Sweet of the Week: Key Lime Pie at GT Fish & Oyster

Pie a la mode is best when boozy. Apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream is good and all, but what about key lime pie with a dollop of gin & tonic sorbet? Now we're talking. It's a reinvented classic with a zesty twist at GT Fish & Oyster, River North's nautically minded gem that never fails to dazzle diners. At the culmination of a recent lunch at GT, key lime pie served as a stunning finale for a three-course midday prix fixe (side note: they have a lunchtime prix fixe!). Not only was the pie itself a perfect, refined iteration of a summery staple, but the adjoining sorbet brought it over the top in all the right ways. 

 

The key lime pie at GT, served in a long sliver of a slice, is a mighty fine example of key lime pie supremacy. Lush with tangy-sweet citrus notes, the pie tastes like a cup of freshly squeezed limeade, set atop a buttery cookie-like crust that adds just the right amount of richness to the citric dessert. Some raspberry-scented meringues and vanilla whipped cream decorate the pie as well. But what we're really raving about here is that sorbet. When the menu says "gin & tonic sorbet," they mean "GIN & TONIC SORBET." This stuff packs a cocktail punch, erupting with floral and fizzy flavors of that timeworn libation. And it's the ideal accent to a piece of key lime pie, with the floral flavors juxtaposed ever so nicely alongside the sweetly tart key limes. 

The only downside is it's a little challenging to go back to work after. But it's worth the struggle. 

- Matt Kirouac