Best Food News: New BBQ debuts in West Palm. Local gem celebrates a big birthday.
When Little Moir’s Leftovers Café had its 15th birthday celebration in Jupiter earlier this week, the restaurant, which recently made Yelp's "Top 100 Places to Eat in Florida" list, was jamming. Live music. Loyal customers. Menu favorites flying out of the kitchen. The most popular of them: the same fish dish that was the top-seller when the restaurant opened in 2008.
The sweet potato-crusted fish is the star menu item that launched a local trend two decades ago at Leftovers’ sister restaurant Food Shack. Not long after the talented and creative chef Mike Moir rocked the culinary scene with the opening of Food Shack in 2002, variations of the dish popped up at restaurants all over north county.
Take a bite and you’ll likely understand the enduring fandom, both at Leftovers and Food Shack. A fresh-catch fillet is crusted in grated sweet potato, pan-fried and served over a vibrant toss of greens, veggies and fruit with a citrus-garlic dressing and sambal aioli. The contrasts of flavors, textures and colors are celebration worthy.
Moir told me he has longtime customers at both restaurants who order nothing but the sweet potato-crusted fresh catch.
“It’s insane. It’s 35% of our business,” he said by phone Thursday.
The idea of serving a crusted fillet of fish atop such a “salad” was sparked during travels to Peru and Ecuador.
“I had this lime-y, garlicky inspiration for the dressing. I thought, ‘Let’s take this salad, with fruits and vegetables, and do it as an all-in-one meal.’ That was the idea. I never thought it was going to take off,” said Moir, who expanded the Little Moir’s family in August 2021 when he and chef/partner Drew Shimkus opened Hibiscus Streatery café and fish market in Jupiter.
A shared love of fresh, local fish
While all three concepts share a focus on fresh, South Florida fish — Little Moir’s restaurants serve 6,000 pounds of fish a week, he says — each is unique. Hibiscus Streatery is becoming so popular as a dine-in spot that Moir is working on ways to grow it.
Food Shack “has more of a night-out feel to it,” he says. And Leftovers is a popular business-lunch spot by day, a family favorite at night.
“It’s a neighborhood-bistro kind of place,” Moir said.
In an area that’s quickly growing, Leftovers and its restaurant siblings are proof that not everything that’s hot and buzzy is brand-new.
Little Moir’s Leftovers Café: 451 University Blvd., Jupiter, 561-627-6030
Smokey debut on South Dixie Highway
Austin Republic, the barbecue-meets-Tex-Mex food truck with big restaurant goals, is now open for business in West Palm Beach.
Running the kitchen out of the tricked-out shipping container-on-wheels is the acclaimed chef Jimmy Strine, whose career includes positions at some of Palm Beach County’s best restaurants (including Café Boulud, Buccan and Grato).
Strine partnered with Roxy’s Pub owner John Webb to create the ambitious Austin Republic project, which took over the former Braille Club property by Phipps Park. Eventually, the truck will morph into a brick-and-mortar restaurant and bar. Right now, Austin Republic is a funky outdoor concept with a bar, picnic tables, twinkling string lights and a ton of vibe.
You can read my full story on Austin Republic here!
A second customized truck is about to open — that one will house the full bar, says Strine.
“It’s backyard Texas,” says Strine, who has been running the property’s main smoker day and night.
The fruits of that smoker — the brisket, smoked pork and other delicacies — are not to be missed. Strine is well known among fellow chefs as a barbecued meats and grilling master. He tells me the top-selling item on the menu is the “2/2/2” combo ($22), which includes two meats, two tacos and two sides.
Those tacos are served on heirloom corn tortillas made by Sierra Madre tortillería in Lake Worth Beach. And the sides include thick, rich “rancho” beans (a must-have) and a mac and cheese in delicious queso.
Hours: Open from 4 p.m. to midnight daily.
Austin Republic: 4801 S. Dixie Hwy, West Palm Beach
Have a delicious weekend!
Liz Balmaseda
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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 Post on Food Facebook. She can be reached by email at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: West Palm restaurants: New BBQ Austin Republic, Leftovers Jupiter
