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| - OMG...WHY did we not come to this place SOONER???
After striking out multiple times with breakfast and with room service, I was starting to feel as if hope were lost for getting a decent meal anywhere within the confines of the Suncoast. It just so happened that looking for another amenity (that would be the Men's Restrooms), I stumbled onto two things: the theaters, which we'd been trying to locate earlier, and The Game sports bar and restaurant (former TGI Fridays, we found out later), which is only steps away from the bathrooms and the theaters.
So when dinnertime rolled around, we first went to try and do Mexican, but that was closed (no explanation given - the schedule said that both the Italian and Mexican places were closed on Tuesdays, but this was on a MONDAY.) No help there. So we were walking down to the St. Tropez Buffet, resigned to whatever fate might lie in store, when I suddenly remembered that The Game was not that much further - why not try that instead?
I am SO HAPPY that we did.
First, let me say this: I am NOT a beer drinker, never really have been. Wasn't fond of it, and I would have it now and again just to be sociable. But on my own? Gimme my white wine, and I'm a happy camper. But recently, living in Cali, I made the acquaintance of a lovely little IPA called Lagunitas...a beauty of a pale ale with a grapefruity-sweet kind of finish. Ice-cold draft? This is the Nectar Of The Gods. And we both figured it wouldn't be available anywhere outside of San Francisco.
And The Game is ON its game...they have Lagunitas. ON TAP. IN FROZEN MUGS.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!
And if that's ALL they'd had, for me, that's worth five Yelp stars right there.
But THEN, it got BETTER...
Not knowing any better, we decided to go for a bunch of apps before ordering a couple of their crazy-good burgers. Loaded nachos, Beer-and-cheese soup, served with a hunk of applewood-smoked bacon grilled to crispy perfection on a skewer, and honey BBQ-basted chicken fingers.
When this stuff came out, we suddenly realized - we should have invited FRIENDS. The portions were OFF-THE-CHAIN. I have a take-no-prisoners appetite, and even I looked at all of this, and wondered what corner of my stomach the burger was going to fit into...IF I could manage it. And usually, food served in these kinds of mass quantities is just not very good. And yet, this WAS. The soup, with nibbles of that sweet, smoky bacon skewer was gastronomic "man-candy." SERIOUSLY. The toppings on the nachos were fresh, crunchy and ooey-gooey all at once, and the chicken fingers made you want to lick YOURS...repeatedly.
I can't vouch for my partner's burger, but I had the triple-version of "the Diner." And lo and behold, it did taste every bit as damn good as any diner burger I've every had...and that's a LOT of burgers. The three patties, about 1/4 lb. each, were juicy and well-done (something you don't always get with well-cooked meat.) The lettuce, tomato and dill-pickle on the side were all wonderfully fresh, and the fixin's were just 'gravy' on top of all this ridiculous deliciousness. And FRIES? Our basket ranneth over, because fries came with just about EVERYTHING.
Needless to say, we made a dent in it all - but just BARELY. And sadly, even if we'd wanted to take away some boxes, the fridge in our room would have been no match for that load of leftovers, and we didn't have "Chef Mike" to heat it all up for us later.
But next time we come back to Suncoast, we may not know where to have breakfast, but hey...we are all set for lunch and dinner. Our lovely, excellent waitress, Adair, informed us that The Game, by popular demand, opens on some days now at 11 a.m., instead of Fridays' old hours of 4:30 p.m. daily (be sure to call ahead to check on the new schedule).
Even if you don't have a game that you love to watch - make sure THE GAME is part of your weekend playbook!
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