Grubin' at Le Tub

© Tracy Block / RumBum.com

The summer sun can take its toll, and after a long day at sea, you're not always thinking about manning the grill. So take a quick trip by boat or car over to Le Tub in Hollywood Beach and let someone else do the cooking for a change.

From Gas to Grill

Back in the 1970s, a Sunoco station located on North Ocean Drive and the Intracoastal Waterway cashed in its chips due to gas shortages. This boded well for Hollywood's beach bums when The Le Tub Saloon opened its doors in 1975. Originally a cozy bar, the crave-worthy bites came soon after. South Florida may have changed a lot in the past 30 years, but this waterside eatery has stayed blissfully the same. 

Le Tub is still decked-out in hand-painted tubs and toilets that serve as planters for some of the spot's rambling foliage, as well as an array of ocean treasures - think nets, buoys, lifesavers - that reassure that one man's trash is truly another man's treasure. But this is no pirate's booty - just a bunch of knickknacks the owner acquired on daily beachside jogs through the years. Dozens of wooden picnic tables and benches line up along the Intracoastal waterway. Inside, a fully-stocked bar, a pool table and television sets make Le Tub a one-stop-shop for eating, drinking and fun. 

A Diamond in the Rough

When I first ate at Le Tub in the early '90s, it was the kind of place where weekend dinner dates were aplenty. And, even though the modest eatery stays hidden behind a tall wooden fence (from the street) and a thick curtian of greenery (from the parking lot), word-of-mouth has kept diners lining up from noon until 4 a.m., 365 days a year, weather permitting (we're talking hurricanes here, not midday showers, folks).

Locals have always loved Le Tub, but recently some A-list names have blown this secluded spot right out of the water. Both GQ and on The Oprah Winfrey Show have helped give this South Florida spot national notoriety, which has lead tourists, in numbers, from the beach toward the tempting waft of the charcoal grill hard at work.

Bragworthy Burgers

Even before Oprah and her friends deemed Le Tub's burger the best of the best, it wasn't really a tough call. Sure, they've got a salacious seafood gumbo and a decent rack of ribs, but carnivores craving a fix should head right to the famous 13-oz. sirloin burger, which is seasoned to perfection, smothered with a melted cheese of your choice and served with the traditional burger toppers: lettuce, tomato, onion and a poppy seed bun. If you're really hungry, start with the Le Tub chili - a hearty serving of simmered ground sirloin, tomatoes, green peppers and onions with a kick, along with endless packets of saltines to tone down the heat. Fries are sold separately and are great to split, but after all, they're not the star of this show.

This grade-A beefcake will hit the spot on a warm summer night with a couple of brewskis and the rippling sounds of the Intracostal. But don't get so comfortable that you forget where you are. Be sure to dab on your favorite summer eau du toilette - yes, I mean mosquito repellent - before you climb in Le Tub because this is Florida, folks. Just as it should be.

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