Eat this: Key lime pie from California Pizza Kitchen

<b>Key lime pie</b>: It's rare to find a good slice of this sunny citrus pie outside of Florida and even rarer at a large chain restaurant. But California Pizza Kitchen manages to get the perky lime flavor true by squeezing Key limes flown in from the Caribbean, avoiding the more commonly used bottled juice or concentrate. The silky smooth custard is yellow rather than green, while the rich, earthy and only modestly sweet graham cracker crust is clearly handmade. Did I mention the generous dollop of luscious homemade whipped cream on top and surrounding the large slice ($6.25)? CPK has been around for decades (opened in 1985, pie on menu since 1992), and one branch is conveniently situated near my childhood house. Occasional Sunday visits with my mother keep us feeling bright and sunny with this finale. We split a salad and a wild mushroom pizza to save room for the pie, which compares favorably to those tasted recently on <a class="taxInlineTagLink" id="PLGEO100100409020000" title="Islamorada" href="/topic/us/florida/monroe-county-%28florida%29/islamorada-PLGEO100100409020000.topic">Islamorada</a> in the Florida Keys. <i>Several suburban locations and one in Chicago, 52 E. Ohio St.</i><br>
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<i>— Laura Levy Shatkin, special to the Tribune</i>

( Photo by Scott Goldsmith )

Key lime pie: It's rare to find a good slice of this sunny citrus pie outside of Florida and even rarer at a large chain restaurant. But California Pizza Kitchen manages to get the perky lime flavor true by squeezing Key limes flown in from the Caribbean, avoiding the more commonly used bottled juice or concentrate. The silky smooth custard is yellow rather than green, while the rich, earthy and only modestly sweet graham cracker crust is clearly handmade. Did I mention the generous dollop of luscious homemade whipped cream on top and surrounding the large slice ($6.25)? CPK has been around for decades (opened in 1985, pie on menu since 1992), and one branch is conveniently situated near my childhood house. Occasional Sunday visits with my mother keep us feeling bright and sunny with this finale. We split a salad and a wild mushroom pizza to save room for the pie, which compares favorably to those tasted recently on Islamorada in the Florida Keys. Several suburban locations and one in Chicago, 52 E. Ohio St.

— Laura Levy Shatkin, special to the Tribune

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