Mmmmm.
It was worth driving a hundred miles out of the way to get that piece of pie. Baked by Mom’s, located in downtown Julian, the apple pie – with cheddar – was a sweet and flaky treat, well worth the long trip south through the mountains.

I love pie that much. And seeing as Julian is the capital of pie, it goes together. Located 60 miles northeast of San Diego on the northern end of the Cuyamaca Mountains, the retreat town is on the southern slope of Volcan Mountain, just west of the Anza Borrego desert. Established after the Civil War by Drue Bailey and Mike Julian, the town was home to the only Gold Rush in San Diego County and is a quaint part of the history of Southern California, with wooden slatted walkways in the downtown area, historic buildings dotting the streets and even an old-fashioned soda fountain.

Julian didn’t get its reputation as a gold mine town, however, and, in fact, the rush to pan for gold ended quickly once farmers realized that the rich soil and altitude made for great apples. From there, it was only a matter of time before this idyllic little get-a-way became known as the apple capital of the region, harvesting juicy apples, churning cider and baking apple pie.

Julian homemade pie, baked with care in a mountain kitchen named after Mom. What a way to start a trip.