We went to 3(.14) places to check it out
Pictured here is a gluten free mini brown sugar pecan pie from Pie Spot.
Portland is notably one of the least religious cities in the entire country. But on Saturday, it was clear there’s a holiday the city will take very seriously.
March 14 is, if you are writing it down in a hurry, 3/14. If you’re decimally inclined, that’s 3.14, the first part of pi, the mathematical constant that represents the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.
Pie Spot on NE 24th was also a popular destination for Portlanders to celebrate Pi Day.
For many people, that makes Saturday “Pi Day,” the annual celebration of trigonometry and circular, flaky treats.
“If I could have only one dessert for the rest of my life, it would be pie,” said Rod Michaeli, from his place in the line emanating from Portland’s unofficial pie cathedral, Lauretta Jean’s.
Michaeli was part of a line of over 100 people that snaked down Southeast Division Street, around the corner and into the neighborhood, each person hoping for a slice, or two, of the shop’s famous pie.
Pie Spot on NE 24th was also a popular destination for Portlanders to celebrate Pi Day.
Evelyn, 9, and Margot Boylan, 5, were in line with their dad Kyle Boylan.
New Cascadia down the street from Lauretta Jean's also offered a variety of gluten pies.
Margot was hoping for a “gummy pie,” but Evelyn wasn’t sure what kind of slice she would get.
Neither girl was thrilled about being at the back of the very long line. When asked if they were prepared to wait, they said, decisively, “Nope!”
Michaeli was more ready, having already experienced fresh-baked disappointment.
“I came here yesterday at around 7 (p.m.),” he said, “and they said they were sold out.”
So on Saturday, he was prepared. He came before Lauretta Jean’s opened and he brought a chair and a tablet to study for exams as he waited for slices of pie.
But he was far from the first person in line. According to Kate McMillen, owner of Lauretta Jean’s, the line started at 7 a.m. Saturday, two hours before the shop opened for business.
Lauretta Jean's offered a unique array for flavors for the weekend including: tiramisu cannoli, cherry cheesecake, PB & J, Mayan Xocolatl Chess, Filipino lime and mango, grasshopper, honey black sesame and banoffee.
The shop will make about 1,000 pies over the course of the Pi Day weekend, McMillen said from inside her bustling storefront Saturday morning, about twice as many as they make on a regular weekend.
Lauretta Jean's offered a unique array for flavors for the weekend including: tiramisu cannoli, cherry cheesecake, PB & J, Mayan Xocolatl Chess, Filipino lime and mango, grasshopper, honey black sesame and banoffee.
“We’re around the clock,” McMillen said. “We need all hands on deck.”
Lauretta Jean's offered a unique array for flavors for the weekend including: tiramisu cannoli, cherry cheesecake, PB & J, Mayan Xocolatl Chess, Filipino lime and mango, grasshopper, honey black sesame and banoffee.
Former employees are working just for the weekend, she said, and Lauretta Jean’s rented a trailer for extra fridge space.
Along with the line, the shop was passing out preordered pies through the back door.
“We didn’t ever close the door last night,” McMillen said.
For some, the waiting was just too long.
JJ Grinvalds, who organized a 3.14-mile run for Pi Day with his friends through Ladd’s Addition, was sharing pies from Fred Meyer with his friends at some tables near Lauretta Jean’s.
The run went around Ladd’s Addition and cut through several times, making a familiar sliced pattern.
This is the seventh year Grinvalds has organized the run, which usually ends at Lauretta Jean’s.
Grinvalds loves both pie, the dessert, and pi, the number.
“It’s the perfect combination,” he said. “I love it all, and I like combining it all together, just making it a fun event out of it. Have a reason to go get pie, have a reason to hang out with people and go for a run.”
This year, though, that pie came from Fred Meyer. Grinvalds has a toddler at home, he said. So he couldn’t afford to wait several hours.
Lauretta Jean’s is certainly the epicenter of pie devotion in Portland, but down the street at New Cascadia Bakery, pie aficionados seeking gluten-free options were gathering.
New Cascadia’s owner, Teresa Atkins, was at a table sharing pie with friends.
“We did Pi Week,” Atkins said. “The culmination is today, Pi Day, where we have all of our pies for sale.”
Six gluten-free pies are available at New Cascadia.
At Pie Spot, on Northeast 24th Avenue, where the pies are all personal-sized, there was still a line, but instead of hours, the wait was minutes.
Two people who declined to be named said they landed at Pie Spot after seeing the line of devotees at Lauretta Jean’s.
Instead, they ate tiny pies at a picnic table, in the cold but sunny morning, just two more of the Pi Day faithful.
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