Amy D.
Yelp
3.5 stars overall, but rounding up since the profits from Pie Ranch's farmstand go directly into supporting their non-profit educational farm's programs with a focus on food justice. Located right on Highway 1, Pie Ranch offers sustainable and locally grown produce, preserves, local goods, and pie. They weren't busy yet around 1pm on a Saturday in June, and there was still a full selection of fresh pies to choose from. I didn't realize that their pies are from Companion Bakeshop in Santa Cruz, and not actually baked onsite. That was a little disappointing, given that their name is Pie Ranch.. in any case, I ended up going with one of the pies (I believe it was the Lemon Blueberry, https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=nv5izeTRhLpy7aKsYqTwIw&userid=76vIFZcC7owykCBjMfGVXg). They only had a few pies available, and you had to either choose the small galette size or a full pie (no slices were available). The lemon blueberry was good, and the filling was smooth and slightly tangy. I loved their flaky and buttery crust. However, I'd prefer to go to one of Companion Bakeshop's locations in Santa Cruz, since they sell pies by the slice and also have a large variety of other baked goods available.
Pie Ranch also had ice cream from Revival Ice Cream in Monterey available, and you can try their award winning Bee's Knees ice cream (honey, beeswax, homemade honeycomb candy), in addition to a large variety of different ice cream flavors. However, if you've never tried the Bee's Knees, I'd highly recommend it since it's super unique AND delicious.
No indoor seating is available, but they do have a few picnic tables outside if you want to enjoy your pie/ice cream there. It was worth checking out Pie Ranch once, and it's a good place to stop by if you're looking for one stop shopping for pie, ice cream, organic produce, jams/jellies/hot sauces, and other miscellaneous homemade items. However, the items are on the pricier side, and I'd rather stop by one of the other local fruit stands along Highway 1. Parking was easy to find that day since it wasn't busy.