Welcome to Table Talk, The Daily Memphian’s weekly food and dining newsletter for subscribers only.

Each year, March 14 is known to some as Pi Day, a celebration of the never-ending number that begins with 3.14 and represents the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.

But for foodies like me, the day is simply an excuse to eat pie: Fork-and-knife pies, hand pies, sweet pies, savory pies and the fun things in between. 

In honor of Pi Day, I aim to consume 3.14 pies, leaving me space for breakfast, lunch and dinner options with a little room leftover for dessert.

How will you honor the great mathematicians this weekend?

Sweet pie

If we’re being honest with each other, many of us typically think of sweets when we see the word “pie.” And there’s no shortage of bakeries, pastry chefs and home bakers creating the sweet confections.

Pumpkin pie is my favorite variety — and, in my book, it needn’t be reserved as an autumn-only flavor. As long as there are gourds available, I believe their best use is to be baked into a sweet, spiced pie and topped with a bit of homemade whipped cream.

Chocolate pies seem to be year-round favorites in these parts with Westy’s (346 N. Main St.) “world famous” hot fudge pie and Frost Bake Shop’s (multiple locations) chocolate silk pie seeming to take the proverbial cake when metro Memphians think about cocoa-laden pies. 

As the weather warms, fruit pies will be all over restaurant menus and at festivals. Get ready for your fill of cherry, peach, blueberry and lemon pies — meringue optional. Between Makeda’s (2370 Airways Blvd.) and Muddy’s (2497 Broad Ave.), you’ll find just about every variety there is.

But if one is celebrating Pi Day in style, they won’t stop with sweets.

Westy's (346 N. Main) offers a “world famous” hot fudge pie. (Ellen Chamberlain/The Daily Memphian file)

Savory pie

Pi Day purists know the celebration continues beyond dessert. Savory varieties are where we have opportunities to explore cultural cuisines including American favorites such as pot pies, tomato pie and quiche (yes, quiche).

On the Mediterranean side of cuisine, spanakopita is a pie made with phyllo dough crust and filled with spinach and feta. Local restaurants like Happy Greek Cafe (547 S. Highland St.) and Petra Cafe (1789 Kirby Parkway) serve it on their menus.

Empanadas are hand pies or turnovers often filled with meat, cheese and veggies. They can be baked or fried. Latin restaurants such as Maciel’s (multiple locations), Two Empanadas (1150 N. Germantown Parkway) and Sabor Caribe (661 Madison Ave.) have them on their menus.

Jamaican beef patties are the Caribbean cousin to empanadas on our pie family tree. Jamaica Soul (3724 S. Mendenhall Road) serves seasoned beef patties as does Gully’s Grill (5996 Knight Arnold Road).

Technically, shepherd’s pies are topped with mashed potatoes and not pastry or biscuit dough, but we can thank our Irish friends such as Celtic Crossing (903 S. Cooper St.) and The Brass Door (152 Madison Avenue) for their savory contributions to Memphis’ pie scene.

In an ironic twist on a traditional pot pie, the folks over at Cameo (1835 Union Ave.) are serving “pot” pies on Pi Day. The savory pies will be sold as a $10 special, with THC spirits and cocktails available for purchase to pair with them.

Get it? “Pot” pies?

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t steer you toward Whisks of Doom (multiple locations), the hand pies from Allie Trotter that are stuffed with meats, cheeses and veggies (and the occasional sweet filling, too).

Pizza (pie)

But what better pie is there than a pizza pie?

Memphis has no shortage of pizzerias. From traditional hand-tossed to thin crusts, brick oven-baked, Brooklyn-style and my favorite — Detroit-style deep dish — the Bluff City has plenty of slices.

The best Detroit-style pizza in town is at the Arrive Hotel’s (477 S. Main St.) Bar Hustle, a hill on which I’ll gladly plant my pizza flag.

Local pizza traditionalists seem to swear by Garibaldi’s (multiple locations) but other Memphis pizzerias such as Little Italy (multiple locations), Exline’s (multiple locations), Broadway Pizza (two locations) and Aldo’s (multiple locations) all serve different kinds of pizza pies. Memphis Pizza Cafe (multiple locations) is home to what could be the thinnest crusts in the city.

This Detroit-style pizza at Bar Hustle has sliced red onions, red sauce, kale pesto, mozzarella, a spicy honey drizzle and house-made fennel sausage. (Ellen Chamberlain/The Daily Memphian file)

This week on the Memphis food scene

Beyond Pi Day, March 14 is also the Grind City Coffee Xpo, where coffee novices and snobs can collectively share their love of the bean.

As we near the end of the Lenten season, Jennifer Chandler explored The Waffle Shop’s iconic menu for our latest $15 Deal. Also this week, Chandler shared the recipe for Belltower Coffee’s green goddess sandwich — and the dressing that makes it.

Thursday, March 12, is the priority deadline for the DMC’s Table Ready program, which offers significantly reduced rent to restaurateurs looking to make Downtown their business’ home.

Andy Ashby shared which former Backyard Burgers location will soon be home to a Cook Out and the red tape the restaurateurs are navigating.

Collierville could soon add a third McDonald’s to its fast-food lineup. Abigail Warren explained how the East Shelby Drive restaurant may help shape development in the area. Collierville is also considering a Chick-fil-A, and while a judge said the town has to approve the restaurant, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen delayed the determining vote.

More than a year after losing its Carrefour location, Petra Cafe returns in a storefront just across the street.

The Waffle Shop's fish pudding, more like a flaky fish casserole, is served with homemade coleslaw, roasted potatoes and cornbread sticks. (Jennifer Chandler/The Daily Memphian file

Babalu debuted a menu aimed at health-conscious diners, where even the ice cream is protein-packed.

A food truck park in West Memphis has hard-to-find Southern favorites such as hot tamales and fried chicken gizzards.

Sophia Surrett talked to The Liars’ Lunch club — a group of Memphis men with a fierce dedication to friendship and chicken tenders — about what they’re looking forward to next now that Houston’s and its famed chicken tenders are gone. She also wrote about Brookhaven Pub & Grill getting a renovation and the catering company set to take over the space formerly home to Non-Vintage Wine Bar.

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