"You must stop at Braidwood Bakery," demands one friend with such monotonous regularity that I'm often left wondering if he is on the baker's payroll. There there's another who insists that I must bring him back a pie from the Bemboka Pie Shop. It's never a polite "please, if you get a chance bring me back a pie". Oh no, it's an ultimatum that leaves me with little choice but to fulfil the request or face the full fury of his discontent on my return.

So, in an audacious attempt to settle the age-old question of where is the best meat pie between Canberra and the coast, this week I motored off, complete with a short-list of the top 10 aspirants. To reduce the subjectiveness, I dragged along self-confessed pie enthusiast Dave Moore of Ngunnawal. "And we aren't going to entertain any upstart gourmet pies; they have to be your traditional, standard meat pie," Dave declares.

Armed with our overly complicated scoring spreadsheet and family-sized bottle of tomato sauce (Dave insisted that each pie should be tasted with the same sauce), we braved the thick fog at the crack of dawn and headed coastward.

First stop, perched atop the Illawarra escarpment is the famed Robertson Pie Shop. On hype alone, along with Bemboka and Braidwood, it's a pre-trip favourite.

We arrive just after 9am, to bright signs emblazoned with ''FAMOUS PIE SHOP''. We're more than a bit peckish, having skipped breakfast in the anticipation of a day of pie scoffing. Dave and I spent the best part of the two-hour trip up the highway debating the concept of diminishing marginal utility - an economics concept I recall from first-year economics at ANU (apologies to lecturer Dr Chris Jones; yes, an economics degree did finally come in handy), whereby you value the first of something more than the last. So in pie parlance, if you are starving there's a good chance you will enjoy the first pie more than the second and successive pies. However, as with all economic principles, there's an assumption here - one that all pies tickle your tastebuds to the same degree. An assumption we will rigorously test over the next two days.

The Robbo pie shop (as Dave, apparently a regular here, refers to it) is also a popular spot for motorcyclists. "Ten thousand bikers a year can't be wrong," big Dave contemplates as he squirts sauce over pie No. 1. The verdict? A solid start, but nothing to set the world on fire.

Next stop is the Old Store at Barrengarry. Set among fields grazed by cows so fat you'd think they'd been feasting on nothing but a feedlot of pies for nine months, this shop's claim of ''the world's best pies'' is bold, to say the least.

Intrigued by our hushed deliberations (and close-up photographs) while salivating over our chosen pies, the owner pops over to ask what all the fuss is about. While I hastily hide our spreadsheet, Dave quizzes her over the store's grandiose claim. "The previous owners decided against entering any competitions, for if the pies didn't win, they'd have to take down the sign," explains the anxious pie seller, who confirms she's also in no rush to pull down the eye-catching sign.

Just five minutes down the road is the quaint hamlet of Kangaroo Valley - an irresistible magnet for day-trippers in search of a country village experience. But Dave and I make a beeline for the town's bakery, where we chow down a very tasty traditional meat pie.

With three pies under the belt in quick succession, our intestinal fortitude is getting a serious work-out, so we're both more than relieved when the windy mountain road finally gives way to the Princes Highway (or should that be Pieway?) leading south.

Just after the lunchtime rush, we enter Milton's Heritage Bakery. Taking pride of place in the centre of town, this wooden two-story landmark building is oddly decorated inside with a giant pike on the wall, but it's the pie that counts and it's the best yet.

It's mid-afternoon now and Dr Jones's treasured economic principle is taking a bit of a hit - every pie we've had so far has bettered the one before it. However, according to Dave, this trend is about to end at our next stop at East Lynne just north of Batemans Bay. It's basically an old-fashioned road-side servo where you can get a milkshake (and pie) with your 50 litres of unleaded.

I explain to Dave that, unlike most service stations, everything on display in the pie warmer here has been baked on the premises, but Dave remains sceptical. He doesn't even change tune when we notice the walls decorated with old photos dating back to early last century, demonstrating this pie shop's well-earned pedigree. Sure, it began as a provedore of apple pies but in recent decades its meat pies have also earned a reputation of excellence.

"One lady comes in here regularly and buys a couple of dozen pies and has them airlifted to her son on an oil rig off the Western Australian coast," co-owner Michelle boasts.

We each take a bite from our meat and immediately we look at each other. We've hit the jackpot. It's by far the best pie of the day. And, although full, we find room for every last crumb.

Crossing the bridge into the Bay, it's dark now and with all good pie bakers tucked up in bed for an early batch of baking, we search for some sort of pie-inspired digs for ourselves. We don't have much luck. "Clearly everyone else isn't as obsessed with pies as us," says Dave, who later points out as we approach the Big 4 Tourist Park at Moruya Heads, "Look, its poolside shelter resembles a pie!" It's the closest we are going to find and, exhausted from a day of intense pie munching, there's no need for dinner and it's soon lights out.

We wake early - our next scheduled stop is Bemboka. With time on our side, we duck down a few side roads in search of a wildcard pie, one not on our short list but which might surprise. Eventually we find a bakery in Tuross Heads, but it's closed. We decide to go for a much-needed run along the beach to work off some of yesterdays' pie stash.

By the time we reach the fabled Bemboka Pie Shop, our tummies are grumbling - it's over 16 hours since our last pie. As there's not much between Bega and the top of the Brown Mountain this quaint weatherboard cottage has the market cornered and has been selling pies to a passing tide of coast-craving Canberrans for years.

We struggle to find much steak in their steak pie, but it more than fills the hole. I grab the obligatory pie for my pie-craving mate back in Canberra and onwards and upwards we go. The weather has taken a turn for the worse and at the top of the pass the cheery lights of the Nimmitabel Bakery flickering through the mist and drizzle are a welcome sight. Inside, a steady trade of lumberjacks, truck drivers and locals are all stocking up on pies and we soon discover why. It's a ripper.

A Bredbo pie (we'd definitely stop again) keeps us going until Braidwood Bakery, which is by far the busiest of all the bakeries we visit. However, in queuing for our pie, it feels a bit like we've entered a fast-food restaurant rather than a pie shop in a heritage-listed town. The pie also sports a peculiar double-fold pastry which would be very handy if you were at the footy (and wanted an extra sturdy base so as not to spill it), but not if you like a pie crammed with scrumptiously hearty filling.

As we cross the border back into the ACT it's time for mutual back slapping. We've done it! We've just clocked more than 1053 kilometres - it's been an epic journey and 10 of the best pies our region has to offer are swirling around our tummies in various stages of digestion.

"I probably won't eat another pie for six months," moans Dave as he drops me at home and hands me our sauce-splattered spreadsheet. It's time for the calculations.

First, though, I hop on the scales - I've stacked on two kilograms in less than two days. Mrs Yowie shakes her head - I get a feeling my next challenge might be to (involuntarily) find our region's best gym.

1. East Lynne Store (Princes Highway, about 15 kilometres north of Batemans Bay). A tasty, traditional meat pie with real chunks of beef ($5) wrapped in golden pastry and cooked to perfection. A clear winner and definitely worth the drive.

2. The Heritage Bakery (197-201 Princes Highway, Milton). An all-round great meat pie ($4.95) with quality chunks of beef. They recently changed their name from the Rainbow Pie Shop as they started to bake bread as well. But it's the pies that will keep people coming back here.

3. Nimmitabel Bakery (40 Bombala Street). Snuggle up in front of the open fire and sink your teeth into this chunky beef pie ($4.30).

Old Store Barrengarry (2167 Moss Vale Road, Barrengarry). While its claim as the ''World's Best Pie'' is a tad ambitious, this extra-large meat pie - crammed with quality mince ($6.90) - is a complete meal in itself. Park right outside the front door of this quaint 1880 wooden cottage, and chomp into your pie while soaking up the vista over the rolling green hills.

Kangaroo Valley Bakehouse (150 Moss Vale Road, Kangaroo Valley). At $3.80 it was the cheapest pie on the trip. While not filled with chunky pieces of beef, it was your classic old-school meat pie and one of the tastiest. With pastry to die for, it's little wonder the bakehouse is crammed full of awards for its pastry chef.

Email: timtheyowieman@bigpond.com or Twitter: @TimYowie or write to me c/o The Canberra Times, 9 Pirie Street, Fyshwick.