Palm Beach Post critic's pick for best new barbecue restaurants right now in Palm Beach County
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In the mood for some lip-smacking good 'cue? Here's a look at the Palm Beach Post's critic's choice for the best barbecueright now in Palm Beach County.
Pig Beach BBQ, West Palm Beach
Pig Beach has breathed new life into a 4,000-square-foot former garage structure that most recently housed a CrossFit gym just north of Belvedere Road. Pig Beach owners kept the original cement floors and glass garage doors, allowing the space to open onto a newly landscaped exterior and the South Dixie Highway bustle.
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 Shane McBride, who’s a West Palm native.
Menu offerings include cherry and hickory-smoked brisket, smoked pork shoulder with hatch vinegar sauce, barbecue sandwiches (including a smoky jackfruit sandwich), blackened fish sandwich, fried chicken and burgers (including the Double Smash Burger that won the Burger Bash championship at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival last year). Plus there’s smoked fish dip, plenty of cookout 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 opened a brazenly different barbecue restaurant in West Palm Beach called Tropical Smokehouse, a spot that’s all about Florida’s underappreciated barbecue history.
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Opening the place was his way of paying tribute to the state that caught his fancy more than seven years ago. Together with business partner Jason Lakow, Mace has created a concept that combines his love for locally caught fish with Floribbean flavors (think sour-orange marinades) and classic barbecue-smoking techniques.
These days he’s serving smoky dishes like prime brisket with espresso barbecue sauce, heritage pork baby back ribs, jerk turkey breast and smoked cobia and mahi (that also make Tropical’s mean fish dip). His side dishes go from Southern to Caribbean: white cheddar mac, smoky black beans, coconut black-eyed peas and rice, Caribbean slaw, sweet plantains.
“We want to express Florida barbecue as best as we can by giving it a stage,” he says.
Located on West Palm’s busy South Dixie Highway, 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
Ceasar’s Famous Ribs, Delray Beach
What began as a roadside barbecue stand in downtown Delray Beach morphed into a free-standing restaurant. Ceasar’s Famous Ribs is a testament to the work of Bill and Pauline Ceasar, whose smoked, jerk-seasoned spare ribs and good deeds in the community have earned them a strong local following.
Menu highlights include jerk chicken, pulled pork sandwiches, jerk ribs, combo plates and, of course, those famous barbecued spare ribs.
Ceasar’s Famous Ribs: 37 SW 5th Ave. in Delray Beach, 561-303-1398, CeasarsFamousRibs.com
Okeechobee Prime Barbecue, West Palm Beach
Located across a side street from Okeechobee Steakhouse, its dressier sister Okeechobee Prime Barbecue started as a Memorial Day weekend pop-up in 2019. By popular demand, the barbecue trailer became a fixture on Wabasso Drive.
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The barbecue here starts with the same quality meats you’ll find at the sit-down steakhouse. The stand offers full meals you can order a la carte, by the pound or in sandwich form. The must-try sandwich here is Boss Hog, which stacks smoked heritage pork shoulder with pork belly burnt ends and smoked red onion and drizzles it all with a homemade bourbon-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.
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Off Tha Bone BBQ, West Palm Beach
It may appear to be a fuss-free takeout barbecue restaurant, one that brings steady weekend crowds to 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 each of them a restaurant to run.”
That means Spann has Off Tha Bone expansion plans for his barbecue and soul food concept. And he has good reason to believe his takeout shop’s popularity will prove catchy. His menu of smoky, Southern-style ‘cue and soul food favorites, all served in generous portions, sparked a cult following since its early days as a roadside stand.
“It’s a true Southern-style barbecue. Ours is not just salt-and-pepper barbecue, but just a well-seasoned product. The seasoning’s on point. It doesn’t need sauce, though you can add it,” says Spann, whose top seller is the pork spare ribs.
Off Tha Bone BBQ: 1516 N. Tamarind Ave., West Palm Beach, 561-294-9717, FallOffThaBone.com
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: BBQ near me: Pig Beach in West Palm, Okeechobee Steakhouse barbecue
