I was sure I had written down the address wrong when I tried to find Fat Maggie’s (1037 Dixieland Mall Lane, Lakeland, FL). It turns out that they’re around the corner from the main street, partially hidden.
The moment I found it, I felt like I had located the back of my long-missing TV remote. It was a feeling of relief and exhilaration.
While Marcela looks over the menu, I ask for the buffalo chicken dip. I had already scoped out the menu online earlier in the day for when the moment of truth would finally come.
She decides to share the starter, which is a code word for I’m having of some of whatever you’re ordering. There’s a Smokehouse burger on the menu, so it’s a no-brainer I’m hitting up this puppy.
So I go, brioche bun, cheddar cheese, & candied bacon with a side of their Kitchen Sink Chili.
It’s an excellent burger, but I made the mistake of adding the candied bacon, which hurt its overall flavor. One bite in, I remove the candied bacon and save it as dessert. I’m not a sweet burger kinda fella.
I’m busy eating and pondering the existence of my burger life when I look up to find Marcela doing some damage to the chili. The chili is perfect for the flour tortilla chips from the buffalo dip, by the way.
The truth is that as much as I love chili, I’d give it up for a more significant portion of the burger. I’m sure I didn’t need to tell you that.
Fat Maggie’s Dessert Time
Dessert is Marcela’s area of expertise, so we ordered the banana pudding with whiskey whipped cream and Ginny Lou’s nutella cheesecake. Both would have made perfect endings to our meal, but Ginny Lou’s takes the cake (nyuk nyuk, yes, a Three Stooges laugh).
I missed this photo opportunity somehow when I walked in at Fat Maggie’s.
