Dune Deck, Lantana, February 9, 2014

This is the place you take your mother-in-law for her birthday. This is the place you go when you don't want to wait at John G's, and yet, you still want to get here early because a line forms at the Dune Deck as well. There is a playground nearby if you have to wait with little ones, and a lovely ocean view with benches if you are waiting with older ones.

Never forget: CASH ONLY. Always important to remember when you are a party of 6 to avoid scrambling at the end of the meal!

View: The ocean in February while the rest of the country freezes? Priceless.

Service: Friendly and fabulous. Waiter picked up on my anxiety and got my son's chocolate chip pancake order in right away, and the food back out to the on-the-edge-of-whining boy quickly. Coffee and water were refilled attentively.

Food: delicious. My in-laws didn't let me take photos of their meals. My daughter ordered a hot dog because she doesn't like breakfast much. Sean had home made corned beef hash and eggs. He loved it.

I had two eggs over easy with potatoes....

Here's what was left of my son's three large pancakes by the time my food arrived:

Mother in law: very very happy. If you talk to the host ahead of time, you can arrange for a birthday key lime pie and a low-key birthday song from the waiters.

Dune Deck
100 N Ocean Blvd
Lantana Beach, Florida. 33462
(561) 582-0472

Dune Deck, Lantana, September 28, 2013

Dune Deck is one of our long-time faves. Can not beat that ocean view, nor the ocean breeze right through the open dining area.

 

Lantana public beach, with the Dune Deck to the right.

The kids, Sean and I shared a breakfast appetizer of beignets. My daughter said, "It tastes like funnel cake!" Well, yeah, it's fried dough with powdered sugar, it just has a fancier name. These were not as light and fluffy as Sean remembers from New Orleans, but somehow we managed to suffer through 6 of them as a family.
 


Authentic or not, they went fast. Barely got a photo of two of them before they all looked like this one above!

I ordered two eggs over medium, and thought they were a touch too done, but that's the risk of over medium. Potatoes were fine, picky eater that I am, I ate around the peppers and onions. The whole wheat toast was yummy. Sean and I both wanted biscuits but Dune Deck doesn't serve them.



Ellie as usual got a lunch meal for breakfast. Her fries were fabulous according to her and to Sean. Her bacon cheese hamburger was the best thing I ate all morning, when she let me steal 3 bites. Usually Sean eats the pickle, but he said that didn't sit right as a breakfast food.



Peter had massive chocolate chip pancakes. They brought out three, and he said he could eat three, but after eating one (also after 1 1/2 beignets), he declared himself stuffed to bursting. The rest came home for a snack or two later.



Sean had corned beef hash and eggs. And will add his comments and photo later. He cleaned his plate pretty well, so it couldn't have been too bad!

Our waitress was lovely and attentive and interested in how we were doing. She tried to engage comic-book-reading Peter with tales of her own comic book faves, but the boy was having none of it. Some day he'll care when a pretty waitress talks to him, but not today.

Our waitress was also good natured when Sean declared he'd ordered coffee when she brought out hot tea. I corrected him and said, yes he did order tea.I noticed because he rarely does. Later the waitress ribbed him by making sure I was listening when he ordered his breakfast. A good-natured waitress can make a good meal better.

The tables along the edge of the eating area can get a lot of sun despite the awning and table umbrellas. We avoided that, but sadly we ended up parked under a wind tunnel fan which made talking difficult and keeping a napkin on the table impossible. Avoid that table at the top of the short stairs if you can. We certainly will next time.

For now while the Lantana bridge is still under repair, you can get to A1A via Boynton Beach bridge or Lake Worth bridge. Supposedly only a couple more months of this.... Thankfully, like John G's across the way, Dune Deck doesn't appear to be hurting for customers.

Great place to take out of town guests to show off why you live in Florida.

Location:

100 N Ocean Blvd
Lantana Beach, Florida. 33462

Dune Deck Cafe

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.