Florida has an iguana problem. The green lizards are everywhere, eating gardens, digging holes under foundations, and generally making themselves unwelcome.
But someone looked at that problem and saw an opportunity. Pizza.
Iguana pizza. The meat is mild, apparently, somewhere between chicken and alligator, and when you pile it on a crust with cheese and sauce, it tastes like something you might actually order again. I was skeptical. Then I tried a slice.
The iguana is seasoned well, cooked until it shreds easily, and buried under enough toppings that you almost forget what you are eating. Almost.
Florida is weird. Florida is wonderful.
Florida turns invasive species into dinner. This pizza proves that one person’s pest is another person’s pepperoni.
The Story Behind the Iguana Pizza That Broke the Internet
Some food stories write themselves, and this one practically fell from the trees. During a rare cold spell in South Florida, invasive green iguanas became cold-stunned and dropped from trees across the region, making them unusually easy to collect.
Content creator and iguana trapper Ryan Izquierdo brought the harvested meat to Frankie Cecere, the owner of Bucks Coal Fired Pizza, and together they created something that the internet could not ignore.
The pizza was named the Everglades Pizza, and it featured iguana tail meat alongside venison, alligator, bacon, cheese, and a ranch or olive oil base. It was bold, it was weird, and it was very Florida.
Izquierdo described the taste of iguana as similar to frog legs, calling it a little sweet and very good.
The creation sparked instant viral attention and also drew regulatory inquiries to the Health Department, since serving wild game in a licensed restaurant raises legal questions. Cecere was upfront that it was a one-time media moment rather than a permanent menu item.
Still, it put Bucks Coal Fired Pizza on the map in a way that no amount of advertising could have matched.
What Makes Bucks Coal Fired Pizza Different From Every Other Slice
Coal-fired pizza is a different animal compared to your average delivery pie. The oven at Bucks burns at an intense heat that cooks a pizza in roughly ninety seconds to four minutes, producing a crust with a distinct char, a crispy undercarriage, and a flavor you simply cannot fake.
The oven also features a turntable base, which rotates the pie for even cooking on every side.
That combination of coal heat and rotation is rare. Most pizza joints rely on gas or wood, but coal burns hotter and more consistently, pulling moisture out of the dough in a way that creates a paper-thin, almost cracker-like crust.
The result is something light and airy that does not sit heavy after you eat it.
Frankie Cecere is serious about his craft, and that shows in every detail of the operation. The kitchen is fully open, so you can watch your pizza being made right in front of you.
Ingredients are imported from Italy, and the attention to quality is obvious from the first bite. This is not a place cutting corners on anything, and the consistency across dozens of customer visits proves it.
The Atmosphere Inside Bucks Coal Fired Pizza
Bucks sits in a strip mall on Northlake Boulevard, which sounds unremarkable until you step inside and realize the place has a personality all its own. The space is clean, open, and unpretentious.
Artwork hangs on the walls, some of it even for sale, and the overall vibe feels like a neighborhood spot that just happens to make exceptional pizza.
The open kitchen concept is a big part of what makes a visit here feel personal. You can see the oven from the moment you walk in, and there is something genuinely satisfying about watching your pie go in and come out perfectly charred a few minutes later.
The smell alone is enough to make you forget whatever else you had planned for the afternoon.
Frankie himself is often present, welcoming guests, ringing people up, and checking in during the meal. That kind of hands-on ownership creates an energy that a chain restaurant simply cannot replicate.
It feels like a place someone actually cares about. The staff carries that same warmth, and the overall experience lands somewhere between a casual lunch spot and a genuinely memorable meal worth coming back for again and again.
The Menu Beyond the Viral Moment
The iguana pizza may have grabbed headlines, but the everyday menu at Bucks is what keeps people coming back week after week. Specialty options include a pickle pizza that has developed a devoted following, a white tail venison pizza that leans into Florida’s wild game culture, and a rotating cast of creative toppings that go far beyond anything you would find at a standard pizza chain.
The garlic knots have earned their own fanbase. Multiple customers describe them as the best they have ever had, which is a bold claim in a state full of Italian-American restaurants.
The wings are cooked in the coal oven rather than fried, giving them a texture and flavor that sets them apart from typical bar-style wings.
Vegetarian options are also available, which is a pleasant surprise given how meat-forward the specialty pizzas tend to be. The ingredients are fresh, clean, and sourced with care.
A glass-bottled Coke is available as a pairing, and the small detail of that old-school soda is the kind of touch that makes the whole experience feel considered. Every item on the menu feels like it was added intentionally, not just to fill space.
Why Invasive Iguanas End Up on Florida Menus at All
Florida has an iguana problem, and it is not a small one. Green iguanas are not native to the state.
They arrived through the exotic pet trade and have since multiplied into an invasive population that damages native plants, undermines seawalls, and disrupts local ecosystems across South Florida. The state actively encourages people to remove them.
When temperatures drop below fifty degrees, iguanas become cold-stunned. Being cold-blooded, they lose the ability to move and simply fall wherever they happen to be, often from the trees where they spend most of their time.
During cold snaps, it is genuinely common to see them scattered across lawns, sidewalks, and golf courses across the region.
Eating iguana is completely legal in Florida, and the state actually supports removal efforts by the public. Ryan Izquierdo, who supplied the meat for the Everglades Pizza, built a following around trapping and cooking iguanas as a way to address the invasive species issue in a practical and surprisingly delicious way.
The idea of turning an ecological nuisance into a pizza topping is peak Florida problem-solving, and it sparked a conversation about sustainability and local food culture that went far beyond one viral pizza.
Getting to Bucks and Planning Your Visit
Bucks Coal Fired Pizza is located at 900 Northlake Boulevard in North Palm Beach, conveniently positioned near major retailers that most people in the area visit regularly. If you are already heading to Costco or swinging through that stretch of road, there is no excuse not to stop in.
The location is easy to find and the parking is straightforward.
Hours run Tuesday through Saturday from 11 AM to 9 PM, with Sunday hours from noon to 6 PM. Monday is the one day the kitchen stays dark, so plan accordingly.
Calling ahead at 561-469-8816 is always a smart move, especially on weekends when the place draws a steady crowd of regulars and first-timers alike.
Eating inside is highly recommended if your schedule allows. Getting the pizza handed to you directly from the oven, still steaming and crackling, is an experience that takeout cannot fully replicate.
The price point sits at a moderate to higher range for a pizza spot, but the quality justifies it completely. Most people who make the drive once end up building it into their regular routine, sometimes even making the trip from more than an hour away just for a pie.
Why Bucks Coal Fired Pizza Deserves More Than Just Viral Fame
Viral moments are fleeting, but great pizza keeps people coming back. The iguana story was a creative, newsworthy event that showed Frankie Cecere’s willingness to think outside the box, but the real reason Bucks has earned a 4.8-star rating across hundreds of reviews is much simpler: the pizza is genuinely outstanding.
Thin, crispy, charred in all the right places, and built from quality ingredients that you can actually taste.
The place has a soul to it that is hard to manufacture. From the open kitchen to the owner’s hands-on presence to the coal oven glowing in the background, every element of the experience feels intentional.
It is the kind of spot that reminds you why local, independent restaurants matter in a landscape full of chains and franchises.
Florida gets a reputation for being strange, and sometimes that reputation is completely earned. But Bucks is strange in the best possible way, creative, confident, and deeply committed to doing one thing exceptionally well.
Whether you come for the iguana story, the pickle pizza, the venison pie, or just a perfectly cooked cheese slice, you will leave with a new benchmark for what pizza in Florida can actually be.
Address: 900 Northlake Blvd, North Palm Beach, Florida
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