Award-Winning Restaurant Brings Signature Smoke to Delray Beach
By Ava Bourbeau
Florida may often be overshadowed by Texas and the Carolinas, but pit master Rick Mace and restaurateur Jason Lakow have never let a zip code keep them from smoking up a storm in the name of barbecue. Florida barbecue, that is.
Originally from Café Boulud on Palm Beach and now the awarded and acclaimed team behind Tropical Smokehouse (and her sister, Tropical BBQ Market) in West Palm Beach, they were inspired by Latin and Native flavors and coastal ingredients. The menu is a unique homage to our state, which touts barbecue history far older than other southern states. Take the Cajun Gator Sausage made with wild Everglades gator and Duroc pork, or the Smoked Mahi for a spin, and you’ll be a believer.
Now, Rick and Jason have set their sights further south: Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach.
Less than two weeks after serendipitously meeting the team selling the iconic red-and-white striped building — painted as part of the Delray Beach Art Collective project — on West Atlantic Avenue, Jason and Rick were in go-mode to open a Delray location. Jason described it as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” With room to hang out, a shaded backyard, an Old Florida interior, and their award-winning barbecue, we hope it’s an often-in-a-lifetime destination for us.
The pair hope to blend in with the Delray community not only with their food, but by their ideals.
“Tropical Smokehouse is not just a barbecue spot; it’s about quality cooking, quickly. We make simple, delicious food from high-quality ingredients. We are fast and reasonably priced,” Jason said. “Rick calls it, ‘come-often pricing,’ which is hard to find these days,” he added, hinting at the shortage of affordable lunch or dinner spots on Atlantic Avenue.
Rick shared their current Dixie Highway menu will be echoed in Delray’s menu, including their famous burgers.
“We needed to strike a balance of fan-favorites, but our space is different in Delray. Smoked fish dip, hush puppies, sour orange drums, mojo pulled pork, ribs, and brisket will be headlining. We will have some Delray Beach exclusives, namely jerk chicken, and
new salads and bowls,” Rick said.
Their side options will be limited, but Rick assured us that the mac & cheese, fries, plantains, cornbread, and Cowboy Cookies will be there. Phew.
In 2021, Rick told Atlantic Current that going from “a chef in a French kitchen to hands-on handyman of my own barbecue restaurant has been very rewarding. We’ve been getting great feedback, and that means people don’t just understand what we’re trying to do here — they’re embracing it.”
Nearly five years later, we can still see the embrace not only in their successful expansion to another prime location, but also on a national scale. The original Tropical Smokehouse has been recognized multiple times by Southern Living Magazine, and Rick was also honored as a James Beard Semifinalist in 2023.
Cheers to more success for the South Florida barbecue mogul, and if you’re visiting their new location in Delray, don’t forget to fin-tap Willy the Great White on your way out.
524 W. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach
