There is a great neighborhood bar in Lakeland, Florida called 716 Burgers & Brew. This bar is tucked away off the main road, in between neighborhoods and golf courses. This is the type of place where all the locals go to hang out. Everyone knows each other.
If you are a Buffalo Bills fan (or any team from Buffalo) this is the perfect hangout for you. See the owners of the bar, Bo and Lisa, are from Buffalo. This is why it is called 716 – it is the area code for Buffalo. I think it is a clever name and really helps it stand out from all those chains out there.
Keeping with the Buffalo theme, their happy hour is offered from 3:11-7:16. Again, these are both area codes for Buffalo.
To enjoy the football games on TV, I ordered a few things off their menu. I started with the chili cheese fries.
The crispy fries were covered with salty chili that was loaded with beans. Then smothered on top was melted nacho cheese. I love it when cheese fries use liquid cheese. It makes the fries so much better because every bite is covered in cheese. What put these fries over the top was the crispy pieces of bacon that were sprinkled all over.
To wash down these fries, I enjoyed some new Malibu Rum cocktails. They came in cans but I drank mine over ice. They were really refreshing. I tried two flavors:
(1) Pineapple
(2) Strawberry Kiwi
When halftime for the game rolled around it was time to order some chicken wings. I was able to et them naked and extra crispy. I like my wings to be cooked well done so the skin is crispy. I ordered all flats (also another one of my personal preferences). They cost a little extra but that is typical. I got two different flavors:
(1) Bourbon BBQ
(2) Traditional Buffalo Hot sauce
The Bourbon BBQ sauce was nice and sweet. It almost reminded me of a Thai chili sauce, only a little darker and thicker.
I could not go to a Buffalo bar without getting traditional Buffalo wings. I got them hot because I like a little heat. It had a great ting as I ate them.
716 is a fun and friendly place to check out. Their food was great and the menu is much larger than a typical bar. I definitely plan on checking them out again. You should make a stop to 716 to watch a football game or on a Wednesday to check out karaoke night.
Follow them on Facebook at 716burgersandbrew because their website is still being built.
Enjoy!
T
