Miami Chef Howard "Howie" Kleinberg Dies, Leaving Behind His Barbecue Legacy

The Magic City lost a skilled chef and humble talent with the unexpected passing of Howard Kleinberg last week.

Known to local food fans and those who knew him as simply "Chef Howie," the Miami native died on Friday, July 22. Kleinberg was 46.

Best known for his love of barbecue, Kleinberg also stands as one of the Magic City's most successful Top Chef competitors, placing seventh after winning two elimination challenges during the third season of the hit Bravo cooking show.

In 2008, shortly after the series aired, Kleinberg opened Bulldog Barbecue & Burger, a North Miami restaurant inspired by his love of barbecue and summers spent with family in North Carolina. After the restaurant shuttered ten years later, Kleinberg spent time as executive chef for the Anderson. He was a regular participant at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, an event he held close to his heart as a lifelong Miami resident.

In March, Kleinberg took a position as executive chef at Peacock Garden Resto Bar + Grill in Coconut Grove.

“We at Peacock Garden are saddened by the passing of chef Howie Kleinberg. Howie was a valued member of our team and we extend our deepest sympathies to his family,” the restaurant owners share with New Times.

Ken Lyon, owner of the Anderson, says he'll remember Kleinberg as a talented chef, barbecue savant, and wonderful personality. As a caterer, the restaurateur often worked with Kleinberg's mother, Susan, a local event planner, after moving to Miami.

"I didn't know him that well before, but we ended up working together when we reopened the Anderson," says Lyon, who hired Kleinberg in October 2020 to relaunch the venue's food and beverage concepts amid the pandemic. "We got to work together for a year, and I'm so fortunate to have had that time with him."

Together, the duo had an idea to launch a new restaurant concept at the Anderson, but the opportunity never came to fruition. Instead, the chef followed his passion for fine dining, taking the helm at Peacock Garden.

"What I can say from cooking alongside him is that he was a real barbecue champion — definitely one of the most talented people in the barbecue business that I've come across," adds Lyon, who encouraged Kleinberg to offer several successful barbecue pop-ups via the Anderson. "I was amazed at his knowledge. It was refreshing that he really knew those classic, old-school recipes, the basics that a lot of young chefs these days don’t know to prepare. He had a true talent."

For Terry Zarikian, culinary director for the South Beach and New York Wine & Food festivals and has known Kleinberg since childhood, the chef's passing will be felt far beyond his place in the kitchen.

"He just landed a job as the executive chef at Peacock Garden, and he was so excited about it," Zarikian tells New Times. "I have fond memories of going out to dinner with him and his mother in New York City. I'll never forget how much of an impression that fine-dining atmosphere made on Howie. And I'll never forget his prime beef brisket — my favorite dish of his."

Howie is survived by his mother, Susan Kleinberg Ratner, and stepfather, Ken Ratner; his sister, Amy Wildstein (William Wildstein), and their three children, Whitney, Lindsey, and Phillip, and his dog, Skye.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 26, at Levitt-Weinstein Blasberg, Rubin-Zilbert Memorial Chapels, 18840 W. Dixie Hwy., North Miami Beach. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations in the chef's name and memory to Miami-based canine nonprofit Bullies-N-Beyond Rescue (via PayPal at [email protected]) or to Feeding South Florida.