Savory pies can take many forms. They’re available either with or without a lid, gargantuan or hand-held, and filled with ingredients either luxurious or pedestrian. Learn about my favorite Los Angeles savory pies, which are all satisfying, and occasionally subject to seasonal availability. Selections appear in alphabetical order.

UPDATES SINCE NOVEMBER 21, 2014
Additions: Loreto
Subtractions: Creme Caramel LA Chicken Adobo Pot Pie (N/A), Dinette (CLOSED), Father’s Office Lamb Pot Pie (N/A), Fishing With Dynamite Maine Lobstah Dumpling Pie (N/A), Gjusta Pork & Pea Pie (N/A), Good Girl Dinette (CLOSED), Tam O’Shanter The Haggis! (N/A), Tender Greens Pot Pie (N/A), Wood Spoon (CLOSED)

Bourbon Steak Maine Lobster Pot Pie (MP) – Glendale ↓

The first L.A. branch of Michael Mina’s steakhouse resides on the corner of The Americana at Brand. Bourbon Steak features modern flourishes, but one signature item dates back almost two decades, to when Mina was executive chef of San Francisco’s late, great Aqua. For his Lobster Pot Pie, puff pastry is baked over a copper pot that contains shelled claw meat, buttery, herbaceous brandied lobster cream, and market vegetables like cipollini onions, English snap peas, zucchini, and fingerling potatoes. Servers deconstruct the pie and serve the components tableside, on white plates.

chi SPACCA Beef & Bone Marrow Pie – Hollywood ↓

Chi SPACCA is the latest Mozza Restaurant Group concept from Nancy Silverton, Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich in their formidable L.A. compound. The focus is on chef Chad Colby’s considerable talents, which include textbook charcuterie and wood-kissed cooking. A cleaver sign hangs above the door on Melrose, so expect a meat-centric meal. One can’t miss dish from Macelleria (Butcher Shop) is the Beef & Bone Marrow Pie with beef cheek and button mushrooms braised in red wine reduction, rosemary and thyme, served in a flaky, buttery crust with marrow in the middle and a side of whipped potatoes. My server said, “In case you think you’ve hit a dead end with the marrow, flip it over.” This pie has plenty to give.

The Grill on the Alley Chicken Pot Pie – Beverly Hills ↓

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 a Chicken Pot Pie with flaky phyllo dome, considerable cream, chicken thigh meat, carrots, mushrooms, and peas.

Heirloom Bakery & Café Chicken Pot Pie – South Pasadena ↓

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.

Joan’s on Third Vegetable Pot Pie – Los Angeles + Studio City ↓

While the impulse is often to super-charge a savory pie, chef Joan McNamara keeps her pot pies simple in her Mid-City and Studio City market-cafes. She loads her vegetarian pot pies with roasted carrots, potatoes, pearl onions, peas, mushrooms and mushroom gravy and seals it with an herb crust flecked with rosemary, thyme and parsley. She also makes a chicken version with chicken gravy and similar fillings. McNamara said she likes to keep her pastry “short,” in the style of shortbread, meaning the crust’s got some heft.

Loreto 7 Mares En Croute – Frogtown ↓

This seafood focused Mexican restaurant near the L.A. River caps an iconic seafood soup chock full of carrot, potato, tomato, corn, lobster, shrimp, octopus, and clams with flaky croissant crust.

Valerie Confections Seasonal Savory Hand Pies – Echo Park + Glendale ↓

Valerie Confections owners Valerie Gordon and Stan Weightman rotate hand pies seasonally at their cafes. Pies are shaped like half moons and might include mushroom & cheese; a Breakfast Hand Pie with Swiss, ham and egg; or perhaps best of all, Kale. Their kale pie sports a supple pastry coat that includes cream cheese and delivers a salty tinge. The core combines sautéed kale – hearty leaves and crunchy stalks – with ricotta cheese, roasted tomatoes, onions and spices. Hand pies are kept cool, but give Valerie’s team seven minutes, and your pie arrives piping hot.