I promised you more info on the new Butcher Block Grill (7000 W. El Camino Real, 561/409-3035), a modern meatery from Dennis Max alums in West Boca’s The Fountains Center so here it is.
Perhaps the most intriguing info is that the BBG folks are taking the local, natural, sustainable ethos a lot more seriously than most. All meats and poultry are antibiotic and hormone-free, humanely raised on a vegetarian diet. The seafood is wild-caught and locally sourced, the produce pesticide-free and grown right here in Florida. Among those local purveyors are Swank Specialty Produce, Heritage Hen Farms, Palmetto Creek Farms and Farmhouse Tomatoes.
Top toque is Joshua Hedquist, late of the Max Group, Big Time Restaurants and Todd English’s de Campo Osteria. He’s put together a Mediterranean-esque menu of dishes that seem lighter, more ingredient driven and better-suited to South Florida’s tropical climate than the usual steakhouse fare. Think house-made mozzarella with heirloom tomatoes; crabcake with whole-grain mustard sauce and herb salad; steak, chicken or shrimp kabobs with pita and veggies; local snapper with corn and heirloom bean succotash.
Of course, you can still get a thick, juicy steak and sides like truffled lobster mac ‘n’ cheese and caramelized Brussels sprouts with bacon and garlic aioli. There are four different cuts of beef: ribeye, New York strip, filet mignon and a massive 32-ounce porterhouse (that will set you back an equally massive $79).
The restaurant itself was designed by managing partner Mike Zikri, who gave the 145-seat, 4,000-square-foot space a simple, elegant feel with lots of gleaming dark wood, soothing earth tones and the requisite open kitchen. With steakhouses as common in these parts as summer thunderstorms, it’s nice to see someone doing it a little different.
