Moscow's boutique bakery scene keeps getting better as more and more specialty patisseries and bread shops open around town. One of the most recent to open is Tri Piroga, or three pies. This latest addition is not your typical French bakery, it is actually something much more exotic -- an Ossetian pie shop. The name comes from an ancient Ossetian tradition of serving three pies at special occasions, with the three pies representing the three elements that surround mankind -- sun, water and earth.

The name may be derived from ancient traditions, but the diminutive pie shop is thoroughly modern and very cute. A large kitchen is visible beyond a glass partition. There is just a handful of small tables besides the serving counter, behind which a variety of breads and buns is stacked. In a glass cabinet, pies, pastries and cakes are displayed.

The Ossetian pies --which resemble their better-known Georgian cousins, the khachapuri -- come with various fillings: cheese (75 rubles a slice), cabbage and cheese (65 rubles a slice), beet leaves and cheese (85 rubles a slice) and beef (220 rubles for a small whole pie).

There are no alcoholic beverages for sale, but there is a range of coffees and chocolate drinks (espresso -- 75 rubles, double espresso -- 110, cappuccino -- 90 rubles, cocoa -- 75 rubles, hot chocolate -- 120 rubles), as well as teas (69-75 rubles). Well matched to accompany the caffeinated beverages are such sweet treats as vatrushki for just 32 rubles or more expensive options, such as cheesecake for 235 rubles.

Tri Piroga: 6 1st Nikoloshchepovsky Per., Bldg. 2, 241-0670, 24 hours, M. Smolenskaya.