Skinny's Place

For years during my frequent visits to Florida before having moved here, I passed by Anna Maria Island's Skinny's Place and gave it little thought. The dilapidated shack looked more like some sort of private biker club or something, the kind of rough-around-the-edges dive bar you find on Key West with its front door perpetually wide open. It just didn't seem like the kind of place suited to a decent meal - more likely, or so I thought, it was more of a venue to drink Landshark and smoke 305s.

I was so wrong.

Their burgers are patted out by hand and sizzled on an old timey grill, much the same way as my beloved Jasonburgers from the late lamented Taylor's Billiards from back in the old country. Their onion rings are spectacular, and their mugs are extra frosty - something for which they're famous for. Given the number of substandard eateries in the area, a simple place with a simple homemade cheeseburger is quite worth cheering about.

Skinny's is so named after its founder, one Carl “Skinny” Freeman, and has been serving Skinnyburgers since 1952, when it originally opened as the Mid-Island Drive In).