On September 25, Culver City’s New School of Cooking hosted a savory pie class in support of the 6th Annual KCRW Good Food Pie Contest starring Good Food host Evan Kleiman and David LeFevre of Manhattan Beach Post and Fishing With Dynamite. LeFevre presented a “soulful” clam chowder dumpling pie, which showcased “more cobbler biscuit dough than pie dough.” Why not, considering M.B. Post’s bacon cheddar buttermilk biscuits are so devastating. Yes, he uses smoky Nueske bacon from his home state of Wisconsin, along with manufacturing cream and roux crafted with unsalted butter. LeFevre said, “With a pot pie, you have to have a bottom crust. Everything I believe in, in this world, tells me there needs to be a bottom on a pot pie.” His clam chowder dumpling pie was rich, but great. This was a one-off, but Fishing With Dynamite’s dinner menu features a deluxe dumpling pie with lobster brandy sauce and chunks of lobster.

Nicole Rucker, the head baker for Gjelina Take Away, who walked away from the 2013 National Pie Championship with a blue ribbon, now showcases her prodigious pastry talents at Gjusta, GTA’s sister establishment in Venice. Rucker rotates savory pies starring Chicken, Rabbit, Duck, or Pork & Pea. This specimen features a flaky, butter-based crust with a golden, rosemary-littered lid, which contains well seasoned pork shoulder chunks, oregano, rosemary, carrots, sweet tart green apple, and of course peas.

Diep Tran’s airy Vietnamese-tinged restaurant on a Highland Park side street features brick walls and colorful furniture. Tran produces a chicken pot pie that delivers a lingering spice kick, featuring dark meat Kendor Farms chicken luxuriating in spicy curry with carrots, skin-on potatoes and more. A flaky buttermilk biscuit crust with crisp edges completes the savory picture. Good Girl also sells a vegetarian version that changes with the seasons and appears on a chalkboard that espouses their “local seasonal sustainable” philosophy.

This Beverly Hills institution dates to 1984, when Bob Spivak, Michael Weinstock and Dick Shapiro debuted their classy American concept in the city’s luxurious Golden Triangle. Tables still wear white cloths, servers still wear jackets, and the chandeliers still come in gold. This traditional hub for power dining sells an off menu Chicken Pot Pie with flaky phyllo dome, considerable cream, chicken thigh meat, carrots, mushrooms, and peas.

Sally Cook and Joe Martinez opened this Gold Line-adjacent cafe in 2005, specializing in American classics. Heirloom occasionally displays pot pies in their case. Each tin touts flaky, buttery, thyme-topped crust and a filling of onions, mushrooms, chicken and more. The pie is light on gravy, which could either be a benefit or demerit, depending on your point of view.