LINCOLN SQUARE — Tuesday is Pi Day — the calendar equivalent of 3.14, the most significant digits of the mathematical concept pi (π). Let's kick off the celebration with a serious discussion of irrational numbers and then have a blast calculating the volume of cylinders!
Or, we could just eat pie.
Bakeries across Chicago have been cranking out crusts and fillings in advance of the holiday. Here's where to get your Pi(e) Day fix.
• Baker Miller: 4610 N. Western Ave. and 4642 N. Francisco Ave.
In addition to its regular menu of full-size pies and slices, Baker Miller has created four 6-inch mini-pies exclusively for Pi Day: banana cream, chocolate mint grasshopper, Baileys swirl cheesecake and key lime.
The bakery will have plenty of pastries on hand for walk-ins, but folks who have their heart set on a specific flavor should order in advance through Baker Miller's website.
The Western Avenue shop will stay open until 7 p.m. Tuesday to accommodate the expected crush of pie-lovers.
Baker Miller's assortment of Pi Day mini-pies. [Baker Miller]
• Bang Bang Pie & Biscuits: 2051 N. California Ave. and 4947 N. Damen Ave.
Bang Bang will have more than 15 flavors of pie available on Tuesday. Ack, how to choose just one? Bang Bang feels your pain, hence the invention of the "Frankenpie," made up of individual slices of multiple pies.
Pre-ordering is advised, but owner Michael Ciapciak vowed to be "super duper prepared" with tons of pies — full size, slices, mini pies, hand pies and savory pies — for all comers on Pi Day.
Don't despair if a queue forms outside Bang Bang's Logan Square or Lincoln Square shop. Ciapciak said, "We will have welcome treats for the lines."
• The Chopping Block: 4747 N. Lincoln Ave. and The Merchandise Mart Plaza, Suite 107
Anyone who's been to Lincoln Square's Apple Fest knows that The Chopping Block makes a killer pie. From noon-7 p.m. Tuesday, pie lovers can pick up four-inch banana cream and/or chocolate chip pecan pies at either location. Click here for order information.
• First Slice: 4401 N. Ravenswood Ave., 4664 N. Manor Ave. and 5357 N. Ashland Ave.
What's better than one slice of pie? Two, especially when the second is free. First Slice is celebrating Pi Day with a buy-one, get-one-free offer good at all of its locations.
Pro tip: If the Tabasco cream pie is available, don't question it, just order it and thank us later.
• Hoosier Mama Pie Company: 1618 W. Chicago Ave.
A baker who answered the phone at 6:30 a.m. Monday said there will be a "normal menu" Tuesday — and by normal she means 15 kinds of pie, including the "Chicago Sunrise," made with love-it-or-hate-it Malort. According to a fan on Instagram, "It actually is really good. The citrus hits you first and you get the Malort after, but it's way better than taking a shot."
• Spinning J: 1000 N. California Ave.
Whole pie flavors will include key lime hibiscus, S'mores, grasshopper, lemon poppy seed meringue and cherry-apple to name a few — first come, first served. The day's pie-shake special is still TBD.
• Give Me Some Sugah: 2234 E. 71st St.
The South Shore bakery offers South Siders a chance to grab a chocolate cream, sweet potato or key lime pie for Pi Day.
• Brown Sugar Bakery: 328 E. 75th St.
This staple of Park Manor is one of the few places on the South Side to find a lemon icebox pie, but there's also sweet potato and key lime for those who don't have a taste for lemon.
[Facebook/Spinning J]
• Stan's Donuts 1560 N. Damen Ave.; 259 E. Erie St.; 3300 N. Broadway Ave. and more locations.
Wait, what's a doughnut shop doing on a Pi Day list?
For one day only, Stan's has added hand pies to its menu, available in apple and cherry.
• The Smoke Daddy: 1804 W. Division St.
After eating a barbecue brisket sandwich, a slab of ribs and other specialties at this Wicker Park mainstay, don't forget to save room for FREE pie. On Tuesday, Smoke Daddy will offer a free slice of key lime pie with the purchase of an adult entree (limit one per table, exclusive of tax and gratuity).