Best food news: A destination restaurant moves to a new city

We've got so much to catch up on this week. A great restaurant is on the move. Great chefs are teaming up for a feast. Local gems are returning after summer break.

Let’s start with some mixed news from a favorite local restaurant.

Oceano sails on

After nearly seven years of making culinary magic in their tiny kitchen in Lantana, nationally acclaimed chefs Jeremy and Cindy Bearman have announced their Oceano Kitchen soon will close. Their landlord asked them to vacate the building by Nov. 7, says Jeremy. That’s the bad news.

The good news: the popular restaurant soon will reopen in a larger, more functional space in downtown Lake Worth Beach. Jeremy Bearman, the restaurant’s executive chef, says he’s hoping that debut will come sometime in November.

Several weeks ago, the Bearmans purchased the former Social House co-working and events space on Lucerne Avenue. They plan an extensive overhaul of the place after season ends in summer 2024. But they will open Oceano Kitchen in the new space once the permitting process is completed, Jeremy Bearman told me.

Their last day of regular dinner service in the Lantana location will be Nov. 2. A reservations-only celebration is planned for Nov. 3, he said. Bearman said he and his wife, the restaurant’s pastry chef, will miss the old space and its charms, but they are excited about building a new, spacious Oceano Kitchen.

“It’s a great space. It’ll work well for us,” said Bearman, who plans to upgrade the building’s rear outdoor area for al fresco dining and events. “It’s going to be fantastic. The best thing is we won’t be leasing the place. We purchased it.”

With its walkable streets and indie businesses, downtown Lake Worth Beach feels like a promising setting for the restaurant, he said. At one point, he and Cindy had hoped to open a restaurant at The Square, the West Palm Beach plaza where they briefly had an upscale seafood restaurant called High Dive, which opened just before the Covid-19 pandemic forced it to close. But they decided Lake Worth Beach would make a better home for their eclectic Oceano concept.

“We fit better in that kind of community,” he said of their new city.

Since opening Oceano Kitchen in a cozy Ocean Avenue bungalow in January 2017, his season-inspired dishes and Cindy’s decadent desserts have brought destination status to the restaurant.

They created a space that combined fine dining with more casual details: The front porch doubled as Oceano’s dining room. The small kitchen was powered by a wood-fired oven. Diners paid in cash because credit cards are not accepted.

In the process, they sparked a community of Oceano devotees, diners who follow them when they pop up at special events, such as rural dinners at Kai-Kai Farm in Indiantown.

The Bearmans’ devotion to quality is not as casual as their airy front porch. Dishes are fresh and creative. Menus are written and posted daily. Their attention to detail has not gone unnoticed outside of Lantana. Earlier this year, the Bearmans were among five Palm Beach County chefs to earn a semifinals nod for the prestigious James Beard Award for “Best Chef” in the South.

What should Oceano Kitchen fans expect when the new location opens? The Bearmans plan to keep the restaurant concept, Tuesday-through-Saturday dinner hours and cash-only method the same, at least until the big overhaul next summer. And the menu will change daily, as it has always, Bearman said.

“Really, it’s like Oceano popping up at this new location,” he said. “We’re trying not to change too much.”

Oceano Kitchen: Open until Nov. 2 at its original location, 201 E. Ocean Ave. in Lantana, 561-400-7418, OceanoKitchen.com. Hours: Open Tuesday through Saturday for dinner from 5:30 p.m. to closing.

New location: Reopens soon in new location, at 512 Lucerne Ave., Lake Worth Beach

Speaking of great chefs…

Collab of the Jimmys

A local market and pop-up space is “Getting Jimmy with It” next week, when two of Palm Beach County’s most talented chefs team up to create a seven-course dinner.

Chef Jimmy Everett of Driftwood, a casual Boynton Beach spot serving some of the county’s most inspired dishes, will join chef Jimmy Strine of the Austin Republic Tex-Mex barbecue hangout in West Palm Beach next Thursday, Oct. 19, at Palm Beach Meats.

Here’s a peek at the menu: 

Wagyu beef tartare with crispy smoked onion. “Jimmily” cooked hamachi with green papaya. Gratitude Gardens Farm mushrooms with heirloom grits, fontina and Driftwood’s Worcestershire sauce. Tonnarelli pasta carbonara with pork jowls, local egg and pecorino pepato cheese. Florida spiny lobster and chips with “super fancy” sauce. A duo of Berkshire pork with boudin, collards and corn-calabaza succotash. Dessert tart made with Delray Beach’s 5150 artisanal chocolate, passion fruit crème fraiche, coconut and wagyu tallow.

The dinner, which starts at 7 p.m., is priced at $150 per person. Here’s the link for tickets.

Tacos & Treats Fest

The weekend belongs to savory and sweet bites at Lake Worth’s John Prince Park, site of the South Florida Tacos & Treats Festival. The fest happens Saturday (noon to 8 p.m.) and Sunday (11 a.m. to 6 p.m.).

What to expect? Plenty of tacos and desserts, sold for $5 or less a piece. A full bar menu, including beer, wine and cocktails. A chance to vote for the best food vendor in a people’s-choice contest. Plus, live music, ax-throwing, face-painting and a crafts market.

Tickets: Single-day general admission is $10 per person (free for children age 10 and younger), a two-day weekend pass is $15 per person. A part of the proceeds will be donated to The Arc of Palm Beach County, which helps people with disabilities. Here’s the link for tickets.

John Prince Park is at 4759 S. Congress Ave. in Lake Worth. There’s free parking but the event organizers warn of expected traffic congestion and suggest taking a ride service.

Back from summer break

Queen of Sheeba Ethiopian restaurant

West Palm Beach’s beloved Queen of Sheeba restaurant reopened Wednesday after a long summer break. Chef Lojo Washington, also among the county’s five James Beard Award semifinalists this year, closed for summer in mid-July.

Dishes I love at Queen of Sheeba: Lojo’s kitfo, beef tartare seasoned with Ethiopian chili powder, herbal clarified butter and a cardamom blend. The sambusa pastries, filled with either meat or lentils, make perfect starters. The aromatic misir wot lentil stew is soul-warming. And those who enjoy saucy chicken must try her take on Ethiopia’s national dish, doro wot, chicken slow-cooked in berbere sauce.

Queen of Sheeba serves lunch (11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and dinner (5:30 to 9 p.m.) Wednesday through Saturday at 716 N. Sapodilla Ave., 561-514-0615, QueenofSheebaWPB.com.

Swank Farm Market

Grab your trusty green market tote bag and prepare to head west. Farmers Jodi and Darrin Swank’s Saturday food market returns to their Swank Farm in Loxahatchee Groves this weekend.

Some 25 local food growers, makers and other vendors gather each week under the farm’s soaring, 8,500-square-foot open-sided pole barn.

One of those vendors, chef Tiziano Fioretti, makes the most delicious Roman-style porchetta. (He cures the pork with garlic, fennel, rosemary and Mediterranean sea salt before wrapping it in pork belly and roasting.)

Opening day attendees can also expect the Okeechobee dairy farmers from Sutton Milk, selling fresh milk and ice cream, among so many returning vendors. Plus live music from a bluegrass-inspired acoustic band.

The market takes place every Saturday through May from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Admission and parking is free. No dogs, except for service dogs, allowed. Swank Farm is at 14311 North Rd., Loxahatchee Groves.

Have a delicious weekend!

Liz Balmaseda

Hungry for more restaurant news?

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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 on Threads @Silkpalm and Post on Food Facebook. She can be reached by email at lbalmaseda@pbpost.com. 

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: James Beard listed Oceano Kitchen restaurant moves to Lake Worth Beach