Searching for Key Lime Pie

Key lime pie seems to be growing in popularity and is served at quite a few restaurants today. They don’t have to be in Florida (although it is the official pie of the state) or even in the American South. However, the pie seems to be the best on one of the Florida Keys. The most southernly the location is, the better the pie seems to taste.

Columbia Restaurant in St. Augustine, Florida, is one of several restaurants in Florida that serve the pie.

On a trip through the Florida Keys, my wife and I were watching for signs where Key lime pie was being served. The more homemade the sign was, the more enticed we were to stop. As we drove from Key Largo to Key West and returned, the first option for food had to be Key lime pie. If it wasn’t on the menu, we weren’t interested in eating there.

I found my favorite pie in Islamorada, Florida.

For me, the best Key lime pie was served in Islamorada, a village that stretches 18 miles across five keys. At the Islamorada Fish Company, I found the perfect Key lime pie, served with a graham cracker crust (not a pastry crust, which I don’t prefer) with a lime slice and a dob of whipped cream (not meringue or extra cream to avoid diluting the lime flavors) in an attractive white ceramic cup.

A  table at Islamorada Fish Company that overlooks the Gulf of Mexico is the best place to enjoy the pie. 

Although some people think that Key limes grow in only Florida, they are grown primarily in Mexico and Peru. Although they are named for the Florida Keys (the small, low islands located off the southern coast of the state) where they also grow, they are not indigenous to the area. They vary in size and color and are smaller in size and harder in texture than the more common lime (citrus latifolia).

Key limes are grown primarily in Mexico and Peru.

The juice of Key limes with egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk creates a magnificent dessert. The original recipe didn’t call for the mixture to be cooked because during mixing a reaction between the acidic lime juice and the proteins of the egg yolks and milk cause the filling to thicken on its own without baking. However, pies today are usually baked for a short time because consuming raw eggs can be dangerous.

The city of Marathon, set on 13 islands in the Florida Keys, is the home of Sweet Savannah's, which always have pie ready.

I always check to see if Key lime pie is on the menu of restaurants even in locations outside of Florida; however, whenever a restaurant in the Florida Keys indicates it serves the pie, I stop.

Whole pies are available for takeout in Key West, Florida.