Best food news: Buzzy restaurant plans major expansion
Hot news from this heat wave of a summer: One of the county’s destination restaurants will move and expand before the year’s end, says its chef and co-owner.
Ela Curry Kitchen’s expansion includes a larger new space for the buzzy Indian restaurant in Palm Beach Gardens. The shift will also bring a new, Ela-related sandwich shop to its current location.
Less than a year after it opened, Ela has outgrown that cozy space. Chef and co-owner Pushkar Marathe and restaurant partner Andy Dugard will move the restaurant into a more spacious location in its home plaza, The Shops of Donald Ross Village. Ela will take over the prime space vacated just days ago when the 19-month-old Cactus Grille & Tequila Bar closed, Marathe told me in a recent interview.
“We plan to open right before season,” said Marathe, who aims to unveil the new Ela by early December.
The new location, which offers a bigger main dining room and kitchen, is best known for its outdoor bar and al fresco dining area that’s set alongside the plaza fountain. This is where Cactus Grille debuted in January 2022 and where the old Burger Bar operated until it closed in 2019.
Plans include a tiki bar
Marathe says he and Dugard plan to open a not-yet-named tiki bar in the outdoor area serving a full cocktail menu and chef-driven bar plates. The enhanced bar means an instant expansion for Ela’s beverage program, which includes just wine and beer in its present/original space.
The aim is to serve lunch and dinner daily and a “completely Indian” brunch on Sundays, said Marathe.
Meanwhile, the not-yet-named sandwich shop will double as a market — a “mercado” is how Marathe describes it — for grab-and-go items, he said.
He plans to open the casual spot from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily with a menu that will include build-your-own salads, cheese and meat boards and “globally influenced” sandwiches, Marathe said.
“We’ll do some amazing Cuban sandwiches,” said Marathe, who plans to offer counter service, some seating and a retail wine shop. “We’ll have some grab-and-go liver paté, butter chicken sauce in containers and dinners ready to be picked up.”
He expects that sandwich shop/market to open closer to February 2024.
Ela Curry Kitchen, which made its debut on Aug. 30, 2022, will remain open at its original location until days before the big move. I’ll keep you posted on that.
Ela Curry Kitchen: 4650 Donald Ross Rd., Suite 110 in the The Shops of Donald Ross Village, Palm Beach Gardens, 561-345-2196, ElaCurryKitchen.com
Filet mignon, anyone?
Filet mignon fans, this Sunday is your day. There are more than a few ways to celebrate the tender cut on Filet Mignon Day at local restaurants. Some highlights:
Have a petite filet sandwich. The happy-hour favorite at Morton’s The Steakhouse is offered at $2 this Sunday (usually $12). Filet mignon slices are layered in soft, seeded buns with a mustard-mayonnaise sauce. On Filet Mignon Day, they’ll be offered at the bar from 4 to 8 p.m. Morton’s has locations in downtown West Palm Beach and Boca Raton.
Try a Japanese-inspired filet mignon. The new Yakitori Sushi House is slicing the price of its tasty filet mignon stir fry with shishito peppers this Sunday. To mark Filet Mignon Day, the Japanese restaurant will offer the dish for $28 (usually $38). The suburban Delray Beach restaurant is the latest member of the South Florida-based Unisolo restaurant group. Yakitori is at 7959 W. Atlantic Ave. in the Tuscany Shoppes, west of Delray Beach.
Slice into a bone-in filet. At Okeechobee Steakhouse in West Palm Beach, the 16-ounce cut gets a pat of truffled honey compound butter and is served with bourbon glazed carrots and smoked sweet corn puree for $99.99 per person, plus tax and tip. Okeechobee Steakhouse is at 2854 Okeechobee Blvd.
Try an espresso-rubbed filet. At Lewis Steakhouse, the 16-ounce, bone-in filet mignon gets a coffee rub. It’s topped with charred onion butter and served in a cabernet reduction with your choice of potato and a house salad for $99.99 per person, plus tax and tip. Lewis Steakhouse is at 6390 W. Indiantown Rd., Jupiter.
Dig into a mojo-basted filet. At Lewis Prime Grill, the 8-ounce barrel cut steak is marinated in mojo and served with chili-butter grilled asparagus and house chimichurri for $59.99 per person, plus tax and tip. Lewis Prime Grill is at 7040 Seminole Pratt Whitney Rd. at The Acreage plaza.
Back-to-school treat
If you’d like to start the day on a sweet note, consider this special that’s both a doughnut and waffles: The Salty Donut’s new Waffle and Maple Syrup Mini doughnut.
The back-to-school confection starts with the bakery’s 24-hour brioche dough. The doughnut gets a maple glaze and is accessorized with tiny waffles.
The limited-time treat ($3.65) is available from Monday, Aug. 14, through Sunday, Aug. 20. The Salty Donut is at The Square in downtown West Palm Beach, 460 S. Rosemary Ave.
Have a delicious weekend!
Liz Balmaseda
Hungry for more restaurant news?
Here's how to stay up-to-date with your local dining scene: follow our food & dining writer, Liz Balmaseda on Twitter @LizBalmaseda, Instagram at @silkpalm or sign up for our free weekly foodie newsletter, At the Table.
Read recent columns by Liz Balmaseda
? Southern Living names WPB steakhouse among South’s most ‘legendary’
? A great prix fixe. Deals for Chicken Wing Day, Lasagna Day.
? All-day brunch café. Farmhouse BBQ. Pizza for a sports star.
? New restaurants. Curry classes. Favorite summer bite.
? NY restaurants arrive — again. Prix-fixe perks. Saturday brunching.
? Finding authentic Mexican food in Palm Beach County
? A porchetta sandwich that spirits you to Italy
? The joy of new treats at old neighborhood favorites
? From ribs to rotis, Black-owned restaurant favorites to savor
? Meet the 'Oscars of Food’ contenders in the 561.
Liz Balmaseda is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network. She covers the local food and dining beat. Follow her on Instagram and on Threads @Silkpalm and Post on Food Facebook. She can be reached by email at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Best food: Ela Curry Kitchen Indian restaurant near Jupiter to expand
