PIE IN THE SKY: Banana cream, apple pies are must-haves at Tower Cafe

Anna Frankel
Freshman Larkin Barnard-Bahn stabs a bite of chocolate pie while surrounded by colorful knick knacks from around the world.

In the “Pie in the Sky” series, three staffers tried pies at three local restaurants. This is the final installment of the series.

Pies are one of the best desserts ever created, or at least that’s what I believe. However, some pies are a lot better than others.

Determined to find a restaurant that serves the best pies, freshman Larkin Barnard-Bahn and I went to Tower Cafe (1518 Broadway St.).

Tower is a restaurant that serves a large variety of ethnic foods, including Thai curries, Spanish tapas, East African burgers and Nicaraguan soups, as well as many more.

It was founded by James Seyman in 1990 with the goal to bring Sacramento’s diverse community together.

The inside of the restaurant is packed full of different statues, carvings, paintings and tapestries, all a mash-up of different cultures (Indian, Mexican, African).

Tower isn’t known for their pies, but I have had their banana cream pie before, and it was delicious.

At the moment, they offer three pies, but their selection changes seasonally.

Anna Frankel
The banana creme pie tempts hungry customers in Tower Cafe’s display case.

You can buy slices or whole pies.

While we were there, they were serving apple, banana cream and chocolate. All of the slices cost $5.50, although they were slightly larger than slices I have had at other restaurants.  

We ordered a slice of each.

They also serve two tarts: lime cashew and lemon.

The waitress who served us was very helpful. She suggested that we get the apple pie heated up, which turned out to be a great idea.  

Our pies came within a few minutes of being ordered.

I immediately went for the banana cream, which was as good as I had remembered.

The pie had a graham-cracker crust that was not too crumbly and contrasted perfectly with the incredibly creamy banana center. It was topped off with a huge serving of whipped cream.  

It was by far my favorite.

Anna Frankel
The chocolate pie’s whipped cream begins to melt onto freshman Anna Frankel’s plate.

Larkin gravitated more toward the warm apple pie. We both loved the apple-spice taste, and its warmth made it that much better.

The only pie that neither of us really enjoyed was the chocolate pie.

It consisted of a chocolate graham-cracker crust, a rich chocolate center, and a small mountain of whipped cream on top.  

“It’s really creamy and rich – like really rich,” Larkin said.

I fully agreed, and being a person who isn’t that enthusiastic about chocolate to begin with, it was slightly intimidating.

By Anna Frankel

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