Key West, FL – Restaurants

To begin this section I would like to offer one of the more popular recipes for Key Lime Pie. This well-known pie is a specialty dessert of the Florida Keys. This particular recipe was taken from Key Kookin by the late great Glad Whitley.

Ingredients:

4 eggs (separated)
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon gelatin (in 1/2 cup ice water)
1 half cup Key lime juice
1 half teaspoon salt

Beat egg yolks until thick, add 1/2 cup sugar to eggs slowly while beating. Add salt, then lime juice; beat well. Cook in a double boiler about 10 minutes or until thick. Transfer to mixing bowl, add gelatin, and beat for 5 minutes. Set aside to cool. Beat egg whites until stiff, add sugar and beat until of a satin smooth consistency. With a wooden fork, beat in egg whites to the cooked moisture until well-blended without lumps of egg whites. Pour into a pre-baked 9-inch pie shell, and either freeze for the future or chill in the refrigerator.

As with many of the restaurants in the Florida Keys, most restaurants in Key West serve fresh fish. Some that come to mind are wahoo, grouper, snapper, tuna, & dolphin fish. More than likely all will be caught in the local waters. Don’t miss the Conch dishes. These can be breaded, served raw in salads, or made into conch chowder. Conch was part of the main diet of the original key’s natives. Today conch served in restaurants is imported from the Bahamas because in the United States it is a protected species.

While shopping, especially on Duvall Street look for several juice and smoothie sidewalk vendors. They use fresh tropical fruit including mango, papaya, and pineapple.

All restaurants below are categorized by type of cuisine and are all in the (305) area code. We *ONLY* list restaurants that have been in business for 10 years or more. If your Key Restaurant has been in business for 10 years or more and we do not have it listed below, please email us: dave@pon.net