It was a muggy day in Key West, but still I clung to the speed junky like white on rice. While riding aboard a rented motor scooter, my boyfriend and I zipped down narrow streets flanked by tightly parked cars and clusters of well-worn bicycles. Each twist of the throttle brought shivers down my spine as we sped through busy intersections alongside novice riders and blithe scooter pros. I watched the road when the boyfriend seemed distracted by the hubbub of Old Town, the city’s historic district, and tried to keep my frightened squeals (which initially occurred each time he made a turn, stopped or, well, just drove straight ahead) to a minimum.

Since it was our third day in paradise, by this point, we knew our way around town, so fortunately we didn’t have to fiddle with a map. We drove directly from the scooter rental kiosk to Camille's, 1202 Simonton St., a restaurant we’d heard had the best pancakes around. Breakfast was filling, tasty and reasonably priced, but I was more taken with the cute eatery’s collection of funky artwork—which included paintings and a made-over, not-so-fresh-faced Barbie clad in black leather—than with the flapjacks. The buttery pancakes were good but nothing to write home about.

Still, as my we came to find out over the course of our short trip, it’s hard to go wrong in Key West when it comes to dining, provided you stay away from the tourist traps. For example, a short walk from Old Town’s core is El Siboney, 900 Catherine St., a casual, no-frills Cuban restaurant that doles up delicioso ropa vieja (shredded beef), pollo asado (roast chicken) and Cuban sandwiches. Of course in a city this tiny, sometimes the spots beloved by locals are hiding in plain view, smack-dab in Touristville. Case in point: La Trattoria, 524 Duval St., which, in addition to serving fine Italian fare extolled by foodies, lures hipsters with a jazzy, open-air martini bar called Virgilio’s.

The restaurant we enjoyed the most, Blue Heaven, 729 Thomas St., is slightly off the beaten path. Located in a mostly residential section of Old Town that also shelters plenty of bed and breakfasts, the quirky culinary hotspot is just 3 blocks west of the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum, a popular attraction almost always fronted by a parade of photo-hungry travelers. And, at Blue Heaven, you’ll find more camera-toting visitors, steered by helpful natives (or their own noses) to the patchwork property where onetime Key West resident Hemingway once refereed late-night boxing matches. We were on cloud nine both times (yes, we went there twice in 4 days) we dined at Blue Heaven, a former bordello (it also has housed a billiard hall, a playhouse and an ice cream parlor) that today boasts a courtyard patrolled by plucky fowl and a menu highlighted by hard-to-resist, homemade banana bread.

Though we didn’t eat at Blue Heaven on “Scooter Day,” we did zoom past it several times while exploring the surrounding neighborhood. We whooshed by tropical vegetation and colorful bungalows, and, strangely, I didn’t mind the wind perpetually toying with my straight brown locks. After awhile, we made a souvenir pit stop at kitty cat haven the Hemingway Home, which we had toured the day prior. Just outside the entrance to the historic house, a local artist was selling Hemingway-inspired paintings, so we scooped up a few of the cool, modern pieces, too. (They’re now framed and hanging in my dining room.)

Later, we headed toward Duval Street, the city’s main drag, where we did some window shopping and shared an uber-yummy piña colada (served in a fresh pineapple) at the Smallest Bar in Key West. Although our stomachs were barely grumbling as we walked over to Pepe’s Café, 806 Caroline St., which bills itself as “the oldest eating house in the Florida Keys,” we were too excited to wait any longer for their oft-praised down-home eats.

Established in 1909, the little eatery welcomes guests for breakfast, lunch and dinner, so typically there are a few bicycles propped up against the white picket fence outside daily, from sunup to long after sundown. Its courtyard, graced by a sinuous banyan tree, exudes Key West charm, and, though the oppressive summer heat kept my boyfriend and me indoors, we still deemed Pepe’s delightful. We gorged on huge Gulf oysters, homemade potato and macaroni salads, and juicy burgers, then, when it was all over, rejoiced over how little our meal had cost.

With our newly bulging bellies, we climbed back on our two-wheeler and rode along the southern part of the island to take in the splendid coastal scenery and salt air. When we stopped for a few pictures, I decided it was time for me to take the driver’s seat. I adjusted my windswept hair, grabbed the handlebars and put my sandaled feet on the floorboard. Of course, I didn’t actually turn the ignition key, but my stationary scooter pose certainly looked good on camera.