Page 13 - Boca Club News - June '24
P. 13
Boca Club News, Page 13
The Good Life: Dining, Drinks, Destinations
The Good Life: Dining, Drinks, Destinations
Dining Out: Maggie McFly Is Soaring to The Past...Not the Future!
By Alan Serinsky of Bocaire Maggie McFly’s Town Center, which turned out not to be too grand. So, my
Country Club. Hungry Al’s love Town Center Mall question for Maggie is, “What makes your flight pattern
for food started very young. 6000 Glades Rd. any better”?
Never satisfied with his Mom’s Boca Raton, FL The answer was easily discovered on my visit to this
dishes, he started to cook his (561) 418-6688 new restaurant located in Boca’s Town Center Mall. What I
way through her “Betty Crocker https://www.maggiemcflys.com found was a beautifully re-designed environment that now
Cookbook.” During the years offers a Greek diner-size menu that makes Cheesecake
to follow he spent many hours Food for Thought: I sometimes wonder why restaurants Factory look like a food truck stop. It’s hard to believe
working in restaurants, both as server and cook, attending find themselves in need to reinvent the wheel. Especially that a menu with over 200 items (not including brunch
cooking classes and traveling the world in an effort to expand those that aren’t turning very well. I’m sure you all or dessert) can possibly execute perfection in both its
his palette. As a professional writer, Hungry Al offers his remember the restaurant chain, Bennigans. That one preparation and quality.
perspective on current food trends and guides you through certainly didn’t have the luck of the Irish. Neither does TGI The jury is out as to whether Maggie McFly’s will
your local restaurant options. Fridays, which has recently closed over 24 of its locations survive the high demands of Boca Raton diners. Could this
and also attempted to eliminate TGI from its brand name. be just one more mall eatery paying excessive rent hoping
It didn’t work! Then let’s not forget the Grand Lux Café in that shoppers’ traffic will give enough wing lift to fly into
the future?
First Impressions: Maggie had taken the old Da Vinci
of Boca/Rex Baron location and gave it another makeover.
Our 38
th
As you enter from the mall you will be greeted with a huge
Ann ual size oval bar that occupies its center blueprint. You shouldn’t
Annual
have a problem finding a bar stool here. There’s a good
number of dining booths, high tops and, of course, plenty
of outdoor seating. Unfortunately, parking is tight on this
Summer Sale
Summer Sale side of the mall so be prepared to park and walk or pay the
price for valet. I was surprised not to find any décor related
to the name Maggie McFly or the movie. But maybe they
learned their lesson from TGI Fridays!
Prime Your Tastebuds: The selection in this category
of the menu is vast and would take numerous visits to tackle
even half of it. Tonight, we all agreed on the Spinach &
Artichoke Dip ($15.95). Unfortunately, this staple appetizer
was void of any flavor whatsoever. The consistency of the
dip was more like soup and even the cheese didn’t offer any
help in the thickening efforts. It was also hard to detect any
artichokes at all and the spinach was like a scavenger hunt.
They did smartly include a variety of dipping options such
as homemade potato chips, tortilla chips and garlic bread.
Straight From the Kitchen: Thankfully, tonight we all
tried something different as an entrée. This certainly helped
us in our evaluation of both the preparation and quality that
Maggie had to offer.
Hungry C was first to board with her selection of
Costoletta Chicken ($22.95). This plate was simply an
ample portion of chicken breast dusted with Panko parmesan
crumbs, joined by Asiago mashed potatoes, creamy lemon
sauce and asparagus garnish. Sounds good. Not! Though
the chicken was tender, there was basically not a dribble of
seasoning, the mashed potatoes were flavorless and over-
creamed, and the sauce showed no signs of defining the
word “lemony.”
Hungry J was leaning Mexican and decided on Maggie’s
Sizzling Fajitas ($22.95). Lacking any signs of “sizzling,”
shrimp was totally overcooked to the point of no return.
this dish comprised of a combination of chicken, beef and
Here again the chefs behind the stoves forgot to reach for
the seasoning to give it authentic native flavors.
Lenses on 1 Pair
st
Hungry D decided to give the sandwich selection a go.
($15.45) was fresh cod fried in a lager batter served with
Her choice of the Deadwords Bridge Lager Fish Sandwich
house-made coleslaw. Awkwardly, the potato bun didn’t
Lenses on 2 Pair
nd
hold up and completely deconstructed itself after one bite.
The fish was fine and the coleslaw was excellent, but when
*Except Cartier & Maui Jim you want a sandwich...you want a sandwich!
As for Hungry Al, I went with another chicken entrée
Rx or Non-Rx Lenses on 3 or More with a pasta side. The Romano Chicken ($22.95) was
rd
basically no different from the Costoletta Chicken or the
Expires 08/21/24 Expires 08/21/24 Parmigiano Chicken. Only difference was the side and
sauce. Again, my chicken lacked any redeeming taste
KNOWN FOR OUR SELECTION • REMEMBERED FOR OUR SERVICE whatsoever. As for the underlining Fettuccine with creamy
marinara sauce, it too was tasteless and the pasta was well
past al dente.
From the Dessert Tray: Obviously, we didn’t risk
another disappointment and opted out of any desserts. But if
Never you do cross the finish line on your visit to Maggie’s, there
Boring is a selection of Cheesecakes ($15.95), and a few Cupcakes
($7.95) to sweeten your evening.
Check Please: All I can say about Maggie McFly’s is “this
is heavy” (movie catchphrase). This “Back-to-the-Future”
idea is a concept maybe for a mall crowd, but for those who
want a serious dinner rather than a casual lunch, you might
want to direct your DeLorean in another direction. For all the
movie buffs, you might recall Doc’s last line in Back to The
Future III, “Nope, already been there.” I can say the same
with Maggie McFly...can’t do another Cheesecake Factory.
Sadly, the Hungry Squad had to clip a few of Maggie’s wings
THE SHOPS AT BOCA CENTER ON MILITARY TRAIL | 561-394-5551 | GROVEOPTICIANS.COM and taxi her out with only two
golden flying cars for this one.
