Aside from the Lucy, thereвЂ™s a decadent version of PattiвЂ™s smoky chorizo burger ($8.50), a 5-ounce, house-made chorizo (Spanish-style sausage) patty topped with American cheese and a smear of lime-cilantro aioli. YouвЂ™ll find a burger joint warmed by brick dГ©cor walls, stainless steel touches, hand-scrawled chalkboard menus listing the dayвЂ™s rotation of draught beers and some vintage brew signs.ДЄnd youвЂ™ll find a terribly tempting menu. If you drop by on a Sunday, as we did, the space may seem sterile and corporate at first. During the work week, the flow of office workers and locals gives life to the building. MEAT anchors a first-floor corner of the Cendyn Spaces (shared office space) building. Part of the draw for the duo вЂ“ who also recently opened SALT Fusion Cuisine, a more upscale seafood eatery in Islamorada вЂ“ was the space. They ventured into Boca, having charmed the locals with PattiвЂ™s pimenton-laced chorizo sliders and Nutella-Guinness milkshakes at this yearвЂ™s Boca Bacchanal, opening MEATвЂ™s doors July 1. Patti and his business partner, sommelier Tom Smith, opened the original MEAT in 2012 and quickly realized the concept вЂ“ a sliver of a place serving a well-curated selection of quality burgers, meats smoked and ground on premises, homemade condiments, craft beers, adult shakes, micro-brewed sodas вЂ“ could and should be replicated.

To those who might ask the obvious вЂ“ вЂњWho goes to the Florida Keys for burgers?вЂќ вЂ“ MEAT has a bold reply that usually involves house-smoked meats, fresh-ground chorizo burgers, duck fat-cooked potatoes and grown-up shakes so good theyвЂ™ll make you forget paradise beckons just outside the dim space.

Despite its size, the place stands defiantly carnivorous in the larger ocean of seafood-centric eateries.

M.e.a.t. eatery and taproom florida