Flanigan's - You're Still The One!
Written: Dec 17 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good bar food at decent prices. Great baby back ribs.
Cons: A more diverse beer menu would be nice.
The Bottom Line: -
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| carnut2k4's Full Review: Flanigan's |
We’re still having fun – and you’re still the one!
When I first noticed Flanigan’s a few months back I assumed it was a new chain. I’ve come to find out they’ve been around for a number of decades and there are four locations in close proximity to the Palm Beach area and a total of eighteen locations throughout southeast Florida. The newest location is just a few miles from me on the outskirts of the Wellington Mall and we’ve been there a good half dozen times so far.
First impressions
Flanigan’s markets itself as a “seafood grill and bar”. The outside, and much of the inside, is dressed in faux weather-worn wood and a plethora of ‘nautical’ stuff. Next you’ll notice the bazillion television sets. Any seat in the house gives you a great view of at least five or six TVs. This is a great place to hang out on any given Sunday and take in all the games. This evening I found myself parked in front of a TV tuned in to ESPN Classic and thoroughly enjoyed watching Muhammad Ali beating the snot out of Jurgen Blin (1971). The large bar and surrounding hi-top zone takes up nearly half the restaurant. A small game room area is available for kids and the remainder of the place is fitted with wood booths. The wait staff is predominately young, female and predictably perky. Overall the feel is similar to any of the larger chains (Chiles, Fridays, Tuesdays, etc). Cleanliness (including the bathrooms) is acceptable.
The menu
All the expected food items, and a few surprises, await you at Flanigan’s. For example: the starters include the mozzarella sticks, potato skins and chicken fingers you see everywhere but you can also choose from Dolphin (Mahi) fingers, peel ‘n’ eat shrimp or Joe’s Rockin’ Rib Rolls. Get the rib rolls – you won’t be sorry. They’re “homemade” eggrolls stuffed with meat from their baby back ribs, cheese, onions, etc which is deep fried to a golden, heart-clogging brown.
Plenty of sandwiches, burgers and salads are offered along with a strangely small seafood selection. Tuna steaks and dolphin are regulars along with a couple of shrimp offerings but this ‘seafood grill’ has more burger than fish selections. Doesn’t bother me though – this chain is only located in South Florida which means much better seafood is just a stones throw away no matter which location you’re dining at. In fact, I don’t go here for seafood at all. For me it’s all about those baby back ribs. They’re just awesome! The meat falls off the bone and the sweet barbecue sauce is delicious. I always get a baked potato and coleslaw as sides. The slaw is good. So is the potato but this is one of those places that insist on rolling the tuber in sea salt (maybe it’s Kosher salt?) before baking it. Who the hell started that trend? Anyway, the potato is good after you wipe all that rock salt off of it. Other ‘standard’ sides are available such as fries, veggies, black beans & rice and even dirty rice. The wife is partial to their lemon chicken which is served on a bed of linguine with a couple of garlic rolls garnishing the plate. The burgers are hearty and satisfying. I haven’t had a bad meal here yet.
Washing it all down
They serve all the standard soft drinks (Coke products – yay!) you could want. They also push their mixed drinks pretty hard. Dedicated menus on every table entice you with pictures of enormous margaritas, coladas and daquiris. The drinks are huge and they are pretty good. The bar also has around ten beers on tap – but the most interesting of the bunch is Yuengling. The rest is straight outta Milwaukee and St Louis. Strangely, Flanigan’s even has a decent (but far from impressive) wine menu including champagnes as pricey as Dom Perignon. All soft drinks are served in way-too-big green plastic ‘collector’ cups which you can take home – if you’re so inclined.
The sugar rush
The desserts here are just obscene. You can read the descriptions on their website (below) so I’ll just describe the one we had tonight. A hot brownie was topped with vanilla ice cream, crumbled Oreos, Kit-Kat bars, chocolate syrup and whipped cream. It’s called a Bonzai Brownie. It’s not for the health conscious. I’d recommend splitting the desserts here – they’re all enormous.
Last thoughts
I like this place. It’s a good local sports bar with a decent (in a ‘Joe Six-Pack’ kinda way) menu and fair prices. Me and the wife ate here this evening and had two of the most expensive entrees and walked out for less than $35 (not including tip). Alcohol would have nudged it up to $50 or so. They seem to try a little harder than their much larger competition and the warm, friendly atmosphere is a welcome diversion from the more corporate demeanor that the others treat you with.
Last thought – for real this time
In weeks of late they’ve started a marketing campaign which uses ‘You’re still the one’ by Orleans (circa 1970 something) as its background music. I’m just adding this tidbit here to explain the review title - and also because it’s a kick ass tune!
Flanigan’s Seafood Bar & Grill
2335 State Road 7
Wellington, FL 33414
(561) 422-0988
www.flanigans.net
Reservations..............not taken / needed
Vegetarians...............not your type of place
Bathrooms.................clean, well stocked
Kid Friendly...............yes
Hours.........................7 days, lunch and dinner
Dress Code................none
Parking......................parking lot / free
Wheelchair Access....yes
Credit Cards...............visa, mastercard, amex, discover
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
carnut2k4
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