Palm Trees and Shoofly Pie: Inside West Palm Beach’s Newest Amish Eatery
The vibrant, sun-drenched culinary landscape of West Palm Beach is best known for its fresh seafood, upscale waterfront dining, and trendy fusion bistros. However, a new arrival is shifting the focus from high-end modern fare to deep-rooted, slow-cooked heritage. Coastal Hearth Amish Kitchen has officially opened its doors, bringing a massive dose of traditional Pennsylvania Dutch comfort food and warm, unfussy hospitality to South Florida.
Stepping across the threshold feels like stepping into another world entirely. Far removed from the bustling coastal traffic, guests are greeted by the rich aroma of slow-roasting meats, the comforting scent of fresh-baked yeast rolls, and an atmosphere defined by hand-planed wooden tables, soft candlelight, and genuinely warm smiles.
The Backstory
The journey of Coastal Hearth Amish Kitchen began over a thousand miles away, in the tight-knit agricultural communities of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The Stoltzfus and Yoder families had run a successful cooperative market and seasonal supper club for over two decades. Over the years, several family members who traveled south for winter markets realized how much coastal Floridians and northern transplants craved authentic, from-scratch comfort food. Recognizing a unique gap in the South Florida market, three generations of the family decided to establish a permanent footprint in Palm Beach County.
Bringing a traditional kitchen to life in a tropical climate required a unique blend of heritage and adaptation. The restaurant’s dining room features beautiful post-and-beam woodwork, framed using historic construction techniques that rely on wooden pegs rather than modern steel fasteners. Because the kitchen operates under traditional principles, the chefs reject industrial shortcuts. The heart of the kitchen is a massive, custom-built, wood-burning cast-iron stove setup. Hardwood is meticulously sourced and fed into the firebox around the clock, imparting a subtle, incomparable smoky depth to every dish that passes through to the dining room.
Favorite Items to Try
The menu focuses entirely on scratch-made, family-style platters designed to satisfy deep cravings for hearty comfort. Local diners have already established a few clear favorites:
The Main Courses
- Hearth-Roasted Chicken and Waffles: A pure Pennsylvania Dutch masterpiece. A thick, crisp, yeast-raised waffle is piled high with incredibly tender, hand-pulled chicken that has been slow-roasted for twelve hours over the wood fire. The entire dish is smothered in a rich, velvety chicken gravy and served with a side of house-made tart cranberry relish.
- Cider-Glazed Smoked Pork Chops: Thick, bone-in cuts of locally sourced pork are cured in-house, gently smoked over hardwood, and finished on the cast-iron stovetop with a sticky, sweet reduction of apple cider and brown sugar. It pairs beautifully with their skin-on mashed potatoes whipped with fresh farmhouse butter.
The Sides and Desserts
- Traditional Brown Sugar Shoofly Pie: Baked fresh every single morning, this classic features a gooey, rich molasses bottom layer topped with a mountain of spiced brown sugar crumbs. Served warm with a generous scoop of hand-churned vanilla bean ice cream, it is the ultimate comfort dessert.
- Chow-Chow Relish and Sweet Cream Corn: Every table is treated to a jar of house-made chow-chow—a sweet and tangy pickled vegetable relish that cuts through the rich flavors of the meal. It is best enjoyed alongside their signature sweet cream corn, simmered gently with heavy cream and local honey.
Address
- Coastal Hearth Amish Kitchen1950 Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard, West Palm Beach, FL 33401