House of Pies is often jokingly referred to as "House of Guys" due to its location in the predominantly homosexual area of Houston. However, in reality it is impossible to define a typical House of Pies patron. The nickname does have one thing right though, and that is that the people you find here are more interesting than the food.
Not that the food is bad. There is a wide selection of pies (as the name suggests) - all those old-fashioned icebox pies like my Great-Grandmother used to make. The non-pie food menu is pretty typical of what you find at comparable 24-hour greasy-spoon restaurants. While the food is of a much better quality than you find at most of them (like Denny's, for example), it is hardly the best meal in Houston. Of course, at three in the morning you can't be too picky.
Therefore, the rather remarkably varied crowd of people descend upon this place late in the evening (and I do mean a crowd, you will very likely have to wait in line to get a table at midnight). The place doesn't have, as its nickname suggests, a predominantly homosexual customer base, but the establishment's location in this area of the city may make it a haven for more open-minded types because you certainly see a lot of liberal-looking people. This in itself would be unremarkable if you didn't see so many conservative-looking types here as well (although they apparently aren't too closed-minded because they keep coming back).
Take, for example, the last time I visited here. My boyfriend and I were in semi-formal dress and had previously been at the theatre. We decided to visit House of Pies for some after-theatre pie and coffee. We, of course, had to wait in line to get a table because it was nearly midnight (on a Tuesday) so the place was naturally packed. To our right, a nice group of old ladies (who kind of reminded me of my Grandmother and the friends she goes out with) stopped to admire the dress I had worn for the musical that evening. They looked to me like they might have come here from a church function. My boyfriend then glanced to our left and commented, (discreetly in my ear of course) "Wow! His girlfriend looks really young and really hooker-y." I then looked to my left and saw a man in his late 30s accompanied by a teenage girl who very likely may have been a prostitute, also waiting to be seated. Later, over our food, he looked over my shoulder and asked "Does that guy have pigtails?"
The guy standing just outside the restaurant, apparently waiting for somebody, did in fact have pigtails. This seemed in many ways unremarkable here, but then again, he didn't exactly blend in either.
You never know who you are going to see at House of Pies, but if nothing else, you can depend on some good, if not particularly memorable, pie.