Benny’s on the Beach, Lake Worth, Palm Beach County, Florida

Chris Lehman used to work with me at the Justice Department. Chris came over from the Counsel’s office at Labor, and did a fine job. He was very proactive and had a great aptitude for identifying prosecutable voting rights violations, a surprisingly rare skill.

Chris went on to work with various Rule of Law-building organizations in the former Soviet republics. Chris recently semi-retired and has become a nomad. He roams from country to country among places with much to do and see, and good weather for seeing and doing. He’ll be back from wintering in Florida to Prague soon, then to Portugal until it gets hot, then to the Adirondacks, then … who knows?

Thus the relaxed smile. This is a man enjoying life.

Chris suggested we meet at Bennie’s on the Beach in Lake Worth.

Bennie’s, as you can see, actually is on a pier (there’s another Bennie’s in the “casino” of Oceanwalk) stretching far out into the water and overlooking the ocean. It’s at Lake Worth Park, a long stretch of public beach just south of the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach. The park has a huge and surprisingly inexpensive parking lot. I drove down and Chris biked over from Lantana.

The pier location has indoor as well as outdoor seating. Chris had made a reservation and, after some confusion — Bennie’s was jammed — we were seated outdoors overlooking the beach on a beautiful day.

We each ordered the Crowd Favorite Taco, fish tacos with a side of either slaw

or fries.

Guess who ordered the fries.

The fish was fresh and topped with a tomato relish, pickled onions, and a Sriracha cream, These were very good fish tacos. Chris said that they were the best he’d ever had, but acknowledged that fish tacos are pretty rare in Central Europe. I eat a whole lot of fish tacos and agree that Bennie’s are far above average, as good as any on the East Coast of Florida. I think that the gentle bite of the Sriracha cream put them over the top. It blended well with the other ingredients and tied the tacos together.

Chris was pleased with his slaw, but my fries were exceptional. They had a seasoned crust that set off the creamy potato flavor to a T.

The service was not the fastest, and the wait would have been irritating without such a good talk with Chris. I hope you have a friend like Chris Lehman. He’s witty and charming, but also perceptive and level-headed, a well grounded entertaining person. I also hope that you get a chance to go to Bennie’s on the Beach. What a delightful spot! Sun, sand, and surf, cheap parking, and some first class fish tacos and fries. Give it a try.

***

And while you’re at it, click “follow” on our front page to receive blog posts in your email box.  Or bookmark us and check in from time to time.  If you’re planning a trip, you can “Search” the name of the destination city, state, or country for good restaurants (in Europe, often close to sites, like the Louvre or the Van Gogh Museum, that you’ll want to visit in any event).  Comments, questions, and suggestions of places to eat or stories to cover are very welcome.  And check out our Instagram page, johntannerbbq.