Devour These Awesome Hipster Pies at Four and Twenty Blackbirds

Four & Twenty Blackbirds is a pie joint in Gowanus, Brooklyn, that specializes in non-traditional pies. I don’t have much a sweet tooth, but I’ve eaten a dangerous amount of pie here in the last few months. There’s a sophistication, subtly, and freshness here to what could easily be another hipster joint just refashioning something traditional as hip.

For example, the** Matcha Custard Pie** has all the green tea flavor of your typical green tea ice cream and cake desserts combined with the sublime of pie custard. The Coffee Custard Pie does the same slam dunk. The pie hits just the right notes in bringing out the full-bodied flavor of just brewed coffee but doesn’t taste like just a variation of coffee cake.

My favorite is Hojicha Custard pie. Hojicha is a green tea that’s been dark roasted, giving it a toasted rice taste. The pie retains that charcoal quality - taking a normal custard pie to another level. It’s something I’ve legitimately not had anywhere else. This is the one I keep going back for.

For those looking for more comfort food, the Salted Honey is the answer and is popular enough to be sold out a lot of the time. For those who like it sweet, this one is for you. It was a bit rich for my taste, but definitely is something for the dessert lovers and worth a try.

Lastly for the more traditional, the Apple Pie here is baked with double crust, an extra treat to complement perfectly cooked apples. Unlike a lot of apple pies that can feel like you’re eating a apple shreds bathed in high fructose corn syrup, you can still taste the fundamentals of the apples - crisp with a natural sweetness.

I have to give a shout-out that the yummy crusts, crumbly and complex, rather than a sugary afterthought like at a lot of places.

This place feels like a neighborhood shop where you can sit alone with a book or catch-up with a group of friends, but the pies stand out enough to make it into a destination to bring out-of-town visitors.

Pro-tip: Other Half Brewery, a great craft beer maker, is just down the street. Pig Beach, an outdoor barbecue and drinks joint, is a short walk away, another good place to round out a nice afternoon in Gowanus.