At the Table newsletter: New BBQ joint. Dumpling-making classes. 'Big Easy' in West Palm Beach.
New BBQ joint. Dumpling-making classes. 'Big Easy' in West Palm Beach.
Two years after Brooklyn’s Pig Beach BBQ rolled out a series of smoky pop-ups in West Palm Beach, the brand will open its first brick-and-mortar restaurant in the El Cid neighborhood. The big debut is Thursday, June 30.
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.
Within the industrial lines of the spacious indoor dining area, there’s a wrap-around bar serving beer, wine and cocktails, an open kitchen and three multi-screen Jumbotron wall displays for watching sports.
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 (like 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.
Opening hours: Tuesday through Friday from 4 to 9 p.m., Saturday from 4 to 11 p.m., Sunday from 4 to 9 p.m. Closed Monday. Expanded hours and lunch service are planned and will be posted on the website, PigBeachNYC.com.
Pig Beach BBQ Palm Beach opens Thursday at 2400 S. Dixie Hwy, West Palm Beach.
Make a dumpling. Have a saketini.
Ramen Lab Eatery in Delray Beach is launching a summertime series of dumpling-making classes. The local mini-chain known for its handmade noodles and dumplings will share its dough-crafting skills in hands-on sessions, starting Wednesday, June 29 at its Pineapple Grove location.
The dumpling-making class includes a complimentary saketini and later a sake pairing to enjoy with your freshly made gyoza dumplings. The class, which goes from 6:30 to 8 p.m., costs $49 per person.
Additional classes will be offered July 27 and Aug. 31. To sign up for any of the classes, visit EventBrite.com and search “Ramen Lab” and “dumpling making.”
Ramen Lab is at 25 NE 2nd Ave., Delray Beach, 561-455-2311.
New Orleans eats in WPB
If you’re craving a taste of The Big Easy, tonight’s your night at Pistache. The downtown West Palm Beach bistro is running a New Orleans-themed, a la carte menu by Chef de Cuisine Mike Burgio, offering some classic starters, entrees, desserts and cocktails that promise to transport you.
Menu highlights include chargrilled oysters with garlic butter ($20), classic gumbo and étouffée ($36 each), bananas Foster pain perdu ($14) and traditional Sazerac and French 75 cocktails ($14 each). Dinner is served from 5:30 to 10 p.m.
Pistache is at 101 N. Clematis St., West Palm Beach; reservations at 561-833-5090.
ICYMI last week…
Let’s tell food stories!
The Post’s Storytellers Project will be all about food stories when it takes the stage on Sept. 14 in Lake Park. We’ll have five to seven storytellers, including yours truly. Join me!
Our project organizers are taking story pitches as we speak. If you have a kitchen story burning to be told, a childhood food memory or culinary a-ha moment you’d like to share, or maybe an ode to that one dish you can’t live without, we’d love to hear about it. Here’s what’s to know about Storytellers, including how to pitch your story and the pitch link.
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Have a delicious weekend!
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Newsletter: New BBQ joint. Dumpling-making classes. 'Big Easy' in WPB.
