A classic chicken pot pie made by Hoosier Mama Pie Co. in Chicago. (Photo by Audrey Leon)

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Audio Slideshow: Charlie Trotters To Go pastry chefs give a behind the scenes look to their pies.
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By Audrey Leon, Ally Clark and Britni Day

Of all the pastries to become in vogue this year an old familiar dessert is poised to knock cupcakes off their public pedestal, pies.

The flaky, sweet treat earned the top spot in “Good Housekeeping” magazine’s “Top 10 Food Trends of 2011” and it is even replacing the traditional cake at some weddings. Every media outlet from the New York Times to television news magazine “Nightline” has declared that pie is making its comeback.

“We used to brainstorm names and daydream about a bakery,” said Dana Kruger, a pastry chef at Sweety Pies Bakery in Skokie.

The Kruger family opened Sweety Pies Bakery, 8042 Lincoln Ave., in late 2007. It was a dream that took many years to realize as Kruger’s mother Arden, a nurse, baked in her spare time. Soon after Kruger attended the French Pastry School of Chicago, the family was ready to open its own store.

“It’s nice to make things that we love,” Kruger said. “We get to make things the way we would for ourselves.”

While patrons can find cakes, cookies and other pastries available in the shop, pies are the house specialty.

“We have definitely (seen an increase),” Kruger said. “We’ve been selling a lot more pies.”

A recent Los Angeles Times article cited a NPD Group study that discovered Americans ate 722 million servings of pie in 2010, a steady increase from 2009.

It certainly hasn’t hurt that three of Sweety Pies’ signature pies – Chocolate Cashmere, Raspberry Pie Supreme and a chocolate pecan creation called Crocodile pie – were featured on local television show “Chicago’s Best.”

“That (TV program) really boosted people’s interest in our pies,” Kruger said.

Even with the increased profile, Sweety Pies still manages to be selective about its special orders, Kruger said.

“We’re doing a wedding this summer with vegan wedding pies,” she said. “Sometimes people want to switch it up.”

“We are definitely seeing people be more creative at weddings,” Kruger said.

There are plenty of places in Chicago to find palatable pies and there are stores more springing up all the time.

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Hoosier Mama Pie Company, 1618 1/2 Chicago Ave., operates out of a tiny hole in the wall in West Town, but on any given day patrons will encounter its chef Paula Haney operating the register with a smile.

There are many empty storefronts on this stretch of Chicago Avenue, but the busy pie shop manages to be a bright spot in the neighborhood. “Bon Appetit” magazine recently named Hoosier Mama one of its “10 Best Places for Pie” in the country.

With seating for barely six people, the shop wows with a myriad of seasonal fruit pies and standards such as the Derby, a pecan pie with chocolate drizzle and a hint of bourbon. Hoosier Mama also features a host of savory pies with flavors like “spinach, mushroom and goat cheese” and a down home favorite “Chicken Pot Pie.”

Hoosier Mama Pie Company opened its doors on “Pi” day (March 14) 2009, but Haney sold her treats long before, starting with a stand at Green City Market and branching out to coffee shops around town like Metropolis Coffee, Charmer’s Cafe and Noble Tree.

Charlie Trotter’s To Go, 1337 W. Fullerton Ave., features plenty of decadent desserts from pies, tarts and cakes to ready-made entrees, soups and salads.

Baker Janet Hurley has been with Trotter’s To Go since summer 2010, and before that she attended both Kendall College and the French Pastry School of Chicago.

Hurley said that she didn’t see pies as a trend for weddings when she previously worked wedding cake bakery, but thought it was a great idea.

“I think that’s awesome that people are breaking away from tradition,” Hurley said. “Weddings should be a smorgasbord of desserts.”

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Eva Frahm, another baker at Trotter’s To Go, said she believed pie and tart sales at the store have increased.

“We probably sell more tarts than pies,” Frahm said. “Pies are not our specialty, but whenever we put them out they sell.”

“The chocolate pecan goes fast,” Hurley said. “We had a table full yesterday and it got wiped out.”

The pecan pie is one of Trotter’s To Go’s top flavors, but the store also offers seasonal fruit pies, such as rhubarb, in addition to coconut cream and custard pies. The baking team also enjoys experimenting with new flavor combinations.

“Sometimes we’ll have special orders and left over ingredients so we’ll play around with the recipes,” Hurley said. “We like to see if there’s new flavors we can do.

“We once did a chocolate with passion fruit curd and it didn’t go well.”

Hurley is enjoying pie’s return to prominence.

“We used to not get a lot of pie orders, mostly cake, but we’re getting more and more orders for pies,” Hurley said. “It’s kind of fun.”

Here is a Storify capturing the buzz online about pies.

But the news broke well before his speech via every social media outlets available. I captured a few highlights on Storify which can be viewed by clicking below.
[View the story "President Obama: Tonight we can say justice was served." on Storify]

All four victims were men in their early to mid-20′s. Each was confronted on foot from behind by at least four attackers, who were also men in their 20′s. Chicagobreakingnews.com said the victims were asked for their wallets, then savagely beaten in the head and face. Two of the victims were hospitalized.

Below is an interactive map with details from each attack along with links to news stories with more information.

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On August 10, 2009, an arrest was made and the suspect was identified by one of the victims in a lineup. However, according to Chicagobreakingnews.com, there was insufficient evidence to charge the suspect with the crimes and he was released.

NBCChicago.com reported detectives urging people to walk in groups and avoid secluded areas.

The report also said that anyone with information to any of the muggings is advised to call 911 or the Belmont Area Detectives at (312) 744-8263.

Andrew Huff discusses Gapers Block redesign with DePaul University journalism graduate students on April 4, 2011. (Photo by Michael Reilley)

Gapers Block will be redesigning the home page of their Chicago-focused webzine with a few minor tweaks and additions to the home page.

Andrew Huff, editor and publisher of Gapers Block, broke the news during a classroom visit at DePaul University.

“We’re going to be moving things around on the first page,” said Huff told a classroom full of graduate students.

Traditionally, Gapers Block has a three-column presentation with a picture in the middle. That much will remain the same, but there will be a few tweaks to the contents in those columns.

The main difference will be that the “Slow Down” section in the middle column under the main picture will move to the third column.

But what will take its place in the middle column?

“The middle column will be a waterfall of stories from inside the website,” explained Huff.

He said it will be a new way to tease the content inside. This new approach could give Gapers Block an edge over their competitors in terms of page views.

Gapers Block is not the first to implement a fresh reinstall of their online news publication.

Recently, NBCChicago.com and CNN.com both changed their traditional models for a more Internet savvy design.

Whether or not that is the case with Gapers Block is still unclear. When asked why now, Huff said that it just seemed like a good time.

The webzine has come a long way from its launch in 2003.

Huff said the webzine did not begin with content that was necessarily news, but rather, new information to look at on the page. Eventually the feature stories morphed into columns and then the columns morphed into sections giving Gapers Block the layout that defines it today.

Advertising was also not even on the radar.

“When we started we occasionally had an ad,” said Huff. “It took us a couple years for us to start making money off the site to appreciate it.”

Today the website generates some of its revenue from advertisements and T-shirt sales.

In 2009, Gapers Block received $35,000 grant from Chicago Community Trust to fund local feature writing in underprivileged areas that don’t have much coverage in the news.

“Until then, we had never really thought of applying for grant money,” said Huff. He added that after the initial grant, Gapers Block received another grant worth $17,000 towards continuing their work.

The money is not only used to keep the site running, but it also allows Gapers Block to pay their writers. However, Huff stresses that most writers have day jobs and the pay is nothing to quit that job for. He also works as a professional blogger and online copywriter.

The funds will help Gapers Block with their redesign and continue delivering Chicago-centric content.

“Fits with our mission to get people to slow down and read our stories,” said Huff.