Food & Drink in Pompano Beach

Keeping one secret can be challenging for some, but the chefs who brew Chez Porky's housemade barbecue sauce have to keep at least 25. That's how many ingredients go into the signature marinade—one of nine memorable sauces on the menu. Another popular and equally guarded recipe yields the sweet-and-sour raspberry sauce, which decorates helpings of wings and skewered, bacon-wrapped shrimp. The jamaican jerk sauce, meanwhile, bespeaks the staff’s talent for mingling tropical spices. They channel this skill set to produce plates of farm-raised new zealand mussels—prepped with Cajun-spiced butter—and to stir up zesty bowls of caribbean coconut soup. Even steaks benefit from their sauce expertise; the bourbon street new york strip steak, for example, basks in a bourbon-rosemary-teriyaki mixture.

The kitchen has been coating entrees in tangy house flavors since 1985. Cooks refrain from freezing any of their seafood or meat and instead offer cool refreshment in the form of domestic and imported bottles of beer that patrons can stuff up their sleeves. They also cater meals for any type of special event, transporting pans of gumbo, smoked sausage, and barbecue pork to parties both big and small.

Rocket Pizza and Pasta’s dedicated dough slingers zap away hunger pangs with an extensive menu of Italian favorites. Diners can go it alone with a pasta entree such as jumbo stuffed shells with marinara and mozzarella ($9.99) or bribe an entire quintet of space mercenaries with a family-size carryout portion of spaghetti and meatballs, served with a large dinner salad and cheesy bread ($31.99). Weary rocketeers fuel up with the tuscan steak—a tender filet mignon grilled with olive oil and black pepper, smothered beneath a mushroom brandy sauce and parmesan cheese ($14.99 for a single portion)—as choosy chewers craft the perfect pie, selecting from three crusts, three sauces, seven cheeses, and 22 toppings, including sliced steak and fresh spinach ($10.99 for a large cheese; $1.75 for each additional topping).

Boar’s Head and National Deli meats look right at home next to the locally sourced produce at Sunny Produce & Deli. On the main floor, crates showcase vegetables such as roma tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn and fruit such as limes, navel oranges, and Fuji apples. The deli serves up meats and cheeses by the pound and also crafts fresh hot and cold sandwiches in-house. Because sugar is necessary for energy and sincere apologies, a bakery serves up tasty treats such as chocolate-drizzled croissants and muffins.

The chefs at The Point Cafe prep an eclectic menu of sandwiches and breakfast fare, and lab-coat-clad dessert experts freeze yogurt and ice cream in liquid nitrogen. Calamari and fries ($9.49) delight audiences by flaunting flavorful differences on a plate stage, and a saucy half rack of baby-back ribs ($14.99) dapples diners with sauce like an overzealous bib salesman. Delve deep into the black forest ham and pesto sandwich ($7.49), or drop a dulcet curtain over meals with an order of Nitro yogurt ($4.99). After patrons have selected yogurt flavors and toppings, café staff members dip the dessert in liquid nitrogen, allowing guests to cool mitts without shaking a glacier's hand. During breakfast hours, diners coax taste buds out of bed with a steak, cheese, and egg sandwich ($4.99) or a variety of muffins, grits, and smoothies.

Christina's Café satiates rumbling stomachs with a hearty menu populated with classic Greek and Italian dishes. Start up the tummy tambourines with a ringing round of fresh fried calamari ($9) before moving on to a main-course chorus of a gyro platter, topped with sliced ground beef, lamb, tzatziki sauce, salad, rice, and homemade pita bread ($15). Meat teeth find satiety with a beef kebab, forged with marinated filet mignon, peppers, and onions ($18). Diners can also enjoy fresh Italian cuisine without having to slingshot meatballs over the Mediterranean with dishes such as seafood ravioli ($16), chicken marsala ($16), and chicken parmigiana ($16).

There are many words you could use to describe Checkers Old Munchen—"warm," "welcoming," and "boisterous" come to mind—but "quiet" certainly isn't one of them. The lively German watering hole resounds with oom-pah tunes and friendly chatter from open to close. Diners sit at weathered wooden tables, clinking massive boot-shaped steins and sharing plates of schnitzel. Cheerful servers command the full length of the bar, doling out pours from a selection of more than 30 German beers—from crisp pilsners to sweet hefeweizens to malty bocks.

In the kitchen, plump bratwurst sausages sizzle in pans, pots of goulash bubble on the stove, and hissing kettles whisper German fairy tales. It's in this bustling space that chef Andre Zanith whips up traditional German dishes lauded as brilliant recreations by the Broward Palm Beach New Times. Zanith's favorite dish on the menu is the wiener schnitzel—a tender veal cutlet sauteed in creamy lemon butter and topped with homemade gravy. Traditional sides include red cabbage, potato dumplings, and spaetzel noodles.