Comfort food in Palm Beach: Where to find meals that 'warm both the body and the soul'
Mac ‘n cheese, meatballs, chicken pot pie: Versions of these comfort-food dishes are tops in Palm Beach.
Surprised? Sure, restaurants on the island often are known for such high-end delicacies as caviar, foie gras and stone-crab claws.
But not only are American soul-satisfiers like chicken pot pie in gilded evidence, but also comfort foods from elsewhere in the world, such as a French beef stew.
Here are some of Palm Beach’s best comfort-food dishes, the kind of meals that invoke feelings of home and family and, in the words of one island chef, "warm both the body and the soul."
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Palm Beach Grill: Creole jumbo shrimp
Where: Royal Poinciana Plaza, 340 Royal Poinciana Way
Anyone who’s dined on Palm Beach Grill’s Creole jumbo shrimp with jasmine rice knows it’s a flavor journey, right down to the last bites of buttered-and-seared ciabatta bread sopped in sauce.
Noting that each serving features five jumbo shrimp in a Creole cream sauce with grilled corn, okra and more, executive chef Andrew Schor said the dish “checks all the boxes” of great comfort food.
“It’s nostalgic and brings you back to being a kid (with) a pot full of rice and sauce with all the goodies you hope are in there,” he said.
The entrée is $40.
Al Fresco: Meatballs
Where: 2345 S. Ocean Blvd.
With views of the ocean and Par 3 golf course, Al Fresco features “golf balls” on its menu.
They’re golf-ball-sized house-made meatballs — five per appetizer — that comfort foodies can’t seem to get enough of.
Served with a cool and creamy ricotta cheese with rosemary and thyme, the veal-and-beef meatballs are “cooked gently and never frozen at any stage,” Al Fresco co-owner Jose L. Duran told the Daily News.
As for the sauce, it’s slightly spicy and made with San Marzano tomatoes and “of course a lot of love,” Duran said.
The meatballs appetizer is $18.
PB Catch: Rock shrimp mac and cheese
Where: 251 Sunrise Ave.
Carefully thought-out additions to well-made macaroni and cheese can make a long-adored comfort food even more delicious. Case in point: rock shrimp mac and cheese ($18) at PB Catch.
Why do many of the seafood and raw bar restaurant’s patrons call this dish a favorite?
General manager Daniel Smith explains it best: “Sometimes confused with little lobsters, rock shrimp are wildly flavorful, sweet and firm with a rich taste not too far off from the spiny lobster.
“When combined with our preparation of mac and cheese — melty white cheddar, succulent pancetta, sweet peas for brightness and finished with white truffle oil — the resulting dish defines comfort food.”
Buccan: Sweet corn agnolotti
Where: 350 S. County Road
After Buccan chef-owner Clay Conley years ago introduced sweet corn agnolotti to his menu, “the closest thing to a riot” occurred when he removed the special once Florida’s annual sweet-corn season ended.
That’s how much guests loved the agnolotti (a type of stuffed pasta) with ricotta, bacon and espellette butter. So Conley “began sourcing fresh corn all year long” and the dish ($21 appetizer; $42 entrée) became a permanent fixture at Buccan.
“It hits all the comfort notes: rich (from the ricotta and a corn puree), sweet (from the corn and a touch of honey in the beurre-blanc sauce), savory (from the crispy bacon), fresh (from the corn, peas and chive garnish),” general manager Andy Boles told the Daily News. “It’s delicious when they call come together.”
La Goulue: Beef Bourguignon
Where: 288 S. County Road
In its repertoire of French bistro fare — from trout amandine to duck confit — you can count the onion soup gratinée and gooey ham-and-cheese croque monsieur as must-have comfort foods.
But don’t miss La Goulue’s beef Bourguignon ($52).
Yes, it has a reputation as a fancy dish, but it’s a rich-and-flavorful beef stew that La Goulue respects, elevates and serves with pappardelle noodles.
“It’s the epitome of comfort food, with its rich slow-cooked flavors that warm both the body and the soul,” Gwen Le Pape, the French bistro’s executive chef Gwen, told the Daily News. “It’s a timeless classic for soothing the senses and bringing people together.”
Café L'Europe: Chicken pot pie
Where: 331 S. County Road
Caviar and Champagne abound at Café L’Europe, but you’ll also find a varied menu that includes a few comfort-food dishes.
When chicken pot pie is featured as a special, none too few guests order it instead of, say, the restaurant’s veal chop or Dover sole.
Café L’Europe executive chef Alain Krauss, a France native from Alsace, remembers chicken pot pie as a child: “In Alsace, chicken pot pie was called `bouchée à la reine,’ which means `queen’s bite.’ It’s a treat with a chicken-and-mushroom filling and crusty puff pastry. It brings back memories of home.”
Café L’Europe’s chicken pot pie ($42) features slow-poached Bell & Evans chicken with shiitake mushrooms, diced carrots, potatoes, celery, cream, sherry and a squeeze of lemon juice, with everything baked and topped with puff pastry.
Henry's Palm Beach: Chicken pot pie
Where: 229 Royal Poinciana Way
Henry’s, the Royal Poinciana Way restaurant by The Breakers, also features chicken pot pie. It’s a hit among patrons, who relish the tender chicken, vegetables and velvety sauce topped with a flaky pie crust.
The hearty chicken pot pie at Henry’s ($43) features chicken, carrots and peas “slowly cooked in a rich chicken velouté,” Anthony Sicignnano, The Breakers’ executive chef of restaurants, told the Daily News. “The delicious stew-like medley is then baked in a succulent pastry until golden brown.”
LoLa 41: Four-cheese mac and cheese
Where: 290 Sunset Ave.
Often to fine effect, macaroni and cheese has been gussied-up in Palm Beach with seafood, say. So where can you find a straight-up macaroni and cheese as is?
Try Lola 41.
No meat or shellfish added to this mac ‘n cheese, although LoLa 41 also features a much-ordered lobster mac and cheese ($70).
The regular mac and cheese ($25) is enriched with a combination of four different cheeses: parmesan, mascarpone, Havarti and Jarlsberg.
“It appeals to both young and older generations thanks to its nostalgic taste, combined with deeply satisfying flavors,” LoLa 41 general manager Anthony Budd told the Daily News. “The perfectly cooked cavatappi pasta, complemented by a topping of toasted breadcrumbs, completes this comforting culinary delight.”
Café Boulud: Roast chicken
Where: Brazilian Court, 301 Australian Ave.
Internationally renowned chef-restaurateur Daniel Boulud is known for countless superlative dishes, and one of them is the humble roast chicken, which can be sublime, as he knows so well.
One of his secrets? Brining the chicken before roasting. Result: crispy skin, succulent poultry.
At Café Boulud in Palm Beach, executive chef Dieter Samijn notes a couple of other roast-chicken secrets the team there also follows: using chicken “fed and raised well” and high-quality butter for the skin-rub.
These are “things that are simple but that make a big difference,” Samijn told the Daily News. Though he serves roast chicken in various ways, it’s currently featured ($44) with braised Belgium endives and salsify.
Polpo Palm Beach: 'Sunday Sauce'
Where: Eau Palm Beach Resort in Manalapan
Sunday in Europe is the day when "families come together for a cherished tradition of togetherness around the table,” Eau’s executive chef Neall Bailey told the Daily News.
It’s a day, he added, when families bond around “mom's cooking” with dishes that are “the epitome of comfort food."
That’s the spirit that abides with “Sunday Sauce,” a red-sauce pasta entrée ($44) at Eau’s Polpo Palm Beach restaurant.
The recipe originated with the grandmother of Polpo partner and founder Ron Rosa.
Sunday red sauce in Italy often is called Sunday “gravy,” but either way, the dish at Polpo “is a delectable symphony of pasta adorned with sausage, braciola, pork rib and meatballs,” Bailey said.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Looking for comfort food in Palm Beach? Here are 10 hearty options
