Skinny’s Place: Juciest Burgers & Crispiest Fries South Of The Skyway Bridge

Skinny's Place has the best burgers in Anna Maria Island and to go a step further, I’ll say the best french fries in Tampa Bay. Usually, when we’re talking about some of the best burgers in Tampa Bay, we’re naming places north of the Skyway Bridge, but not today.

Skinny’s Place in Anna Maria Island / Holmes Beach is one of those spots that you know is going to be legit. From the second you pull up, the air is filled with the smells of sizzling beef patties and perfectly crispy curly fries. 

The combination of warm salt air and the mouthwatering fried foods travels through the screen windows adding to the experience of a beach burger shack. Sitting at 3901 Gulf Dr in Homes Beach, Skinny’s Place is easy to get to through the crazy traffic on Anna Maria Island.

Skinny’s Place in Anna Maria Island is dubbed the best burgers in Anna Maria Island for a reason. Sure, to each his own, but I’ve tried many burgers across Manatee County and Skinny’s beats them all.

First off, let’s start with the restaurant itself. The restaurant has both indoor and outdoor picnic table seating. Outside, you’ll be able to escape the sun with shaded spots nestled under the trees and umbrellas. 

Inside the restaurant, there are a few tables surrounding the bar so you can easily grab a few drinks while you wait. Like an old-school burger joint, Skinny’s Place has napkins, ketchup, and mustard ready to roll at every table.

Well, you’ve got all of the classics from the traditional skinny hamburger, cheeseburger, and bacon cheeseburger. These are the single-patty options starting at $6.54.

For the double feature, you’ve got the fatty burger, fatty cheeseburger, and fatty bacon cheeseburger. The fatty burger is $9.00, the fatty cheeseburger is $9.53, and the fatty bacon cheeseburger clocks in at $12.66 which is still cheaper than the burgers you’ll find anywhere else. 

There are also triple burgers, extra patty options, grilled chicken sandwiches, chili dogs, BLT, and more. There’s also a 1lb burger loaded up with 4 separate patties under 1 bun.

Now, for the sides. Serving up Grandma's Homemade Chili, onion rings, french fries either classic or curly, plain chips, or TOTS. The curly fries are easily the best french fries in Tampa Bay. 

The burgers are cooked up fresh when you order and always come out juicy and hot. The buns are toasted just the right amount so that the edges are crisp and soak up the butter.

To see what else Skinny’s Place has on its menu or to learn more about the story behind the best burgers in Anna Maria Island, visit their website.

We ranked our favorite Tampa pizza places that Dave Portnoy missed out on. Everybody knows the rules. Dave has one (1) bite to judge an authentic cheese pizza. We were all surprised by Dave Portnoy's visit to the Tampa Bay area. He was here in early March for another round of his One Bite Pizza series. Dave visited about 18 local pizza places and since then their business has been BOOMING! But what were some of the places he missed?

Although Dave Portnoy may not be everybody's favorite internet personality. The Barstool CEO does help support a lot of local businesses with his One Bite Pizza reviews. Just his appearance alone caused hundreds of people to check out a new Tampa pizza place. Don't believe us? Just try to check out one of the places he visited earlier this year and you'll be met with a huge crowd and long wait times. But trust us, the food will be worth it.

We visited a couple places in St. Pete to try to see what the hype was about. First we tried The Violet Stone, who had an awesome 7.9 rating for their pizza and an unreal 9.2 rating for their Philly cheesesteak. Well, it was so busy there that they had to limit the orders to 2 pizzas and 2 cheesesteaks per order. So we ended up trying a pizza from Little Toby's instead, and we were NOT disappointed.

We also spoke with the owner of Piper's Scratch Pizza Shop in Palm Harbor. He told us that the weekend after Dave's visit was the busiest they've ever been since their opening in 2020. Bruce also shared that just a few days after their video was released on YouTube, their sales tripled.

To accommodate all the new business, Bruce has been very open with his customers. They created a disclaimer on their website explaining that cook times may have increased due to volume. Bruce also told us that they had to take some menu items off to focus on pizza, hire more staff, increase their prep items, and tripled the dough prep. If you're ever in the Palm Harbor area, we highly recommend trying the Piperoni or Twisted Marg.

So what about the places Dave missed? We knew he wouldn't be able to make it to all the Tampa pizza places in the area. So we made a list of places you should check out and rate for yourself. And maybe put them on Dave's radar if he comes back to the Tampa Bay area.

We can't believe this spot wasn't on Dave Portnoy's list. It's one of the most iconic pizza places in the Tampa area. Open till 3am in Ybor is one of the reasons why it's so popular. Dave has a rule that "if it's open late, it's not great" so we're very curious to know what he would have rated Due Amici.

Alfonso's is one of the oldest pizzerias in Tampa. We tried them for the first time last year and have been regulars ever since. Everything on the menu is made in-house, including their pasta and meatballs. We think Dave would have gave them a solid score of 7.5-7.8

Even though Dave already reviewed Eddie & Sam's pizza, it was about 5 years ago. So we believe everyone deserves a second try. Dave originally gave them a 7.1 rating, and with Eddie & Sam's being THE pizza spot in Downtown Tampa, they needed a good redemption story.

This recommendation comes from our listeners. When we asked which pizza place Dave should have visited, a lot of people tagged Sardo's Pizza in Largo. Their menu isn't just pizza, you can also try some homemade pasta, hot or cold sandwiches or delicious desserts. 

While he was in Dunedin, Dave should have totally checked out Corvo Bianco Pizza located at 901 Curlew Road, Dunedin. They specialize in authentic Neapolitan style pizza. Their dough is made in house daily and is fermented for 72-96 hours before thrown in an 850-degree Wood-Fired Italian oven. 

Another great Downtown Tampa pizza option is Tampa Pizza Company. They have some of the best specialty pizza's in the downtown area. While pizza is the main dish, their menu also features a variety of appetizers, sandwiches and wraps, gelato, and more.

This was another recommendation from our listeners. With 8 locations in the Tampa Bay area, we're surprised that Dave didn't stop by New York New York pizza.