LAKE PARK – Behind the humble facades of this town’s shopping plazas lies a food scene richer and more diverse than a visitor might imagine.
Want ceviche that brings to mind the Far East and South America? There’s a restaurant on Northlake Boulevard.
Want fries so delectable they work with any entreé? Head to Park Avenue.
Want the kind of comfort food that makes a person think of Grandma? Follow the signs to Federal Highway.
All three places are down-to-earth eateries with dishes that will satisfy a diner’s taste buds and chefs with stories to tell.
“A Taste of . . . “ is a Palm Beach Post series that aims to highlight the county’s lesser-known culinary gems and the humans behind the food. Tell us what area and restaurants to write about next!
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The Catch: Peruvian meets Asian fusion with a dazzling waterfront view
Address: 766 Northlake Blvd., between Alternate A1A and U.S. 1.
Hours: 4-10 p.m. Tuesday, 12-10 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, 12-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
At The Catch, consider the chef’s choice tiradito with lionfish ($22). Its price varies based on the fish chef Jorge Paz chooses, but he marinates each with ginger, soy sauce and lime and yuzu juices to achieve a tangy flavor.
The multicolored Peruvian dish is similar to ceviche. It features slices of raw, buttery lionfish, dragon fruit and cucumber and is garnished with pomegranate arils, alfalfa sprouts and cilantro.
The tiradito pairs well with vegetable tapas ($14), which come as a set of crispy fried plantains topped with scallions, red peppers, onions, white beans, avocado, cilantro and parmesan.
Enjoy the fresh-caught fish while dining on the back patio, where a waterfront view allows customers to watch fish jump as they dine.
Paz opened The Catch with his partner, Tara Barnes, nearly a decade ago. They met at another restaurant, where they worked until starting one themselves. The Catch grew along with their family. Today, they have a sushi roll on their menu named after their daughter, Luna.
“We sort of jumped in,” said Barnes, 43, of North Palm Beach. “It wasn’t anything we had planned, but it definitely was meant to be our destiny.”
Paz, 46, learned how to cook by preparing blood sausage and chorizo when he was young. He attended culinary school at Johnson & Wales University and then opened a Peruvian restaurant with his father in Cooper City.
The food at The Catch is Peruvian-Asian fusion and everything is made-to-order. “We are a small, scratch kitchen with fresh food, friendly service, waterfront and laid-back vibes,” Barnes said.
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Locale Neighborhood Bar & Grille: where other-worldly fries and fun with neighbors collide
Address: 748 Park Ave., between Seventh and Eighth streets.
Hours: 4-10 p.m. Tuesday, 4-11 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 4 p.m.-midnight Fridays and Saturdays and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday.
At Locale Neighborhood Bar & Grille, consider ordering something with parm fries ($5), perhaps the best fried potatoes in northern Palm Beach County.
The fries are steak-cut, soft and oily with crispy edges topped with heaps of parmesan and parsley. They practically melt in a diner’s mouth. Locale also has Cajun, Old Bay and classic versions of these fries.
Order them with the Smash Burger Basket ($10 during happy hour), which has a Florida-raised 80/20 steak burger sandwiched between pickles, lettuce, cheddar cheese and tomato and a brioche bun.
What’s Head Chef George Paras’ secret? Sticking to recipes that work.
“I try to keep it as simple as possible to get that nostalgic feel when it comes to the food here,” said Paras, 35, of West Palm Beach.
While Locale has American staples like burgers and wings, the Philippines-born Paras also crafts experimental dishes like Thai street skewers to Filipino breakfast-themed quesadillas and vermicelli cucumber salad.
Locale opened in 2021. “This is your neighborhood meet-up spot,” Paras said. “It’s a safe spot and you have fun, good food, cold beer and entertainment.”
Paras became a head chef for the first time in April at Locale, but has worked at seven restaurants before that. Becoming a chef has been his goal since he was 6 years old, when his mom asked him to help cook family meals.
“Our food is handcrafted from the heart with a lot of love,” Paras said.
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Southern Kitchen: diner celebrates five decades of southern comfort food
Address: 801 Federal Highway, near Kelsey Park.
Hours: 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily.
At Southern Kitchen, consider the Pot Roast ($12.50). Made with tender beef knuckle, it is slow cooked in the oven for five hours and has carrots, celery and onions mixed in with it.
The dish is served with creamy mashed potatoes topped with gravy, a side of green beans and crispy, sweet cornbread with whipped butter.
The food is just as rich as the diner’s history, which dates to 1971. It started out as a doughnut shop, then added lunch and dinner.
Southern Kitchen’s owner Kimberly Keown, 54, bussed Southern Kitchen tables at 19 years old before her parents bought the restaurant. Keown, who lives in Jupiter, bought it from them in 1997.
“I have almost 40 employees in this little place and love all of them so much. I think I’d have to be on my deathbed (to sell it),” said Keown with a chuckle.
Everything at Southern Kitchen is made from scratch, Keown said.
“We’re into comfort foods and homestyle,” Keown said. “You’re going to get a hearty home-cooked meal.”
Elements of Keown’s love story are baked into the food. Most of the Southern Kitchen recipes were created by her husband, Jonathan, who died six years ago. He was the “heart of the kitchen,” she said.
Keown credits the restaurant’s success to its family-oriented atmosphere, where employees have worked for 34 years.
“It’s everybody’s home away from home,” Keown said. “I’ve seen generations of families come through here. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
Maya Washburn covers northern Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida-Network. Reach her at mwashburn@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: A taste of Lake Park: 3 restaurants that show town’s rich dining scene
