Best food news: Sip great coffee. Enjoy decadent cookies. Meet star chefs on a mission.

Liz Balmaseda, Palm Beach Post
·4 min read
A warm latte is served at Pumphouse Coffee Roasters.
A warm latte is served at Pumphouse Coffee Roasters.

We caffeinate. We indulge. We give back. That’s the gist of this week’s food-and-dining roundup, the last before we slide into October.

Where to caffeinate

Caffeine is kind of a theme this weekend. Today (Sept. 29) is National Coffee Day. Sunday is International Coffee Day. And there’s no shortage of local coffee shops and roasters where one can toast to those days.

Coffee seems to be the new craft beer in Palm Beach County, which has greeted new coffee enterprises in the past couple of years. Some newer ones to consider:

Candid Coffee, a cold-brew concept with green market roots, opened in Wellington in late January. Coffee devotees Bryan and Megan Jenkins, who started brewing Candid in 2014, partnered with pastry chef Anna Ross, who offers her scratch-made “Anna Bakes” treats at the Wellington shop. If you prefer your coffee hot, you can find it as well at Candid. (Open daily at 10120 Forest Hill Blvd., Suite 160, Wellington, 561-766-1742)

Entrepreneur Elijah Gourgue is founder of Third Place Coffee Lounge in eastern Boca Raton.
Entrepreneur Elijah Gourgue is founder of Third Place Coffee Lounge in eastern Boca Raton.

Third Place Coffee Lounge, in eastern Boca Raton since June 2022, serves a range of specialty coffees and light bites in a setting that invites you to hang out. Its founder Elijah Gourgue, a New Jersey-born entrepreneur and former Starbucks barista with Haitian family roots, hosts open mic nights and other cultural events at the shop. (Open daily at 325 NE Spanish River Blvd., Boca Raton, 561-334-2171) 

Carmela Coffee, a Parkland-born chain of coffee shops with seven locations in Palm Beach County, opened a West Palm Beach shop earlier this month in the Village Commons. (You can read more about the original concept here.) In addition to specialty coffee drinks, Carmela offers a range of brunch/lunch dishes and open-mic nights. (Open daily at the Village Commons plaza on Village Boulevard, Suites 101-102, West Palm Beach, 561-328-7744)

Carmela Coffee just opened a new café in West Palm Beach.
Carmela Coffee just opened a new café in West Palm Beach.

Pumphouse Pouratorium, opened in late December 2022 in West Palm Beach’s Warehouse District, is a coffee-loving hub that combines a roastery, lab and café in an 8,000-square-foot space. The place exemplifies the devotion and work of brothers Alex and Christian Le Clainche, who pursued an old family coffee tradition with roots in Jamaica to establish one of the most sought-after local roasting brands in the county. In addition to a variety of freshly roasted coffees, the Pouratorium serves wine, beer and a tempting menu of tacos, waffles and toasts. (Open daily at 1016 Clare Ave., Suite 5A, West Palm Beach, 561-557-3118)

Where to indulge

La Gringuita's Brown Buttah cookie is the pastry chef's take on an overstuffed chocolate chip cookie.
La Gringuita's Brown Buttah cookie is the pastry chef's take on an overstuffed chocolate chip cookie.

La Gringuita cookies, a green market favorite brand by former overseas English teacher Caroline McGinley, recently went national. McGinley now offers nationwide shipping for her West Palm Beach-made and ready-to-bake cookies.

What makes them so special? These are hefty cookies, stuffed with a variety of decadent fillings. Available for shipping are La Gringuita’s Brown Buttah chocolate chip cookie, her El Churro snickerdoodle-dough cookie, The Jammy cookie and the Chocolate Soufflé cookie. They are sold by the four-pack box ($60), with each pack containing four ready-to-bake cookies. You can mix or match your preferred packs. To place an online order, visit Gringuita-Cookies.com.

Where to give back

Chef Lindsay Autry heads The Regional and Honeybelle restaurants.
Chef Lindsay Autry heads The Regional and Honeybelle restaurants.

A lineup of South Florida celebrity chefs will whip up a four-course dinner Tuesday night at Feeding Palm Beach County’s spacious community kitchen in Boynton Beach.

The “Cuisine for a Cause” lineup: three-time James Beard Award semifinalist Chef Lindsay Autry (The Regional, Honeybelle), Miami star pastry chef Hedy Goldsmith (Sweet Hedy), “Hell’s Kitchen” alum chef/restaurateur Ralph Pagano (Naked Taco) and Bryce Statham (Spoto’s, Blue Moon Fish Co.).

Tickets are priced at $300 per person. You can reserve a spot at this link. A portion of proceeds benefit Feeding South Florida’s anti-hunger programs.

Cuisine for a Cause happens Tuesday, Oct. 3, from 6 to 9 p.m., at the Feeding Palm Beach County warehouse kitchen, 4925 Park Ridge Blvd. in Boynton Beach.

Have a delicious weekend!

Liz Balmaseda

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Read recent columns by Liz Balmaseda

Liz Balmaseda is The Palm Beach Post's food critic.
Liz Balmaseda is The Palm Beach Post's food critic.

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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: National Coffee Day restaurants in West Palm Beach, best cookies, chefs