South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Where’s the best barbeque in South Florida?
We’ve tallied your votes, and the winner is ...
The smoke has cleared, and the winner has emerged for South Florida’s favorite barbecue spot.
For the third installment in our Best of South Florida Dining series, readers stepped up by the hundreds this month to nominate and vote for what they consider the best BBQ in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. We were looking for any style that suited their craving — whether it’s slathered in sauce, massaged with dry rub, or a completely different take on the classics.
The top five most-nominated places, in alphabetical order, were:
Apocalypse BBQ (Miami) Lickie Stickie BBQ (Sunrise)
Mistah Lee’s Smokin’ Good BBQ (food truck)
Pigsty BBQ (Boynton Beach)
Tom Jenkins’ BBQ (Fort Lauderdale)
And now, the winner is no longer a mystery … it’s Mistah Lee’s!
The details
Owner and executive pitmaster Lee Stransky’s smoked specialties hit the spot among barbecue lovers who have been lining up at his food truck since it started rolling into events throughout South Florida two years ago.
The Smokin’ Don, as Stransky calls himself, and his executive chef Reiss Schweiger first prepare, trim, season and smoke all of their meats on smokers in a commissary kitchen in Delray Beach’s Lake Ida Plaza.
Stransky, a South Florida native, said he is ecstatic that readers voted for his barbecue, which he has worked to perfect by combining skills and knowledge gained through the years.
“This is a dream come true. The people have spoken, and their taste buds don’t lie,” he said. “This is possibly the greatest feeling I could have ever imagined.”
Now 34, Stransky said his passion for smoked barbecue “kicked in” when he was in his mid-20s.
“I would stop at any barbecue joint I could find, whether it was a smoker and family on the side of the road, or a mom-and-pop restaurant. If it was barbecue, I wanted it,” he said.
Then came a turning point when his friends Rob and Joe Buto gave him one of their old Char-Griller Offset smokers.
“It was one of the greatest gifts given to me because from that day on, a new future grand champion pitmaster was born,” Stransky said. “I studied barbecue day in and day out, taking private smoke courses with some of the greatest pitmasters in the U.S., and reading multiple books on the different styles of barbecue and their techniques.”
What’s on the menu?
To start, Stransky said there are four items that keep hungry customers coming back for more: Mac N Cheese Bowls, a brisket sandwich (try it “Lee’s way” with slaw and pickles on top), a pulled pork sandwich and a sliced brisket platter served with two sides.
“When you talk about surprises here at my food truck, customers go crazy and call me every week asking for my mouthwatering 16-day, in-house brined pastrami that is then smoked for 12 hours,” he said.
Order it as a sandwich and he’ll pile on a half-pound of moist pastrami for you.
Customers “tell me every single time that it feels like they are eating at Katz’s Deli in New York City,” Stransky said.
Mistah Lee’s brisket (which can be made into a Mac N Cheese Bowl) is so popular that it’s usually the first menu item to sell out.
“His brisket sandwich is slap-yo-mama good and his ribs are fall-off-the-bone, melt-in-your-mouth delicious,” Lauderhill resident Rose Merrick wrote in her nomination form. “He takes great pride in the meats he serves.”
Reader Adam Rittersporn, of Fort Lauderdale, voted for Mistah Lee’s because everything Stransky makes is “amazing,” he said. “If I had to pick a favorite, it’d be their brisket and ribs, but you really can’t go wrong with anything you get.”
Added Parkland resident Sarah Tannen: “Fantastic barbecue! Great quality and tasting barbecue, but the passion that Lee puts into his prep is by far what makes his barbecue a winner!” she wrote. “Truly loves what he does, but the taste is by far the best.”
And it’s not all about the meat. Mistah Lee’s sides are vegetarian.
“I like to make sure that everyone from gluten-free to vegetarian can enjoy my food,” Stransky said. “From my gourmet four-cheese Mac N Cheese to my Sticky Cornbread (our cornbread topped off with our famous sticky sauce), and from my collard greens to my true backyard Southern Potato Salad, you just can’t get enough of it all.”
Coconut Creek resident Adrienne Puglisi gushed about the sides when casting her vote.
“Best collard greens I’ve ever eaten … Baked beans are sweet (and) thick, coleslaw is light and fresh … homemade mac n cheese is good too (if you can get any before they sell out). Also love the homemade sauces,” she said.
Mistah Lee’s has already taken home several awards this year, including Grand Champion and Best Brisket at the St. Pete Bacon & BBQ Festival in St. Petersburg and Judges Choice in The Red Meat Lovers Club Best Sandwich of South Florida cookoff competition.
Stransky is looking forward to opening a restaurant this summer at Melrose Shoppes, 8240 S. State 7, Suite 250, in Boynton Beach. But don’t worry, his food truck will still be rolling into a city near you.
“The truck will never stop running because that’s my workhorse and got me where I am today,” he said.
Currently, the food truck is closed on Sundays and Mondays, but Stransky said he’s usually booked at Tasty Tuesday West Boca Raton at Sunset Cove Amphitheater and Wellington Food Trucks & Live Music on Thursdays, and he spends select Fridays at Fluffy’s Foodie Food Truck Fridays in Coconut Creek and Food Truck Frenzy in Pompano Beach.
Mistah Lee’s also sets up every third Thursday of each month at Rhythm + Vine, 401 NE Fifth Terrace, in Fort Lauderdale.
Visit Facebook.com/mistahleessmokingoodbbq to check out the food truck’s schedule every week.