The Florida Foodie
Everybody Knows your Name at McKenna’s Place
By Saucy Sarah
McKenna’s Place: 4068 Forest Hill Blvd, Palm Springs, FL 33406 – 561-968-0032 – http://www.mckennasfl.com/www.Mckennasfl.com/Welcome.html
McKenna’s Place, located in a strip mall on the corner of Forest Hill Blvd. and Kirk Road, is a bustling bar & grill, perfect for an after work drink with your coworkers, a nice family meal, or a place to watch the big game on their array of flat screen TVs. When you walk in, you feel like you have stepped into an episode of the beloved TV classic, “Cheers.” You are always welcomed promptly and warmly by the servers and host staff. If you go back a few times, you will see that McKenna’s Place has a very devout and loyal repeat customer base. I am now one of them!
McKenna’s Place is first and foremost a classic bar & grill, so I suggest you stick to classic offerings when you order. Their timeless bar classics are top notch. The true test of any bar & grill is their wings and McKenna’s wings (10 for $7.95) are stellar. Perfectly crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, served with celery and blue cheese. They have several flavors for you to try, – classic buffalo, honey mustard, garlic, teriyaki, BBQ, or jerk. McKenna’s also offers great Angus burger (base price $6.95) boasting a thick, meaty patty on a nice soft bun. Build your own burger masterpiece from the array of burger toppings. I’ve had the burger twice and both times it came out perfectly cooked to my specifications.
One night, I tried the grilled Mahi Mahi tacos ($8.95) on their weekly special menu. The dish arrived with two large tacos filled with fresh grilled fish, lots of veggie toppings, and sides of salsa, sour cream, and lime wedges. Though the tacos were very fresh and the fish was cooked perfectly,
I did miss the classic accompaniment of a cabbage slaw on the taco. We also tried the “Buffalo Skins” from the specials menu. Full of buffalo chicken pieces and crumbled blue cheese, these were defiantly an over-the-top version of the classic potato skin. These indulgent appetizers go very well with McKenna’s cheese fries ($4.95) which are topped with a variety of grated cheeses and melted to perfection.
McKenna’s also offers healthier fare such as great dinner-sized salads that you can add chicken or seafood to. I really enjoy their big Caesar salad with buffalo chicken on it ($6.95 for a full $5.00 extra for the chicken). They also have quite a few Irish classics such as Shepherd’s Pie, Bangers & Mash, and Corned Beef and Cabbage if you are looking for some comfort food.
McKenna’s Place is a great little gem of a bar & grill. There is always something going on! Trivia night on Wednesdays at 7:00pm, Ladies drink free on Thursdays at 9:00pm, and there is always a smiling face to greet you and a nice cold beer after a hard day’s work. Go and try it one night and you might just want to make it your very own regular spot too.
In her previous life, Sarah, a Palm Beach County Native, spent ten years working in various high-end eating establishments around South Florida. She is currently a fiction thesis candidate in the MFA program at Florida International University where she also teaches creative writing and rhetoric. If that is not enough, Sarah is also the owner of Cakes by Sarah, a local custom cake shop. Sarah lives in Lake Worth with her husband and two beautiful boys. “Food, fiction, and family are my life.”