We had this fairly important soiree at my work last week and had made plans with a local college for their culinary department to manage the food. Now, they did a bang up job...but we feared it was a little "light" and made a few frantic calls to local restaurants to see if they could help out with some appetizers. We ran in to a couple of no answers, seeing that it was 2:00 and after most lunches, and hit the charm with call #3 to Benny's in Michigan City, IN
Managing a huge vegetable tray with some fresh cut vegies and a mega bowl of dip and about a million meatballs, the owner and stud of Benny's, Jon delivered to our door. What a sweet young man, polite and as handsome as can be. We were so pleased with what they did for us!
When hubs and I were finishing up our week I suggested we go to Benny's to try their pizza, which I had heard good things about, and return the mega bowl. We walked in to a quiet Friday evening, sat at the bar, talked a bit with Jon and got some history of Benny's. Jon has been around for about 15 years so knows his Benny's history. His brother Rob was behind the bar and mentioned the lake perch all you can eat special. So much for pizza. They also had Bell's Amber on tap so we were good to go.
Bell's will be a topic of a future blog...dedicated to all it's loveliness...this blog will be about the perch. Now, there's a couple things about Benny's that maybe should be mentioned. It is all non-smoking. It's been there for a long time...so it could handle some updating and if you sit where we did, well, you can get some scary looks into the dishwashing area of the kitchen. Serious fright. We sat at the bar you know...left side. Jon sat next to us for a bit until one of the locals, a regular, came in and politely asked if someone was sitting there, as Jon's coat was on the back of the chair. Jon replied it was just him, he was finishing his dinner and of course he could have that seat. This guy was not as good looking as Jon, but I was okay with him sitting next to me...he was very nice.
The guy approved of our ordering perch, and he did as well although we had fried and he chose sauteed. Ours was perfect. I mean perfect...had that great buttery taste, crispy but not coated, just dusted with flour. The fries were good...hubs enjoyed the cole slaw. It was all you can eat so we asked for a second serving of perch, which came quickly on a small plate of four fillets. The guy's plate, to be honest, looked a little better than mine, not that there was anything wrong with mine. He had a baked potato though and corn instead of cole slaw. He had salad, which looked fresh and crunchy and we had opted for cream of broccoli soup, which was very good. The guy smiled at his plate and told me no one does perch as good as Benny's. I have to say I have not had any better.
We had a second Bell's and started chatting with the guy. He was interesting and intelligent. He has been retired for a couple of years and mentioned his wife and family. I am not sure why he was eating on Friday night by himself but I didn't sense any drama. He was a nice man and an example of why I like to eat at the bar. While we chatted, the place started filling up with a boisterous younger crowd. I think I heard billiards or something going on but I'll be honest and say I didn't look around much.
Benny's is outdated and a bit ho hum in appearance inside and out but those guys are trying to do everything they can to be your spot. It's comfortable and the non-smoking is a real plus. I think we'll try it for breakfast sometime...I hear they have a great Bloody Mary. http://www.bennysmichigancity.com/
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