Best restaurant news: July 4th food, all-you-can-eat deals and BBQ brunch

How my keyboard knows we’re on the brink of July: I’ve been writing about barbecue and fried chicken this week. The give-away words are smoky, ‘cue, crispy. June may have vanished in the early season storms and swelter but it also gave us reasons to crave summer foods.

Like fried chicken.

If it’s crispy bird you crave, take a look at my new roundup of seven favorite restaurants for fried chicken.

And barbecue.

If you crave smoky meats and fixings, check out my “best new barbecue” roundup. It also includes two local favorites that are about to open spinoff locations.

Speaking of barbecue, a photo on Pig Beach BBQ’s Instagram page stopped me as I scrolled earlier this week. It was a decadent concoction that only could be dreamed up for weekend brunch or maybe a wee-hour whim: a hefty glazed doughnut topped with a heap of pulled pork, drizzled with vinegar barbecue sauce.

The "Porky Donut" idea was sparked during a creative moment in Pig Beach’s West Palm Beach kitchen, executive chef and co-founder Matt Abdoo told me.

“That’s me, just having some fun,” said Abdoo, a celebrity chef you may recognize from his frequent appearances on NBC’s “Today” show.  “I made some doughnuts over the weekend. One of my sous chefs says, ‘We ought to put some pork on it’. I mean, why not?”

Abdoo says the Porky Donut is now one of the weekend chalkboard items offered with brunch specials Saturday and Sunday, along with house-smoked pastrami, egg and cheese on griddled marbled rye and chicken-and-waffles with warm maple syrup. Add to that a rotation of dishes, including a sweet brioche French toast variation, brisket-egg-cheese tacos, BBQ hash with fried egg and others.

Pig Beach BBQ is at 2400 S. Dixie Hwy, West Palm Beach, 561-803-0333, PigBeachNYC.com.

Fourth of July dining

If you prefer someone else to do the cooking for the July 4th weekend, allow me to put a few options on your radar.

Deck 84 

The waterfront mainstay in downtown Delray Beach kicks off the celebration with live music playing on Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday, from 2 to 5:30 p.m.

A special holiday menu by chef Addam Actis will be offered on Sunday and Monday nights and all day Tuesday.

Highlights: watermelon gazpacho ($10), barbecued steak skewers with house-made mango barbecue sauce and other fixings ($29), cornmeal-crusted local snapper with crab-corn relish and red beans and rice ($37) and homemade cherry pie in a graham cracker crust with brown sugar streusel, whipped cream and blueberry coulis ($10). Plus, two holiday-themed cocktails, the tequila-spiked Freedom Rita and the rum-spiked DECK-laration.

July 4th fireworks: The city’s beachside fireworks show starts at 9 p.m. on Tuesday night.

Deck 84 is at 840 E. Atlantic Ave, Delray Beach, 561-665-8484, Deck84.com.

Batch New Southern Kitchen

Love weekend brunch? It will be served for four days at this popular downtown West Palm Beach restaurant during the Fourth of July weekend.

On the brunch menu: sweet tea-brined chicken and cheddar-cornbread waffle with chili-thyme honey and bourbon-maple butter ($22.50), biscuit skillet with andouille sausage gravy ($16), jumbo blackened shrimp with white cheddar and green chile grits and bacon jus ($19.50), jackfruit “pulled pork” with root beer barbecue sauce on a potato bun ($14.50) and other breakfast and lunch dishes.

Add any of four “bottomless” brunch drinks (including Bellinis and mimosas) for $24.50 (for 90 minutes).

Batch New Southern Kitchen is at 223 Clematis St., West Palm Beach, 561-708-0000, BatchSouthernKitchen.com.

Ravish Off Ocean

All you can eat, part 1

This newish restaurant in Lantana is celebrating the Fourth early with a bourbon-and-barbecue event Sunday night. And it sounds like quite the summer deal: all-you-can-eat barbecue, free whiskey samplings and a bluegrass band, all for $35.

The barbecue and tasting goes from 5 to 9 p.m. The participating whiskey and American bourbon brands include WhistlePig, Old Forester, Woodford Reserve, Coopers’ Craft bourbon and others.

Ravish Off Ocean is at 210 E. Ocean Ave., Lantana, 561-588-2444, RavishKitchen.com

TooJay’s

All you can eat, part 2 

The West Palm Beach-based deli restaurant chain is running two holiday specials this Fourth: a deli dog with fries ($5.99) and an all-you-can-eat-deli-dogs option ($19.99, dine-in only).

The all-you-can-eat deal features all-beef hot dogs with a variety of toppings (bacon and cheddar, sauerkraut and others).

To find any of TooJay’s eight Palm Beach County locations, visit TooJays.com.

Fried Chicken Day treat

All you can eat, part 3 

Speaking of bottomless deals, The Regional restaurant is serving a three-course fried chicken feast ($48) to celebrate National Fried Chicken Day on Thursday. The feast includes starters, dessert and unlimited fried chicken by star chef Lindsay Autry. Dinner service starts at 5 p.m.

If you prefer to take your fried chicken to go, the West Palm Beach restaurant is offering a 12-piece bucket with bread and butter pickles, coleslaw pint and house sauce ($35).

The Regional is at 651 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach, 561-557-6460, EatRegional.com.

Have a delicious weekend and happy Fourth of July!

Liz Balmaseda

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

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Best restaurants: July 4th food, unlimited deals near West Palm Beach