Long road trips are fun, but they can lead to boredom - and with boredom can come fantasies about what you may be able to eat at the next stop. Sometimes it can be difficult to plan ahead, though, especially if you don't know the route very well.

However, on a recent trip to Port Macquarie (read more about that lovely beach destination here) we passed through the tiny town of Coolongolook and saw this place (above). Well, all we had to do then was watch out for it on the right-hand-side of the road to the north of the town on our way back south again.

And there it was. Can you see why we wanted to try it out?

Inside we were met by Andy himself, surrounded by a dense and delicious cloud of freshly baked cherry pie aromas.

Andy told us the story of this pie and it sent shivers up our spines. You see, Andy's father was a sailor in the Irish Navy. As it happened he met a sweet Irish girl who became Andy's mother and she was an exceptional cook.

The family lived in Young, cherry capital of Australia at the time, and Andy's mum cooked with the local produce, using a traditional Irish biscuit pastry for her cherry pies. "She made thousands of these pies," says Andy, proudly.

After her death, Andy and his brother were going through her things and found the cherry pie recipe in an envelope. Andy decided to master the recipe, then moved north to open this cafe. It is still a work in progress when we visit as it had only been opened a couple of months, but even so the parking area was filling up and there was a happy feel to the place.

The pie was so fresh from the oven, Andy had to be careful cutting it, choosing to turn it upside down to avoid shattering the crisp crust. 

And indeed it was like eating cookies sandwiching a rich and silky cherry interior. Andy puts no sugar in the filling made from cherries from Young which he pits himself. He says he pitted seven tonnes last year, so the good news is that he should have enough fruit to make plenty more of these.

One slice is $6 with cream, and a full pie is $19.80, but the back-story and experience is pretty close to priceless!

Andy's Cherry Pie Cafe, corner King Street and Pacific Highway, Coolongolook, NSW, phone: 0409 890 493. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Andys-Cherry-Pie-Cafe/1113320892027622

- SallyHammond