RESTAURANT REVIEW:

Sometimes it’s not what you eat, but where you eat it.

My belief has always been that dining out should be an experience, whether it is at a four-star restaurant or a taco truck on the side of the road. Eating out is often about the atmosphere and who you share the meal with, and the food just an accouterment.

One of the best meals I ever had was at a roadside crawfish stand outside of New Orleans with two complete strangers.

I learned more about the city and Hurricane Katrina than I would ever had watching television news. By the end of my lunch, I had two new friends and a meal I will never forget.

There are people who think they know everything about food, when in reality they know little. It reminds me of the definition I heard once of a critic — someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.

The concept of eating out is lost on those very people, and it is a shame, because they miss out on some truly wonderful dining experiences.

Zack’s is one of those places. The place on the beach that rents bicycles and gives surf lessons also serves food, and surprisingly, the cuisine is pretty good for what it is.

This facility serves as my haven for when I need a mental health day. It is an oasis that buffers me from the stress of life, and recently, I found myself gravitating toward the stand that is on the boardwalk by the pier. There are two locations, the other down the boardwalk near Beach Boulevard, and even though it is closer to my house, I prefer the ambience of the original Zack’s by the pier.

A quick bicycle ride and I was there, this time ordering a chicken breast sandwich.

While I waited on my lunch, I watched men and women playing volleyball in the sand, people walking their dogs and children and young men and women on rollerblades and skateboards negotiating the tourists.

There weren’t many on this semi-cloudy day. The marine layer tends to scare away the inlanders who think that if the sun isn’t out, the beach is inhabitable.

These are the days we who live at the beach cherish, and I was in the midst of such an afternoon.

The sandwich came, and my first bite revealed how tender the poultry was. It was simple, served on a hamburger bun with a slice of tomato, pickles, mayo and shredded lettuce.

The chips served with it were regular tortilla chips, though I spotted bags of locally made Hava chips, and I wished they offered those with the sandwiches and burgers.

The sauce that came with the chips was a secret homemade sauce that I could have sworn had ketchup, relish and chili peppers, but the woman behind the counter said no relish was put in it. It was a great combination of sweet and spicy, and it certainly livened up the routine chips.

This is the fourth item I have had there, the others being a breakfast burrito, hamburger and a chili dog, all of which I found to be quite acceptable.

I like the chili Zack’s uses because they have a white bean instead of a kidney bean.

The breakfast burrito is egg and cheese, but they will add chopped tomatoes and onions if you request it, which I did, and it only added to the taste.

For a burger stand on the beach, the menu has several surprises — the first being hummus. There is also a chicken or beef kebab available. Another item I wouldn’t have dreamed would be there was a falafel plate.

While I polished off my chips, I watched a family coming back from the beach, exhausted but all with smiles on their faces. They were headed to the stand to get some ice cream.

They made me smile, and at that moment, my stress was in another place.

I had beaten my trouble back and didn’t have to put up much of a fight doing so.

Karma is a wonderful thing. Good really does triumph over evil occasionally.

ZACK’S

ADDRESS: 405 Pacific Coast Hwy., Huntington Beach

PHONE: (714) 536-0215

WEBSITE: www.beachfoodfun.com

CUISINE: Diner

ALCOHOL SERVED: no

ENTRÉE PRICE RANGE: $2.99 to $7.99

FAMILY FRIENDLY: yes

CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED: American Express, MasterCard and Visa

Rating: ***

JOHN REGER reviews local restaurants and may be contacted at Nolimepublishing@aol.com or P.O. Box 2984, Seal Beach, CA 90740.