FTLToday Quik Bite- East Coast BBQ, Pompano Beach - CLOSED
(East Coast BBQ - Pompano Beach)
CLOSED
UPDATE: 8/5/11 - It's being reported that East Coast BBQ is now CLOSED. Sorry to see another new restaurant close...especially since we liked it. The location was a bit 'off' and I'm sure the rent was a bit high for the traffic. I'm sure this place could do well in a better location with lots of driving and foot traffic.
We stopped by East Coast BBQ for dinner Friday to give it a try. East Coast BBQ is located in Pompano Beach on US1 and it's in the same strip mall as Publix and Marshalls. It's tucked way at the end…and you can't see the restaurant from US1, so keep this in mind when you stop by. The location didn't seem to hurt as people started filing in soon after we sat down. That's a good sign.
(East Coast BBQ - dining area)
The restaurant is quite large for a BBQ joint and looks shiny and new. The kitchen is open…so you can actually see all of the cooking. The smoker is actually located indoors. You might be saying "What??!! Indoors?!?" Well, they have a new smoker that from what I hear is quite expensive…but burns less wood and makes a tasty smoked product. Instead of wood chips or logs, this smoker uses special 'wood pellets'. While there is no smoke filling the restaurant…the smoky smell is. When you walk in…you immediately know you are in a BBQ place.
(The kitchen - East Coast BBQ. Smoker is the steel box..back, right)
They offer take-out or dine-in. Your dine-in option is actually full service. Our server was very friendly and greeted us right away. She told us how East Coast recently won a contest at the Hard Rock Casino (Hollywood) and they have the 'guitar trophies' displayed. Kind of cool.
They have St. Louis style ribs…which are NOT baby backs. They also smoke up sausage, turkey breast, chicken, beef brisket and pulled pork. We both chose the 3 meat combo, which is served with 2 sides.
(3 meat combo - St. Louis Ribs, Beef Brisket, Pulled Pork, Mac n Cheese..Jeff's baked beans)
(Fries with season salt/spices)
I chose the ribs, pulled pork and brisket with French Fries and Mac N Cheese. The plate arrived with everything except for the fries…they were still finishing them up. They were delivered about 1 min after the main dish. The ribs were meaty and didn't have much fat at all. The sauce wasn't slathered on…but more of a light coat. This allowed for the spice rub to shine. These were good ribs. The brisket was sliced and drizzled with some sauce. It was good brisket and had a nice smoke ring. The pulled pork was really good too. I didn't realize that it was hiding under the ribs when I took the picture…so you can't really see the portion. They pull it and chunk it up. It was moist and full of BBQ flavor. I've had bad pulled pork at many places around…dry and chopped to such a fine consistency…it's almost a paste. This was perfect. The fries were your normal fries…with season salt of some sort on top. Perfect for me, some 'hand cut' fries and those coated fries get to be a bit heavy. The Mac n Cheese was good…but needed a thicker cheese through the portion.
(3 meat combo - Turkey Breast, St. Louis Ribs..Mac n Cheese)
(Chicken goes with 3 meat combo)
Jeff chose the turkey breast, ribs and chicken with a side of baked beans and Mac n Cheese. All of his showed up with the exception of the chicken…that showed up with my fries (not a big deal). The turkey was flavorful and moist….pretty good. The chicken was done perfectly as well and the sauce went really well with this quarter chicken. The baked beans are not your 'typical' sweet variety you seem to find. These are more 'savory'. Not bad…but I'm not a baked bean guy. Jeff liked them and finished the portion. The corn bread was fresh…but a little dry for our taste.
Overall…East Cost BBQ was a great find. The BBQ is fresh and the staff/owners are so friendly…it seems silly to stop at any chain BBQ joint in the area. The portion was pretty big as well…we even took some home to enjoy for lunch the next day. Not a bad deal at $36 (not including tip). BBQ quality is tough to keep consistent and I have a feeling that East Coast BBQ will do just fine.
East Coast BBQ location:
949 E McNab Rd
Pompano Beach, FL
FTLToday Score: A
Posted by Mark B at 7/12/2011 6:44 AM 
Categories: Florida, Restaurant, Quik Bite, Closing, Review, Ft. Lauderdale, Restaurant Grade A
Categories: Florida, Restaurant, Quik Bite, Closing, Review, Ft. Lauderdale, Restaurant Grade A
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