By Krista Martinelli, Editor, AroundWellington
The Rip Current, the Old Fashioned and House Made Milk Bread
There’s really no other restaurant like Driftwood in Palm Beach County. They work hard to make sure their ingredients are locally sourced, and their hand-crafted cocktails are extra special. More importantly, everyone from the chef to the waiters to the general manager is genuinely excited to be there and passionate about their food. From the moment you park in their lot in Boynton Beach, you see an herb garden peppered with sunflowers and you know that a lot of the ingredients are coming to you “just-picked.” Even the New York Strip comes from locally sourced beef.
My friend and I began with cocktails and the house made milk bread, which is nicely coated in everything seasoning. She had an old fashioned, and I had a Rip Current, which is 151 rum plus their house ginger beer. If you love ginger beer as I do, you will love this homemade drink and the zing it brings. The bread comes with Florida citrus butter, as well as regular butter.
We had the opportunity to meet Chef Tommy (Thomas Coombs Jr.) who is also a partner and he truly brought his passion for excellence in cuisine to the table. He was working in a professional kitchen since the age of 15 and traveled around South Florida, learning from the best chefs. He joined the Driftwood team, along with Chef Jimmy Everett and Ilia Gonzalez, in 2020 and worked his way up from sous chef to head chef.
Chef Tommy
Now the hard choices were in front of us. Which appetizers and which main dishes to select. My friend was hesitant about the local Treasure Coast Oysters, but we were feeling adventurous, so we gave them a try. Her point was that warm water oysters would not be as good as cold water oysters. It turns out that these oysters were the best we’ve ever tasted, grown on an oyster farm located just South of the Sebastian Inlet at Indian River Lagoon. And harvested by marine biologist and environmentalist Nicolette Mariano (TreasureCoastShellfish.com). Accented with a tiny garlic flower, each oyster had a heavenly flavor up front and a savory finish.
The Treasure Coast Oysters and the Jerked Local King Mackeral
By the way, there’s something for everyone here, whether you’re vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free or have allergies.
We moved onto another exquisite local appetizer – Jerked Local King Mackerel. With a house made jerk rub, the King Mackerel is grilled with the skin on and served with a mojo aioli. It’s a light appetizer, just perfectly cooked and prepared.
Now I must come clean in saying that I make a mean salad, and my friends even call me the salad queen. But once again, when we dug into the Roasted Local Root Vegetable Caesar salad, it was like nothing I had ever experienced before in a salad. The root vegetables balanced nicely with the local greens – the homemade dressing was just right.
Roasted Local Root Vegetable Caesar Salad
Let’s talk about the wait staff for a moment. Our waiter Francisco, or Cisco, was beaming with pride as he delivered details about the farm-to-table options on the menu. My friend Tosca and I noticed that all of the staff members seemed happy to be there and believed in their product, the amazing food. This is a very special place to be, not just because of the food, but because of the folks behind the scenes that make it happen.
The Main Course
We were ready for the main course – I ordered the Shrimp N’ Grits; Tosca ordered the New York Strip. I was very pleased with my Shrimp N’ Grits, as it was delectable, yet not spicy. It’s made with n’duja, which is an Italian Chili Sausage – like a charcuterie meat, so soft that it’s spreadable. This is what creates the red appearance throughout the dish and also what packs a punch of flavor. Of course, the shrimp and even the grits are locally sourced too.
Shrimp N’ Grits
The New York Strip, made from prime Florida beef, was cooked to perfection and for a refreshing change, served with vegetables other than a potato. With roasted onions, mushrooms, and broccoli, the vegetables were a lovely accent to the steak. In fact, you could say the vegetables were just as much a highlight as the steak.
The New York Strip
Room for Dessert?
So our waiter Cisco asked us the big question, “Did we save room for dessert?” Honestly, the answer was “no”; however, we were just too curious, especially after hearing the folks at the next table go on about the Warm Cornbread dessert.
One of my pet peeves is when you go to an upscale restaurant and they put no effort into the dessert, but serve a store-bought piece of pie, for example. That’s not the case at Driftwood. Living up to the rest of the meal, the dessert is homemade and crafted with care.
So, we indulged. The warm cornbread was served with homemade sour cream ice cream, blueberries and local bee pollen. It’s to die for. What else can I tell you? It was sweet, but not too sweet and every element was so fresh.
The Takeaway
In addition to taking away some yummy leftovers, my friend and I talked about what we took away from the experience. “It’s not like any restaurant I’ve ever been to,” my friend commented. She said most restaurants can be compared with another restaurant, and that’s how you generally talk about them. Driftwood was unique. There’s a passion behind the food and craft cocktails that they serve. We savored every moment of it.
Driftwood
(561) 733-4782
2005 S. Federal Hwy
Boynton Beach, FL 33435
The Driftwood Garden