#seafoodjoints

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BeckyJack's Food Shack (Part II)

Last night was Friday night… my family’s “let’s go out to eat” night. We usually do pizza on Fridays… and if I’m being totally transparent, we normally do Pizza Villa & Restaurant (my pizzaJOINT) in Brooksville on Fridays. This week, my wife and I wanted to introduce our kids to my newest favoriteJOINT, BeckyJack’s!

Yes, I know, I wouldn’t normally re-blog about an establishment so quickly… but BeckyJack’s is well worth acting a little unusual!

We arrived right around 4:30… the parking lot was fairly quiet. As I’m not a big fan of crowds and crowded places, I was good with that. We entered the door, greeted with a smile and a hearty welcome. ”Sit anywhere you like,” we were told. We went for, what I like to call, the “breakfast nook” table… and the fun began!

Our waitress, I believe her name is Betty, was pleasant and friendly (as usual). She was very patient with us as we looked over the menu but couldn’t decide what to get. My wife chose the Cracked Chicken sandwich; my 22-year old son ultimately chose the blackened fish platter; and my 15-year old daughter and I chose the Crunchy Fish platter.

I didn’t take a photo of the blacked fish but I had to take a pic of the Cracked Chicken (bottom left)… did I mention it’s breaded with POTATO CHIPS?!?! If anything says “OMG,” it’s breading a HUGE chicken breast with potato chips! My better half was kind enough to let me take a bite of this beauty… um… OMG… that’s all I could say.

I ordered the Crunchy Fish platter with their Mac & Cheese and the “5 Bean” salad. The Mac & Cheese was very good… there’s something different about that cheese… a different taste I couldn’t put my finger on but it’s very good. The “5 Bean” salad? ”OMG” again! I tried to figure out all the beans in the salad… I saw chickpeas, kidney, black, blackeye, and a few others I couldn’t readily identify… mostly because I was eating it too fast. I also saw olives, peppers, onion, and a very nice Italian dressing was leading the way to tastebud euphoria. Can you tell I really liked the 5 Bean salad?

I’m not sure if I said enough, if anything, about the service in my last BeckyJack’s blog post but I gotta tell ya… the wait staff is ON THE BALL! Consistent (but not overdone) checks on our satisfaction, drink refills (we had sweet tea), and general how-goes-it visits were friendly and sincere.

Okay… I’ve gone on and on… and BeckyJack’s deserves any/all accolades I can think of… It’s just great!

Wanna find out more? Check their site at www.beckyjacks.com or find ‘em on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BeckyJacksFoodShack

BeckyJack’s Food Shack 8070 Cortez Boulevard Weeki Wachee, FL 34607 [phone]

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Beautiful Food @ BeckyJack's Food Shack 

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BeckyJack's Food Shack

My wife and I passed by this little place on Cortez Boulevard on our return trip from Rogers Park to Paddling Adventures after a fun day of kayaking.  "I've heard that place is pretty good," I said.  My wife suggested we try it out... I was all for that!

I will say this; initial curb appeal told me this was going to be an "at home" style establishment, I'm pleased to say I was right.  As far as the food is concerned, I should have known by the lack of parking spaces available in the parking lot... I had no idea what I was in for. 

The menu at BeckyJack's is full of seafood, sandwiches, and burgers.  They also pride themselves on having 13 craft draft beers and wines available all the time.  A quick look around at the other diners' plates told me we were in for a treat; looking at the patrons' faces told me we were REALLY going to enjoy it!  I couldn't wait to get started!!!

So, we started with the beer battered onion rings (which were part of the specials of the day - written on a lunch-size brown paper bag [talk about quaint]).  These rings were OUTSTANDING!  Even better is the obviously home-made remoulade sauce.  It seems to be based in BBQ sauce, which may sound really weird but let me tell you, it doesn't taste weird!   Now, these onion rings (like all the food we received) were HOT!  I mean the walk from the fryer to our table was probably 20 feet... and they got to our table seemingly right out of the fryer.  No plates sitting under hot lamps here!!!  Just fresh, piping-hot, delicious food... that's what you get at BeckyJacks!  Ahem, I digress... let me continue.

On to our sandwiches.  Before I continue, I just have to say; I'm from New England, from a professional fisherman's family.  I'm not an expert on much, but I know a good fish sandwich when I meet one.  Well, I'm not sure I've ever met a sandwich as good as this before.  

I went for BeckyJack's signature "The Crunchy Fish" sandwich.  This sandwich is, well, amazing!  It's coated in corn flakes and sliced almonds (I know, I know, almonds?) and fried to a perfection.  The only bad thing about this fish is that there's no clear indication it's a sandwich because you can't see the bottom of the bun... the fish fillet is SO DANG BIG!  Yes, I know, that's really not a "bad" thing.  

My wife went for the Blackened Fish sandwich.  The menu says it's their "awesome" fish, blackened... well, the menu is right on target here as well!  a light lemon-pepper style blackening does this fish very, very well!  Folks, the pictures do NOT do justice to the sandwiches! Now I want to have full disclosure here... this place is small.  I counted 8 tables inside with seating for approximately 25-30 -- and it's a tight fit.  There's a few tables outside as well.  What the building might lack in space, the kitchen makes up for it in flavor!  Anyway, we were greeted with a smile as we walked in the beachcomber-themed door.  We were seated right away on a high-top table in the center of the dining area.  This place has some awesome aesthetics!  License plates, beach signs, family pictures and a Jimmy Buffet gold album adorn the walls.  This place made me feel like I just walked into the most laidbackJOINTS around! Seafood sandwiches average around $8, burgers and other sandwiches average around $7.  They also have platters available averaging around $12.  This little jewel is quite a treasure... if you've never been, you gotta go!  Oh, and let me say a couple words about the wait staff:  Polite, Professional, Friendly, Prompt, and AWESOME!   Wanna find out more?  Check their site at www.beckyjacks.com or find 'em on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BeckyJacksFoodShack

BeckyJack's Food Shack  8070 Cortez Boulevard Weeki Wachee, FL  34607 [phone]