My first time eating key lime pie left a sour taste in my mouth. I was in my 20s, not long from upstate New York — where all you could really develop were pedestrian culinary tastes — and I didn’t understand a dessert that was not all-the-way sweet.

I scratched it from my personal menu. Bonnie did not care for it, so we dug our heels into an I-don’t-like-key-lime-pie stance.

High time for a reappraisal. And I think I’m ready.

Rather than buy whole pies from a bakery, we chose the restaurant route, both of them coastal-themed: Rumba Island Bar & Grill on 4th Street in St. Pete and The Toasted Monkey on St. Pete Beach.

RUMBA ISLAND BAR & GRILL

We arrived just before 7:30 Tuesday to a nice surprise. Rumba Island offers a new special: dinner-for-two for $25. As a bonus, you can add a slice of key lime pie, with vanilla ice cream, for $4.99, a dollar off the usual price.

We each got an entree from the generous twofer menu, and added the Rumba Salad ($9.99).

Rumba Island’s interior is functional — roomy, with plenty of space between tables, a lot of beige. The interior features nothing pirate-themed (that I could see), and for that the restaurant has my gratitude. We sat at a four-top next to a window. Only two other tables were occupied, so ambient noise was all but nil.

Appearance

I didn’t recall having key lime pie with a side of ice cream, but I was game. The meringue, lightly browned on top, was a plus. (Curious, I checked images online, scrolled down quite a bit, and didn’t see a key lime pie with meringue — or a side of ice cream.) Kudos to Rumba Island for being different, if not exactly innovative.

Taste and Texture

First bite: not too tart. Off to a good start. I could feel my I-don’t-like-key-lime-pie stance starting to wobble.

The yellow stuff was cold, bordering on crystalized, as if it hadn’t fully thawed. That made the texture more solid than creamy. I had to press down with my fork to free up bites. They gave my mouth pops of cold. Add in ice cream and I nearly got a cold headache at one point. This is not a complaint, exactly. I would’ve prefered the pie warmer, but I was still enjoying it.

It’d been a long time since I’d had meringue. Fun.

THE TOASTED MONKEY

We arrived at 7:50, about 25 minutes before sunset. The outdoor patio was humming, with a one-man band playing a drum kit, singing and running programs to perform classic rock (he had the flowing locks to match).

We chose to sit inside — a large, plainly decorated space with a concrete floor — at a four-top next to a window. I saw that the light was fading fast so asked our server, Miley, if she could bring out an order of Key Lime Pie ($7.50), stat, before the room got too dark. She gladly obliged and hustled it to our table in a couple of minutes.

After photos, she returned the pie to a refrigerator while we ate our entrees.

Appearance

I prefer my pies to come in slices, but the three squares were a niggling matter. It all comes down to flavor.

Taste and Texture

The Toasted Monkey’s menu say it makes key lime pie in-house, impressive for a beach bar that only serves drinks in plastic cups.

The yellow stuff was firm and walked a fine line between bold and mellow. It had a graham-cracker crust, a plus. Some crumbles of cinnamon atop the whipped-cream icing came as a welcome surprise.

And the Winner of the Clash Over Key Lime Pie Is …

I made a smart play and brought home pieces of each pie for direct comparison. I referigerated them overnight, then pulled them out and let them warm for a few minutes. I alernated bites. It was a rewarding way to spend some time on Thursday afternoon.

And the Winner Is …

The Toasted Monkey.

In a close, spit decision. The Toasted Monkey pie was firmer than its competitor, and a bit more tart, with more lime flavor. I preferred the graham cracker crust and appreciated the hint of cinnamon. Overall, it was a more stout helping of pie — one that, after decades, I was ready for.

The Rumba Island version was creamier and went down smooth. I liked the airy tastes of meringue. The ice cream provided a major bonus. I’m pretty sure the portion was bigger, and I preferred the wedge over the three squares. (Bonnie liked this version better, although her vote doesn’t count.)

As an overall dessert, I’d probably lean — ever so slightly — to Rumba Island’s. Hence, the split decision. But this was a contest over key lime pie, so The Toasted Monkey gets the final nod.

A Parting Note: I can say now, without equivocation, that my I-don’t-like-key-lime-pie no longer applies. I will order it again, and I may even pick up a whole pie at the grocery store.