FOOD

‘Watts for Dinner’: The Crazy Flamingo – Great food, insanely-good prices

Will Watts
Correspondent

Our next doing destination is The Crazy Flamingo at Marco Town Center, Marco Island. It’s been two years to the month since our last official visit and I remember it like it was yesterday — because of that delicious burger I had. More on that later.

For the uninitiated, ordering is a little different here. You come in, grab a menu, then a table. Make your decisions then head back to the bar to order. When your food is ready, they’ll call you up. 

Certainly not everybody’s cup of tea, but I’ll tell you what: We got an appetizer, two entrees and two drinks from the fountain and it was just $40 bucks before tip. That’s a real deal! Heck, you pay that much at Subway these days. 

This time around, things got off to an appetizing start with the fried pot stickers ($8.99). You get six and they’re served with a teriyaki dipping sauce. These were a tad crunchier than most others I’ve had, but it works.

For my main entree, I selected the linguine with house made marinara ($11.99). It comes with the “legendary garlic bread,” my main reason for ordering it. You can add chicken ($6 more), mahi-mahi or ahi tuna ($7.50 more), grouper or salmon ($6 more).

You get a lot of pasta (I took nearly half of it home for a second night of eating). The marinara has a spicy kick to it, which I loved. And the bread, heavenly!

My dining companion ordered the chicken tenders ($11.99). They come with your choice of dipping sauce — honey mustard, ranch or BBQ — and fries or rice. Upgrade to onion rings ($2 more), a side salad ($3 more) or black beans and rice ($4 more).

These reminded me of the chicken tenders that Long John Silvers used to serve. A solid performer.

Back to that 2022 visit, we started with the “Deep Fried Ravioli.” The marinara sauce for dipping was amazing. And the ricotta-filled pillows of pasta were sublime. But deep fried? It tasted (and appeared) more baked. But I’m not complaining. We also had a basket of onion rings. Yum!

For my main meal, I selected the aforementioned half-pound cheeseburger with fries. This burger is served on a garlic sub roll. Amazingly thick, juicy burger patty that’s shaped like the sub roll. Impressive. Topped with lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle, this unique burger is a standout. I highly recommend this dish!

My dining companion picked the fried grouper basket. It’s served with fries or rice, or you can upgrade to onion rings or a salad for $2 more. This dish also earned high marks.   

The atmosphere is down to earth. The people are super nice. And as I said before, the prices will keep you coming back for more. Happy eating!

More‘Watts for Dinner’: ‘TheSen’ – Amazing Thai flavors, noodles and sushi

AndHey Marco Island, looking for a place to eat?

Prices indicate time of visit and may vary. This newspaper pays for all meals related to dining reviews. We do not solicit or accept free food.

If you go

The Crazy Flamingo