Oh boy, I sure got through a lot of Key lime pie in my four weeks in Key West! But it had to be done. After all, I was on a sacred quest for the perfect specimen. And I tracked it down (oh yes!) in a popular beach-side restaurant called Saluté.
And here it is:
Just take a moment to marvel at those perfect proportions…
And again, from another angle, coz it’s so pretty…
Now, to some of you who’ve drooled through all my Key lime pie reviews with a careful eye, this specimen may look suspiciously familiar. And you’d be right, we’ve had this one before.
Saluté sources its pies from Blue Heaven, where my friend (see pic below) bought me one of those heavenly creations in its entirety. If you remember, it was sold to us on the cheap for having some minor imperfections. One of its flaws was an uneven crust that was just slightly too thick in places.
As you can see, the slice above was not afflicted by this shortcoming. Or any shortcomings, for that matter. It was absolutely perfect, in appearance as well as in taste and texture.
The purists may feel compelled to sneer that a “proper” Key lime pie ought to have a piped cream topping and not a meringue edifice, but I personally prefer the latter 🙂
My rating: 5 out of 5 🙂
What a winner 🙂
Our view from the table…
A big thanks to all of you for cheering me on my torturous mission. I might even do it again someday 😉
Missed the other reviews? Here they are:
- Six Toed Cat
- Blue Heaven
- Southernmost Beach Café
- The Key West Key Lime Shoppe
- Key West Cakes
- Key Lime Pie Factory
- Better Than Sex
And if you want to know how my cake obsession started, click here. [Warning – contains hideous photographs of 70’s and 80’s fashion].
Lady Of The Cakes 
What a worthy mission indeed. Props to you for getting through it all without a sugar coma!
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I did suffer one bad sugar coma the day I did two tastings in quick succession…
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you know what’s funny…your fave (perfect) key lime pie has very little by the way of actual key lime pie. It’s all meringue!
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Can’t deny that…
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You say what a winner, I say what an edifice! As long as the lime part was nice and tart and zesty, I reckon you got a winner! Oh, and I agree with not too much cream…
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It totally did it for me. And yes, nice and zesty it was 🙂
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Excellent! I’ve just eaten another Tarte au Citron, recipe courtesy of Roger Stowell at Food, photography and France http://stowell.wordpress.com/2014/01/17/tarte-au-citron-cheers-me-up/tarte-au-citron-mme-cartet/ ….oh, silly me, you don’t cook! Ha! You don’t know what you’re missing…..
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I ain’t missing anything. The fun is in the eating 😉
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Nah, if you’ve made it yourself you have a glow of pride….the more so if you’ve made it for friends 🙂
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…I wager to suggest that it depends strongly on how it turns out…
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But mine always turns out well! But you are bang to rights…..
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I’ll be round yours when your next batch emerges 😉
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You would be most welcome!
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I’m delighted to hear that 🙂
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🙂
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Your pie mission was fun.
I would add an extra star for the ocean view – 6 out of 5.
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Good point! …see what I did there?! 😉
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Delicious looking specimen, fantastic view. Happy to be home?!
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Anything but! Only regarding the latter, I mean 😉 It’s rainy, cold and windy.
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Looks like heaven!
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Yup… like a fluffy cloud on top of pureed angels…
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Oh my! That is a lot of meringue.
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Light and airy as a feathery cloud… sigh…
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OMG! I am actually speechless. Is it really lime meringue pie?
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Yes, I’d say so… totally glorious 🙂
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What’cha think to Vicky’s pink hair? 😉
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I like it!
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Me too! I wasn’t sure when I saw it on Skype for the first time but it’s great in the flesh, so to speak.
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The Platonic Ideal of Key Lime Pie! Good think you got to do more than just contemplate it.
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There wasn’t a lot of contemplation involved once we stuck our forks into it…
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Even that looks good to me and you know my opinion on the key lime pie. I’m proud of you. What’s the next mission?
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Not sure…. Natillas (Spanish custard desserts) don’t particularly lend themselves to critical evaluation. It may have to wait till I venture to Germany again this summer.
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Anything like flan?
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No, although there’s a lot of that around here, too. Natillas are essentially custard.
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Oh, it just came to me – torrijas! That’s a Spanish Easter dessert, the season’s just about to start 🙂
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You, LADY, are horny too long time. You are clearly filling the void in your life with cake instead of children. 🙂 (Troll comment no. 2)
Good god, that looks amazing by the way!
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I’m 99% convinced that I’m about to give birth to a Key lime pie. Any day now… then my life will be complete 🙂
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Ha ha ha! Now you should attempt to make one – for the most entertaining blog post EVER 🙂
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I’d need to clean the oven for that. You see the problem.
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Ah yes, best not then 😉 Maybe you can import them.
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That was immense! :O
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It’s all whipped clouds and angel song…
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Wow! That is pretty impressive! As someone who attempted to make meringue recently with a hand whisk, I’d definitely wouldn’t recommend it without an electric whisk. My meringues would have been ashamed to stand next to that towering beast…
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They’ve probably achieved this through nuclear fission… or if they’ve put laundry starch in it, you certainly couldn’t taste it!
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Yowza! That’s one for the record books! I applaud the chef who was able to make the merengue without it collapsing. And I applaud you for being able to eat it.
I only hope that on your next quest for the perfect key lime pie, you’ll take me along. 🙂
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I’ve put you on the waiting list 🙂
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well I am still going through the archives – slowly – so I can enjoy your past posts – and well this one was my choice for today.
and oh my – that meringue is HIGH! and the two shots of the piece really allowed us to feel that more – and I still need to try this as I have only had the piped cream topping – so I will keep you posted.
but another comment I have is in regards to this
“sold to us on the cheap for having some minor imperfections. One of its flaws was an uneven crust…”
how cool is that? to get a discount for flaws – and I love when businesses do this because it is just smart – and in this case it led to me feeling better about the company just from your review and note that they do this – it also hints that they “take such pride in their work that they will discount flawed specimens” – and this is just good for branding and all that –
now, I just wish I could sample some…. ha!
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Your lovely comment has given me massive KLP cravings – thanks for that! I’m only THOUSANDS of miles away!!!!!! 😉
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