BUCKHEAD
Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead

Executive pastry chef James Satterwhite of the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead grew up on a farm in North Carolina that had been in his family for 200 years. It was there he learned to cook Southern favorites, including a fried pie recipe he learned from his two great aunts.

The early batches were usually apple or pear, from the trees on the farm. Today, he creates different varieties, such as mixed fruits, cheesecake and a guest favorite, chocolate with graham cracker ice cream and toasted marshmallow. The hot, crispy pies are served in balsa wood baskets in the Lobby Lounge and the Café.

• $9. 3434 Peachtree Road, N.E., Buckhead. 404-237-2700, www.ritzcarlton.com/buckhead.

WESTSIDE
JCT Kitchen

A few years ago, chef Ford Fry ordered a chocolate fried pie for dessert at a hole-in-the-wall barbecue joint in Dallas. "It tasted like a fried Dolly Madison chocolate pie found at all convenient stores and truck stops across the country," he says. "It was amazing."

The pie inspired JCT kitchen's dessert, a tribute to a comfort classic with a top-shelf spin. A traditional pie dough is filled with a combination of pots de crème and espresso. Fresh out of the fryer, two mini pies are tossed in cinnamon sugar and plated with a scoop of bananas Foster ice cream, a creamer full of brown butter caramel sauce and a dust of powdered sugar. Chef Fry recommends a big red wine to complement the dish.

• $7. 1198 Howell Mill Road, suite 18, Atlanta. 404-355-2252, www.jctkitchen.com.

DOWNTOWN
The Varsity

For a fried pie that doesn't require business casual or a reservation, the Varsity is the only way to go. Peach or apple round out the meal most natives dream of: a chili dog, or two, onion rings and an F.O.

• $1.69. 61 North Ave., Atlanta, and other locations. 404-881-1706, www.thevarsity.com.

— Lynn Peisner