Page 11 - Boca Exposure - June '24

Boca Exposure, Page 11
Dining Out: Maggie McFly Is Soaring To The Past ...

Not The Future!

By Alan Serinsky of Bocaire Maggie McFly’s to be too grand. So, my question for Maggie is, “What
Country Club. Hungry Al’s Town Center Mall makes your flight pattern any better?”
love for food started very 6000 Glades Rd. The answer was easily discovered on my visit to this
young. Never satisfied with Boca Raton, FL new restaurant located in Boca’s Town Center Mall.
his Mom’s dishes, he started (561) 418-6688 What I found was a beautifully re-designed environment
to cook his way through her https://www.maggiemcflys.com that now offers a Greek diner-size menu that makes
“Betty Crocker Cookbook.” Cheesecake Factory look like a food truck stop. It’s hard
During the years to follow he Food For Thought: I sometimes wonder why to believe that a menu with over 200 items (not including
spent many hours working in restaurants find themselves in need to reinvent the wheel. brunch or dessert) can possibly execute perfection in both
restaurants, both as server and cook, attending cooking Especially those that aren’t turning very well. I’m sure its preparation and quality.
classes and traveling the world in an effort to expand you all remember the restaurant chain, Bennigans. That The jury is out as to whether Maggie McFly’s will
his palette. As a professional writer, Hungry Al offers his one certainly didn’t have the luck of the Irish. Neither survive the high demands of Boca Raton diners. Could
perspective on current food trends and guides you through does TGI Fridays, which has recently closed over 24 of this be just one more mall eatery paying excessive rent
your local restaurant options. its locations and also attempted to eliminate TGI from hoping that shoppers’ traffic will give enough wing lift
its brand name. It didn’t work! Then let’s not forget the to fly into the future?
Grand Lux Café in Town Center, which turned out not First Impressions: Maggie had taken the old Da Vinci
of Boca/Rex Baron location and gave it another makeover.
As you enter from the mall you will be greeted with a
huge sized oval bar that occupies its center blueprint. You
Our 38
th
shouldn’t have a problem finding a bar stool here. There’s
Ann ual a good number of dining booths, high tops and, of course,
Annual
plenty of outdoor seating. Unfortunately, parking is tight
on this side of the mall so be prepared to park and walk
or pay the price for valet. I was surprised not to find any
Summer Sale décor related to the name Maggie McFly or the movie.
Summer Sale
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,” this dish comprised of a combination of

point of no return. Here again the chefs behind the stoves

chicken, beef and shrimp was totally overcooked to the
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,
*Except Cartier & Maui Jim but when 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
Never if you do cross the finish line on your visit to Maggie’s,
Boring there 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
THE SHOPS AT BOCA CENTER ON MILITARY TRAIL | 561-394-5551 | GROVEOPTICIANS.COM wings and taxi her out with
only two golden flying cars
for this one.