Blue Heaven-Key West, FL

Everyone’s idea of paradise is different. For two foodies with an obsession for Key West, paradise is Blue Heaven. Blue Heaven is a run down two story house on the edge of the Key West “ghetto” (which is still nicer than any north Philly neighborhood) where most of the seating is outside under massive umbrellas and topical trees. The ground is covered in wood chips and there are chickens and chicks a plenty with one very loud rooster ruling the roost. Cats roam the porch and the house, sometimes taking chairs that patrons would prefer to sit in while waiting for their tables. The bar sits near a make-shift stage with some outdoor games situated not too far away for those people who don’t seem to appreciate the atmosphere enough to take it in. If you don’t believe me about the cat and fowl presence, check out the website. Some of the inhabitants are on the menu page of the website next to the picture of the chef.
If you are anything like us, this is how your visit to Blue Heaven will go down: You go up to the hostess table-a chicken walks by the two cats laying behind the hostess at the stand. Food floats by from the kitchen smelling amazing and looking just as well put together. This is followed by the tallest key lime pie slice you have ever seen. As odd as this scene is with what seems like so many health code violations staring you in the face, you still put your name down for a table for two. You forgot to make a reservation, its 1pm on a Tuesday and you are starving. The wait is an hour. You go to the bar and wait for a table knowing its worth the wait and order a cocktail to pass the time. This is your paradise. You will wait all day if need be.

Outdoor seating at Blue Heaven with bar in background

Rooster looking over his domain

One of the restaurant cats

From drinks and breakfast to dinner and dessert, Blue Heaven lives up to all our hopes and dreams of Key West. We have been there many times and every single time we get some form of the key lime pie (it comes in slices and cupcakes). To be completely honest, its one of the reasons we first went to Key West and is the only reason we went to Blue Heaven for the first time. With seafood arriving fresh daily and a menu focused on these dishes, seafood is a must-have for the table. Rob ordered the pan seared tuna with hearts of palm salad atop a sherry demi-glaze and rice. The tuna is sushi-grade  and covered in charred sesame seeds. The demi-glaze brings a savoriness to the dish, complimenting the natural flavors of the tuna well without taking away from the texture. Rob loves hearts of palm and doesn’t seem to be able to articulate this love into words well enough for me to translate it onto this screen. As for me and my recent dinner there, I satisfied my need for pork with the tenderloin served with sweet potatoes, mango chutney, and curry butter sauce. With flavors that beg comparison to the islands, its hard to deny the feeling of paradise after the first bite (even if I made it that long). The tenderloin is not over done, and thankfully the serving of sweet potatoes is not excessive. This is a common occurrence I have found, whether it is to make up for a smaller portion of pork or to balance out the plate for presentation I don’t know. Looking around, most other dishes all seem to be going over as well with the patrons around us. The wait staff is informative if not incredibly attentive. The cocktails are standard and well made, with a variety of specialties (the bloody mary’s are particularly good, but more on that later).

Pan seared tuna

Although the food at lunch is much less formally presented, it is still very well thought out. Much to our chagrin, we both wanted the same thing-mahi mahi fish sandwiches served with slaw. They usually offer it made baked, fried, or blackened and this seems to be standard for most places on the island. In Key West, you can guarantee the Mahi is fresh and most places will even allow you to bring your own catch of the day for them to cook up for you.  Both of us being of the spicy persuasion, Rob and I both chose blackened. We were not disappointed. The sweet of the slaw complimented the spice of the sandwich. Paired with a bloody mary made on the deep side of the tabasco bottle, it can add up if you are not careful. The bloody marys are large and made the way they were first intended to be-as a constitutional.
With a complete contrast of atmosphere and food, the dishes are quite unexpected. But with fresh food of excellent quality, these dishes could belong atop any white tablecloth restaurant on the island. And with a dinner menu about 50% gluten free, healthy dishes are plenty available. And no, the key lime pie is not gluten free, or low in calories or vegan either.  Let’s talk about this last but certainly not least part of the meal. Famous for their key lime pie, Blue Heaven dishes it out in high volume and large portion. The custard is creamy and just the right mix of lime and sugar with a graham cracker crust. The meringue is made from scratch and piled high due to its light-as-air texture. Before thinking you may find another place that makes key lime pie this good, let’s get a few things straight. Its not called key lime pie because its from Key West. Its called that because it is made with key limes-which are smaller than normal limes and have a more concentrated flavor. If you are thinking this doesn’t make a difference… well… you don’t know pie. Or limes.  We recently discovered the key lime cupcakes. This is perfect for say… the day you are leaving town and don’t have time to wait for an hour to get a seat to have a slice of the key lime pie. Because clearly that has happened to us.
I wish I could remember more of the dishes from our previous visits to Blue Heaven, but sadly my memory can’t seem to stretch that far back except for bloody mary’s and key lime pie. We have never had breakfast or brunch there, since we tend to stay in bed and breakfasts that provide that meal for us when we visit Key West (the Conch House on Truman Ave being our B and B of choice). The good news is that many more trips are to come in the next few years. Next October we are going for my 30th birthday, and that January I will be running the half marathon there. You can bet I will be celebrating crossing that finish line with some pie.
This is a must for any visitor to the Conch Republic. Be prepared to wait over an hour at peak meal times without reservation and if you are afraid of chickens or cats I wouldn’t go. Although I have to admit, if you are afraid of either of these things you should stay away from Key West all together. Fowl run amok everywhere and The Hemingway House isn’t the only place to find large populations of six-toed cats.

If you don't have time to get a table, key lime pie cupcake for the road.

Key lime pie the size of your head