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Here’s a farm-to-table barbecue to put on your weekend bucket list: BBQ on Fern at Fern Street Wine Bar and Kitchen in downtown West Palm Beach.
What’s remarkable about this event is that the meats are raised and harvested from the restaurant’s own farm, Rancher’s Reserve in Okeechobee. The farm raises Japanese red Wagyu (Akaushi) cattle and Berkshire pigs on a non-GMO grain diet.
“We pride ourselves on being able to deliver high-quality cuts straight from the source for our customers to enjoy,” Fern Street co-owner Nick Scalisi said in a statement from the restaurant.
These cuts will be part of the weekend’s smoked specials, which include Akaushi BBQ Pulled Beef, Akaushi Brisket and Duroc Ribs.
Fern Street will be offering BBQ specials Friday through Sunday. They will also be served during the Sunday brunch.
Fern Street Wine Bar and Kitchen: 501 Fern St., West Palm Beach, 561-328-9745
If this barbecue party isn’t for you, here’s a look at our reviewer’s pick for the best clue right now in Palm Beach County.
BBQ at Pig Beach, West Palm Beach
Pig Beach has breathed new life into a former 4,000 square foot garage structure that most recently housed a CrossFit gym just north of Belvedere Road. The owners of Pig Beach retained the original cement floors and glass garage doors, allowing the space to open up to a newly landscaped exterior and the bustle of the South Dixie Highway.
Pig Beach co-founder and local resident Rob Shawger and local partner Vince LaPapa led the effort to bring the acclaimed New York concept to Palm Beach County. The menu is in the hands of co-founding pitmasters and chefs Matt Abdoo and West Palm native Shane McBride.
The menu includes smoked beef brisket with cherries and hickory, smoked pork shoulder with hatching vinegar sauce, barbecue sandwiches (including a smoked jackfruit sandwich), blackened fish sandwich, fried chicken and burgers (including the Double Smash Burger which won the Burger Bash Championship at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival last year). Plus, there’s smoked fish dip, plenty of side dishes, salads, and sweets.
Pig Beach BBQ: 2400 S. Dixie Hwy., West Palm Beach; 561-803-0333; pigbeachnyc.com/location/pig-beach-palm-beach-fl/
Tropical Smokehouse, West Palm Beach
Chef Rick Mace has opened a cheeky different barbecue restaurant in West Palm Beach called Tropical Smokehouse, a place that speaks to Florida’s underrated barbecue history.
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Opening the venue was his way of paying homage to the state he had loved more than seven years ago. Working with his business partner Jason Lakow, Mace has created a concept that combines his love for locally caught fish with Floribean flavors (think sour orange marinades) and classic barbecue smoking techniques.
These days, it serves smoked dishes like beef brisket with espresso barbecue sauce, heirloom pork back ribs, jerk turkey breast, and smoked cobia and mahi (which also make the fish dip). Tropical). His side dishes range from southern to Caribbean: white cheddar macaroni, smoked black beans, black-eyed peas and coconut rice, Caribbean slaw, sweet plantains.
“We want to express Florida barbecue as best we can by giving it a stage,” he says.
Located on West Palm’s busy South Dixie Highway, the Tropical Smokehouse offers indoor and outdoor seating as well as a full cocktail bar.
Tropical Smokehouse: 3815 S. Dixie Hwy, West Palm Beach, 561-323-2573, EatTropical.com
Caesar’s Famous Ribs, Delray Beach
What started as a roadside barbecue stand in downtown Delray Beach has turned into an independent restaurant. Caesar’s Famous Ribs is a testament to the work of Bill and Pauline Caesar, whose smoked, jerk-seasoned ribs and good deeds in the community have earned them a strong local following.
Menu highlights include jerk chicken, pulled pork sandwiches, ribs, combo plates and, of course, those famous grilled ribs.
Caesar’s Famous Shores: 37 SW 5th Ave. at Delray Beach, 561-303-1398, CaesarsFamousRibs.com
Okeechobee Premier BBQ, West Palm Beach
Located across from Okeechobee Steakhouse, its dressier sister Okeechobee Prime Barbecue began as a Memorial Day weekend pop-up in 2019. By popular demand, the barbecue trailer has become a staple on Wabasso Drive.
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The barbecue here begins with the same quality meats you’ll find at the sit-down steakhouse. The stand offers complete meals that you can order à la carte, by the pound or in sandwiches. The must-try sandwich here is Boss Hog, which piles the traditional smoked pork shoulder with charred ends of pork belly and smoked red onion and drizzles it all with homemade bourbon and barbecue glaze.
Okeechobee Prime Barbecue: 1959 Wabasso Dr., in the parking lot outside Okeechobee Prime Meat Market, West Palm Beach, 561-305-7835, OkeePrimeBBQ.com.
Barbecue off Tha Bone, West Palm Beach
It might seem like a no-fuss take-out barbecue restaurant that draws regular weekend crowds at the corner of Tamarind Avenue and 15th Street in West Palm Beach. But, really, Off Tha Bone BBQ is part of chef/owner Daniel Spann’s legacy plan for his family.
“I have three sons,” says Spann, who just welcomed a new baby, also a son. “I want to leave everyone a restaurant to run.”
This means that Spann has Off Tha Bone expansion plans for its barbecue and soul food concept. And he has good reason to believe that the popularity of his takeout store will be eye-catching. Its menu of Southern-style smokies and soul fare, all served in generous portions, has garnered a cult following since its beginnings as a roadside stand.
“It’s a real Southern-style barbecue. Ours is not just a salt and pepper barbecue, but just a well-seasoned product. The seasoning is on point. It doesn’t need any sauce, although you can add some,” says Spann, whose best seller is pork spare ribs.
Off Tha Bone BBQ: 1516 N. Tamarind Ave., West Palm Beach, 561-294-9717, FallOffThaBone.com
