Siesta Key,  and Longboat Key

Linger Lodge Restaurant   2/07

We couldn't resist trying the Linger Lodge Restaurant which was named the top 5 restaurants in the United States for weird menus by Al Roker, the King of Food.

One of the biggest things that impressed us was the freshness of all the food. We sampled seven dishes and all were some of the freshest in taste and appearance. That's a real turn on. If you haven't tried gator bites it's a must, they are so sweet and delicious even for the timid. Try one and yall be hooked. The redfish is outstanding and the Shrimp Louie is a knockout. The fried green tomatoes brought back childhood memories of garden picked green tomatoes fried fresh. The crab cakes are delicious.

Their menu is large with over 60 dishes plus desserts. We'll be back to sample more. We're hooked on their tasty and FRESH food.

Waitress, Karen, smiles while having her hand bit off by a 300lb alligator. Not, she was posing for us while we were doing a dining review on Linger Lodge's Road Kill Menu, rated the top 5 Weirdest Menus by Al Roker.

If you want to be a southern you have to try their green fried tomatoes, frog legs and gator legs combo. Very fresh and tender. Frogs legs are like chicken, The gator is sweet and tender, whoof.

If you like mild fish then you have to try the Red Fish Sandwich served on a hot dog bun. It's mild and fresher then fresh.

We also love Reubens and they have a choice of corned beef, turkey or redfish on rye with swiss , saurerkraut and 1,000 Island dressing.

Karen our friendly and helpful waitress recommended the River Bottom Pie. Thanks Karen it was delicious. Served with an Oreo cookie crust, coffee ice cream and topped with fudge, walnuts and maraschino cherry.

Brenda the assistant manager isn't really in the Poker Room, it's the Linger Lodge Bar with plenty of room to wrassle up to.

It may be your only chance to bite a gator before it bites you. A must try are the succulent gator bites with a roulade sauce. Ya gotta try em once, ya'll be hooked.

Shrimp and chicken gumbo with a little twang will warm and fill yer belly.

A Shrimp Louie salad is just the right fare if you want to be good and hold off on the fried food. It's again fresh with gulf shrimp, asparagus, hearts of palm, olives, tomatoes over  romaine greens.

OK, we love crab cakes and we just had to try it. And yes it's Maryland style pan seared with their Rattler Venom sauce, roulade. And yes, it's fresh and tasty.

You can eat inside in a screened or enclosed area or on the deck, all with a wonderful view of the river.