by Ed Ryan
I just happened to be leafing through the Fort Myers News Press one day when I stumbled upon a restaurant review of MacDaddy's. MacDaddy's is a BBQ restaurant on Daniels across the way from the Fiddlesticks Publix. It's a family owned and operated establishment where you have a very good chance of being greeted by the owners when you walk through the door. For sure you will run into them at some point during your lunch or dinner.
As I've written before, I'm a simple person. I'm a well-done steak and baked potato kind of guy. I rarely complain about food. I'm not a food connoisseur. But let's make no mistake about one thing, the reason the Fort Myers News-Press food critic, who, unlike myself, refuses to post his real name and contact information, didn't give MacDaddy's a positive review is all about elitism. For them, it's about always expecting royal treatment and always having someone kiss your royal ass. Let me explain.
They expect someone to be at the ready to wipe the sauce from the corner of their mouth with a cloth napkin. We let the sauce drip from our mouth right back on the plate. We'll wipe it off when we unravel the silverware from the paper napkin. They expect a 3-course meal presented to them one course at a time precisely when they finish their previous selection. We like our food when it gets there as long as you don't block the game with the tray when you deliver it. They want their wine in a real wine glass with enough room to stick out their pinky. We want our beer bottles in a bucket with enough ice to last the entire first half. They want a bathroom attendant to wash their hands and brush their teeth for them on the way out. We want a bucket filled with mints so we can pocket 5 for later on.
Let me let you all in on a little secret. The owner of MacDaddy's, 8 months pregnant, stood out in the freezing cold with her family and employees volunteering for hours during the recent Piper 5K race in Gateway. They served BBQ pork, chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs and more. They did it with a smile (great customer service) and they practically donated all the food. That's called supporting your community and supporting your friends. That's called the glue that holds the community together. It's something an elitist with a pinky pointing attitude would never understand. 300 people stood in line for that food. And 299 of them loved it. In fact I think I ate about a pound of pulled pork. Pulled pork from MacDaddy's just can't be matched in this town.
Can you guess how much money the elitist Fort Myers News Press donated to the Piper 5K Memorial Fund? You would be correct if you guessed zero. I know, I know, I've heard it from the Fort Myers Track Club. You can't support every little cause that comes along. I said to someone, before the race, who works for a big bank, is a bank that's too big to fail too big to donate to the race? They were.
To illustrate my point I'd like to tell you a story. While registering race runners at an Everblades hockey game a little old lady (yes, I said little old lady) came over to me. She was devastated by what happened to Piper. She said she didn't have a lot of money but she wanted to help. She took out her checkbook and wrote us a check for $10.00. If I had feelings, I would have cried. What I've learned over time is that you always get more from people who have less. Always. They donate more of their time and they donate what money they can. They can relate. They get it. They are us. And, thank God (yes, I said God) we are the majority. The elitists, like big media, just don't get it, which is fine with the rest of us because we do. We'll do everything we can to keep businesses like MacDaddy's going while you do everything you can to put them out of business.
My point to all of this. If you're looking for excellent BBQ cuisine and beer served in a bucket with ice I highly, HIGHLY, recommend you visit MacDaddy's on Daniels.
You can also visit their Facebook page HERE
