The Swingle from Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pies

Red Hook is a neighborhood on the southwest coast of Brooklyn that’s accessible by cruise ship and nothing else. Okay, there’s one bus that goes there. And you could take the IKEA ferry if you were desperate. But for the most part, it’s meant for people who own cars, which excludes me, because I basically live in NYC just so I don’t have to ever drive.

But one weekend, my landlord/roommate/former co-worker/friend Jack had his parents’ car, so I did what any responsible food blogger would do and asked him to drive us to Red Hook to eat chocolate-covered key lime pie on a stick from Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pies, which I learned about from my good friends at We Heart New York.

Hurricane Sandy shut down the original Steve’s location, but random key-lime-pie-associated signs still hang around the area and will confuse you as you try to make your way to the end of Van Dyke street to the new Steve’s bakery, which is basically a garage with a cash register. Ask the nice lady behind the counter for a Swingle and then take it outside to enjoy on one of Steve’s candy-colored picnic tables. And then continue enjoying it as you walk around the corner of the building to Valentino Park, where you’ll have sunset views of the Statue of Liberty.

I say “continue enjoying it”, because this thing is RICH and will take you an hour to eat if you’re a pansy like me. Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pies is serious about its dedication to using freshly-squeezed key limes, and you can taste it in the lip-puckering Swingle filling. Of course the homemade graham cracker crust and the dark Belgian chocolate balance out the citrus, but balance or no, your belly is still being filled with butter and sweetened, condensed milk with every bite, and you can feel it. I mean that in the best way, obviously. Eating this little tart on a stick is like sticking the best parts of summer into your face.