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Meet Fort Myers’ Playful New Brunch Spot, Skinny Dogz

A self-titled “Brunchery,” it’s worth a visit for a menu of super-creative Benedicts, customized chicken ’n waffles and better-than-ballpark franks.

BY August 1, 2018

The dogs are out, and they have bark and bite—and a sweet streak, too.

Turn your daytime routine on its head with all-beef franks in the morning or frittatas at lunch with a visit to Skinny Dogz Brunchery in Fort Myers’ Gateway, just northeast of JetBlue Park. Its owners, who also run the popular Fat Katz Sports Bistro nearby, laid the last timber to the charming light blue lakeside cottage this summer that’s open each day from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. For locals, there’s a takeout counter, too, with grab-and-go espresso drinks and an assortment of pastries baked on-site each day, from blueberry scones to cinnamon rolls to spinach and cheese croissants.

But to get the full doggone experience with some of the most inventive Benedicts, waffles and sammies we’ve sunk our teeth into lately, you’ve got to take a seat at one of the indoor or outdoor tables, or at one of the two eat-in bars. (Speaking of which, there are plenty of bottles and drafts, with some wine and wine-based brunch cocktails.)

Winning best in show are any of the Bennis. Clever plays—like “The PR” packing mojo-marinated skirt steak with sofrito hollandaise, sweet plantains, spinach and melted manchego—check off all boxes on the scorecard for textures and flavors, and the perfectly runny eggs bleed into house-baked biscuits that are way more flavorful than garden variety English muffins.

Likewise, the build-a-chicken-’n-waffles menu feature is unique. First, you select either a bacon-cheddar, corn or plain Belgian-style base. Then, you add in one of three butters (we went for peach cobbler) and pick a syrup (ours was the honey hot)—and top it off with a choice between wings or a breast.

For this and more, this is one doghouse we’re happy to venture inside.

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