Mother's pie recipes inspire Crustees restaurant, bakery

Crustees, a Windsor Hills restaurant and bakery located off Slauson, specializes in quality pies -- both savory and sweet.

"We have the best pies on the West Side because we are a true Los Angeles company," Crustees Eatery CEO and co-founder Steven Washington said.

Inspired by his mother's "famous" peach cobbler, Washington and his parents opened the bakery about a decade ago.

From the start customers "would always want her to bake the peach cobbler," Washington said. "It would be the first thing to go even before the main meal, the main food."

The family-owned business now offers many more sweet pies, including pecan, sweet potato, apple crisp and lemon meringue. For savory, options include chili cheese pot pie, classic chicken and shepherd's pie, which is filled with ground turkey and lamb, topped with white truffle mashed potatoes and cheese.

The menu also offers chili, salads, banana pudding and gumbo, which is loaded with shrimp, sausage, crab, chicken and vegetables.

"All these things are things my mother has been making my entire life, so it's pretty much bringing a slice of our home to Los Angeles," Washington said.

In addition to their storefront, Crustees sells pies at the Playa Vista, Beverly Hills and Larchmont farmers markets, as well as select Southern California grocery stores.

Online order options are also available on the Crustees website.

"It is a blessing and an honor to not only just have a business but have a business in a predominantly Black area, neighborhood," Washington said. "To give back to the community, the community I'm from, there is nothing like it. It's amazing. It's a blessing."

Crustees offers gluten-free and vegan options as well. It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Thank you, Carl, for the submission!

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