Tom's Fried Pies

Over the weekend I had the most amazing experience at a little hole in the wall in Richland, MS. Navy Veteran, Tom of Tom's Fried Pies greeted my sister and me personally with a smile as we walked in the door. We explained we had never been to Tom's Fried Pies, nor had we ever had a fried pie. You could see the excitement spread across Mr. Tom's face as he realized he would be serving us up our first ever fried pie. After a few personal suggestions from Mr. Tom, we placed our order. Not a minute went by before Mr. Tom asked if we liked to play checkers, as he directed our attention to an oversized checkerboard sitting on top of a wooden barrel. He played a game with both my sister and me, and after his second victory I wondered how long it had been since he lost a game. The decor was old time country. Old farm tools/equipment, car tags, and a nice framed article in the local newspaper about the famous pie shop are a few of the items that covered the walls. While I waited I read about Mr. Tom's history. His mother used to fry the pies for his father to take to work for his lunch in the coal mines. Everyone loved his Mama's pies and kept taking them, so Mr. Tom's Mama had to keep making more until people decided to just start placing orders and buying them. Other than the healthier alternative of frying in peanut oil vs the lard his mother used, Mr. Tom fries his pies the same way his Mama used to fry for him and his family, and boy are those pies delicious! We ordered one of the chicken and vegetables. Imagine chicken noodle soup inside a calzone, but more of a biscuit crust rather than pizza crust. It was very hearty and filling. The dessert pies did not disappoint either: one coconut and one apple. They were all very reasonably priced at $3-4 for a regular sized pie. Mr. Tom really had a way of making us feel right at home with the rest of his grandkids that were scattered around the place. I will definitely return when I am in town, and I highly recommend if you are ever in Richland, stop by and say hello to Mr. Tom, enjoy a delicious southern staple, and have a go at a game or two of checkers with the Ol Man. You won't want to leave!

Our GPS took us everywhere but the right place, we came upon it while searching, so glad we did, I ask this sweet man if the pie shop was open and he escorted me inside, I bought 6, we've already scarfed down the lemon and blackberry and a small bite of the sweet potato, these pies are soooo delicious, I'm wishing I had bought more, I definitely will come back. The crust is flaky and fresh, not oily, filling tastes like fresh picked blackberries. Ended up the nice man was outside and we talked and then realized he was Tom, of Tom's fried pies. This is a new location for them, hence the error on GPS, thanks Tom!!!

Sooo worth the drive of 2 hrs. To find this place, heard about it on the radio a year ago. A must visit

This place has been on my Eat list for a minute now, we're just never out this way. We dropped by to pick up a snack, we ordered the Tex-Mex, Roagie, and chocolate cream pies. The meat ones are made to order, so expect about a 10 min wait, but no worries, there are plenty of fun collectibles to look at while you wait. Dessert pies can be made fresh to order too, or in their grab n go. These pies are handheld sized, which is awesome so you're not stuck with a whole pie, and get to try a few different flavors. The crust is flaky, not too thick or overly doughy, the filling was full of flavor. Their potato salad is to die for, it's like loaded potatoes with bacon. Let me say that I hate living so far from here. This was our first time having made to order, fresh fried pies and it was so good! Mr. Tom came out, he was so sweet!! Told us a little bit about his collection of plaques, and the history behind his pie shop. He asked my fiance to play a game of Chess, but I think the man wasn't in the mood to loose, so he didn't take on the challenge 😆 We will definitely be back when we're in the area. Included a menu for yall.

Not knowing what a fried pie was (we were visiting from California), we had to try them. Thankfully we ended up at Tom's. Crust is delicious - flaky and tasty. Tried both the meat and fruit pies. All were delicious. My favorites were the chicken and apple. Having them add glazed sugar to the fruit ones makes them perfect. Even got to chat with Tom himself when we went back the next day. Great service, great pies.