Flanigan’s in Stuart: Come for Happy Hour, stay for the ribs!

Flanigan's in Stuart, South FloridaMy friend Mike had a hankering for some ribs. Who would have guessed that Flanigan’s SeafoodBar and Grill was the best place to get them? As you can see from the picture above, Flanigan’s claims to have been in business since 1959 and has 22 locations throughout South Florida. Since I was staying in Stuart, about two hours North of Miami, we decided to visit their most northerly location which was only a five minute drive from Mike’s new abode.

[ad name=”GANChefsWineClub468x60″]

The place seemed lively and was fairly busy. We chose to sit at the bar, which turned out to be a good decision since the bartender was friendly and interesting and it made the wait times seem less. Flanigan’s advertises their Happy Hour(s) as being amongst the best. From 5 to 7 all drinks at the bar are two-for-one. Personally, since I most often would only have a single drink with my meal, this is not necessarily much on an enticement but for many it would be a big incentive.

As mentioned above, Mike wanted ribs and this is what he ordered. Personally, I do not often choose ribs, mostly because they are usually drenched in a barbecue sauce that is heavily-laced with sugar and can often be overcooked. This evening, I did not want ribs and so opted for the prime rib. Both platters were neither outstanding nor terrible. The prime rib was relatively tender and cooked pretty much as ordered. Nevertheless, I found the presentation somewhat boring!  I forget that in the US, when you order prime rib, that is all you get other than a choice of potato. Nothing green or colourful on the plate. I guess that there must be meat and potatoes customers out there than I would guess, because if this bothered others as much as it bothers me, restaurateurs would be forced to make changes. Mike claimed to enjoy his ribs but was not over the moon about them either.

[ad name=”Chitika468x120″]

Attention to small details is often what sets establishments apart. My meal came with a free glass of house wine. I had already been drinking red wine, and although it was specifically against house rules, the bartender surreptitiously re-filled my glass with my chosen wine rather than forcing me to switch to the house brand.

I did not have a chance to sample the desserts as I might ordinarily have done because I was too full of meat, potato and wine. On balance, I would certainly give Flanigan’s a second visit next time I am in South Florida.

Flanigan's Seafood Bar and Grill on Urbanspoon[ad#Clickbank]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.