Benny's on the Beach, Lake Worth, Sept 14, 2013

Benny's on the Beach is a Lake Worth tradition. It's been on the Lake Worth Pier for years, and during many of those years it competed with John G's which was right across the street. So how did Benny's compete? With arguably the best view in Palm Beach County, and delicious food at reasonable prices.

John G's has since moved, but Benny's is still there -- and we went there for breakfast this morning. Diners at Benny's start with three choices -- eat inside, eat outside on a deck/porch, or eat on the "upper deck," a kind of Florida room (large, screened-in windows that are open to the breeze) on the top floor.

For me, the view in the Florida room is the best, and, it has the advantage of being a little cooler than the porch on hot days -- and this was a hot day -- and the seagulls can't come by and poach your food.

I had two eggs over easy, corned beef hash, home fries, whole wheat toast and a slice of melon. It was delicious -- the home fries especially are done expertly. And the melon is perfectly ripe. The corned beef hash was good but not especially memorable.

 However, as good as it is, it is NOT as good as the "heaven on a plate" at John G's.  So, it's safe to say the biggest winner in John G's move south to Manalapan was Benny's. 

Cindy here: I ordered the stuffed croissant -- which is a toasted croissant split, and stuffed with eggy, hammy goodness, with a dollop of cheese sauce over the top. I had the same thing at John G's, and yeah, of course Benny's wasn't as good. I don't know what John G's does, must be magic, but it's not fair to compare other restaurants with whatever they are doing at John G's. John G's is gone from Lake Worth Beach, and Benny's should be considered on its own. And this stuffed croissant was absolutely delicious. I ate it all up, Weight Watchers points be damned!

I also had potatoes, but the croissant was enough for me, and I shared most of mine with Sean.

back to Sean: Cindy and I also shared some biscuits and gravy. Benny's was good, but not as good as the biscuits and gravy at the Deli Diner Inn.  Deli Diner Inn's biscuits and gravy is so good I expect we'll learn one day that at least one of the ingredients is illegal.  Benny's was okay. Thankfully we only got a half serving to share as they were fairly swimming in over-peppered gravy.

Ellie ordered off the lunch menu, and the waitress had no problem with that -- always good news if your kids can be somewhat finicky. Ellie had a beef quesadilla and frieds. The fries were delicious, Sean and Ellie say. Ellie liked it well enough... but was a bit disappointed by the presence of green pepers in it that hadn't been mentioned in the menu, She managed to pick around them.

The coffee was good and hot, and the waitress was generous with refills. I could hear the sea from my window seat, but my daughter, seated further inside the room around the table, says she couldn't hear the waves over the whir of the electric fans.

Overall, I'd say come to Benny's for a good breakfast, and you'll really enjoy the view. If you have time, you can take a nice walk on the beach as well. The best thing about Benny's is the location, and the food is good, too.