Editors’ Choice
Buttermilk Baking Company, Newburyport
Standout Qualities: Owner and baker Ashley Bush’s love for handling dough shines best in her pies, which are baked in-house. They have a crisp and tender crust that houses wonderfully seasonal ingredients from peaches to wild blueberries.
What’s Unique: Buttermilk After Dark events feature different off-menu items each month, like made-to-order ice cream sandwiches, cotton candy, and bourbon crème brûlée.
What’s New: After Labor Day, Bush will be offering chicken pot pies in 6-inch and 10-inch sizes.
9 Liberty St., Newburyport, 978-499-8278, buttermilkbaking.com
Readers’ Choice
Agawam Diner, Rowley
Standout Qualities: This classic chrome-accented diner is on the National Register of Historic Places, but its pies are the true standout here. The kitchen bakes its pies daily, drawing people from across the North Shore looking for a heaping slice of coconut cream or banana cream pie. You can get a whole pie to go if you call a day ahead.
166 Newburyport Turnpike, Rowley, 978-948-7780