Bull Market Brings Regional Barbecue to Downtown Fort Lauderdale

When most people think of barbecue sauce, they think red, sweet, and spicy. Then there are those vinegary Carolina mops and mustards. But that's not all that's out there. Across the United States, you can find literally dozens of regional styles that contain neither tomatoes nor sugar nor vinegar. 

Take, for example, the mayonnaise-based white barbecue sauce made especially for chicken. If you've never had the pleasure of trying Alabama barbecued chicken, now you can get a taste of this tart and creamy creation at Bull Market in downtown Fort Lauderdale when the 2-year-old restaurant launches its latest menu this week featuring a new section of American barbecue classics.

According to Bull Market owner John Todora, the past year has been good for Himmarshee Village, an area poised for growth and thriving thanks to a handful of new concepts that include wood-fired pizzas, gourmet tacos, a new live music venue, and even a classy new cocktail-wine bar.

"This area really has it all now, and at Bull Market, we've always made our bones as an American kitchen with global influences and a unique spins on comfort food, like our Gruyère mac and cheese, Captain Crunch chicken fingers, award-winning burgers, and street tacos," says Todora. "But we also noticed that, over the last year, every time we run a barbecue special, it sells out almost immediately. We have realized there's a void to fill."  

To bring barbecue to the area, Todora and his team, including 25-year-old executive chef Smitthi Sukchoksirichaiporn and pit master Gary Grucci, worked tirelessly for six months in an effort to perfect several dishes now offered under a new menu section dubbed "Bull BBQ," available daily from 4 to 10 p.m. starting Monday, October 26.

The dishes offer what Todora calls a solid selection of American-style barbecue, everything from chicken and slow-cooked pork shoulder to smoked ribs and brisket. To make the new dishes a true Southern-style meal, each selection is plated with three sides: garlic-bacon mashed potatoes, roasted corn, and a personal cast-iron cornbread served with whipped Makers Mark bourbon butter.

The Backyard BBQ chicken is one of Todora's favorite dishes, tender grilled chicken doused in a mouthwatering chili/garlic/basil white barbecue sauce crafted from scratch by Sukchoksirichaiporn.

There's also a 14-hour smoked brisket, made from Angus beef rendered so tender that it melts in your mouth. It's smoked overnight with a combination of pecan and cherry wood and is rubbed down in a unique blend of spices that includes brown sugar, sea salt, white pepper, cayenne pepper, dried oregano, and fresh garlic. 

After receiving a lot of attention for his Dr. Pepper pulled-pork sliders, Todora says he was ready to make his famous pork dish a main menu item. The answer: a ten-hour pork shoulder slow roasted and mopped with Bull Market's house-made Dr. Pepper barbecue sauce. 

But it's the Low and Slow Ribs that may be a serious contender for the restaurant's new favorite dish. Sold in slabs, they're smoked for eight hours with a competition-grade rub, then drenched in a tangy Carolina-style vinegar mop and finished on a charcoal grill.

"We aren't just changing up our menu," says Todora. "We're also trying to fill in one of the only gaps left on this street. And we feel really good about it. We have been working on this menu change half a year now because we wanted it to be perfect. If we were going to do it, we wanted to do it right."

Bull Market is located at 210 SW Second St., Fort Lauderdale. Call 954-523-1213, or visit bullmarketbar.com.

Nicole Danna is a food writer covering Broward and Palm Beach counties. To get the latest in food and drink news in South Florida, follow her @SoFloNicole or find her latest food pics on the BPB New Times Food & Drink Instagram.