When the restaurants in your neighborhood host a cookout, you know it's going to be mouth-wateringly good. For the third year just such a cookout will be going down in West Palm Beach's Dixie Corridor.
The area's popular Tropical Smokehouse, Celis Juice Bar, Zipitios and Juicy Cocktail Bar will be teaming up on Saturday, July 6 for the Annual Neighborhood Cookout: Smoke & Sunset.
Held both indoors and outdoors at Tropical Smokehouse on South Dixie Highway, this collaboration between the restaurants and bar will feature world class barbecue, delicious tacos and pupusas, refreshing libations, great music and more.
Tropical will be doing a pig roast (whole hog), along with deviled eggs, smoked fish dip, jalapeño poppers, crispy duck spring rolls (with sour cherry barbecue sauce), possibly a mango pie, and, in a nod to one of chef Rick Mace's former coworkers from his days at Café Boulud, chef Tony DeGregorio's peanut butter cake.
Mace said they will be marinating the pig in a mojo sauce featuring the Fire Cider at Celis Juice Bar. Used in the juice bar's smoothies, the cider is a flavor bomb featuring turmeric, ginger, garlic, horseradish, onion and habanero. The pig will be getting an excellent, flavor-filling dose during a two-day marinade, Mace said.
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From there we'll begin smoking "in the middle of the night" before the event, he said.
Zipitios owner Ricky Perez, just back from an R&D barbecue road trip that took him through some serious Texas 'cue country, will be serving a Tropical Smokehouse brisket pupusa with Salvadoran quesillo; smoked pork carnitas with crispy chicharron and salsa verde; smoked carne guisada taco with sharp cheddar on a flour tortilla; and a smoked refried bean and quesillo pupusa.
The relatively new Juicy Cocktail Bar, which opened in downtown West Palm Beach in November, will be providing several tantalizing drink options. These will include four favorites including Tony’s masala margarita (sweet potato, turmeric, Cara Cara orange, and Chinese five spice), the yMaGin (Thai style “gin and tonic” with calamansi honey, kafir lime leaf, and nam tam teem mango), and the Sahri, Not Sahri which is a clarified mango lassi. The fourth drink continues to be a work-in-progress, but will feature Desert Door Pollinator Sotol, kombu and mango nectar.
Describing the new boutique cocktail bar's menu as "amazing takes on classic cocktails using as much fruit as they can," Mace said they have 22 seats and are open 5 p.m. to midnight Wednesday to Saturday.
"A master at reading a room," according to both Alex Celis and Mace, DJ Dubbz will be spinning and keeping the sweet vibes flowing.
More than just nearby restaurant owners, Celis said he and Mace have developed a strong friendship and that he and Perez actually grew up in West Palm Beach.
Though they all own restaurants and are vying for people's palates, Celis stresses that their relationships are "100% collaboration over competition."
Also, having grown up in the area and seen the incredible change in West Palm Beach, Celis said "The Dixie Corridor has something really special and we're glad to be a part of it."
The cookout is designed for the neighborhood, Celis said "We're practically giving the tickets away. The event is for the people."
"Good food, good tunes and great vibes. It's going to be beautiful," he said.
Smoke & Sunset Neighborhood Cookout on the Dixie Corridor
Where: Tropical Smokehouse, 3815 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach
When: 5:30 to 8 p.m. Saturday, July 6
Cost: $35
Information: eattropical.com; celisjuicebar.com; instagram.com/zipitios; juicywpb.com
Eddie Ritz is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at eritz@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
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