Prickly Pear is just one of many restaurants owned and operated by Funky Monkey Incorporated. The two owners started small and now there are 6 different places! Most recently some of my friends joined me on my venture to Prickly Pear in the Eola Sactuary, which is very close to Lake Eola.
I'll be honest, I didn't really know what to expect when I read a tagline that said," Where Orlando meets The American Frontier." Are we talking saloon? Burgers? BBQ? What did people really eat back then? Roadkill? Then From the website it states, "Fresh American Cusine."
After a bit of trouble finding the place, I gave in and called the restaurant. After being passed around a bit and the employees asking a man on the street where was Pine Street, (which is the street they are off of) they got me there. To avoid parking frustration-it's only 5 dollars for valet. Wondering down the street, make sure you look up at the black awnings, that's where you will find the name of the restaurant-there's no other signs or name on the actually building.
Finally- I make it there, so I'm not in the best of moods, but I'm happy to be with friends and to sit down and enjoy a good meal. The decor is modern meets western. Every table has a small cactus as a center piece and glasses are small mason jars. This isn't finger lickin' food, think more sophisticated.
Our waiter presents us with menus and opens to the wine page. Pretty expensive. What no other drinks or drink menu? Not that I don't love wine, because I do. After the waiter came back we asked about a drink menu (because the table next to us had one) and at first he said no, well what about mixed drinks, or beers, we pressed him. He told us to wait one moment and came back with a drink menu for us! That was a bit frustrating. There is a happy hour everyday from 5-7. $5 wines and beers.
Ok-so then we got into what we should order. For an appetizer we decided on the duck quesadilla. For one of the people in our party-it was their first time trying duck, which is always exciting.
I loved this duck quesadilla! The duck was cooked just right, not overly greasy! The cheeses were really creamy and believe it or not I loved the cranberry chutney with it. My guests were not to sure about it-not your typical quesadilla!!
For my entree I decided on the Bison Burger:
My friends tried the Bulls Eye Burger-
Angus burger, smoked cheddar cheese, bacon, serrano mayonnaise, BBQ onions, mix lettuces
There were no complaints and no left over on these burgers either! I couldn't even sneak a bite so they must have been pretty darn good too!
Now comes the headache (again)-it's time to leave and we wanted to split the bill. I thought it was pretty simple -2 bills, 4 burgers, and split the appetizer. My friend Jordan ended up with the whole appetizer and my bison burger. After I asked the waiter to fix the error, it came back and still had my bison burger on her bill. Luckily we had enough cash to give her as I didn't want to have more of an issue. I bid my farewell to my friends and waited to get my car from valet. I thought I had won the lotto at first, when the car pulled up and it was a new black BMW. I shook my head no and the young valet went to research for my car. Finally, my red talon was retrieved. Overall, Prickly Pear was a great meal, just make sure you bring along some tylenol to go with your meal.
I'll be honest, I didn't really know what to expect when I read a tagline that said," Where Orlando meets The American Frontier." Are we talking saloon? Burgers? BBQ? What did people really eat back then? Roadkill? Then From the website it states, "Fresh American Cusine."
After a bit of trouble finding the place, I gave in and called the restaurant. After being passed around a bit and the employees asking a man on the street where was Pine Street, (which is the street they are off of) they got me there. To avoid parking frustration-it's only 5 dollars for valet. Wondering down the street, make sure you look up at the black awnings, that's where you will find the name of the restaurant-there's no other signs or name on the actually building.
Finally- I make it there, so I'm not in the best of moods, but I'm happy to be with friends and to sit down and enjoy a good meal. The decor is modern meets western. Every table has a small cactus as a center piece and glasses are small mason jars. This isn't finger lickin' food, think more sophisticated.
Our waiter presents us with menus and opens to the wine page. Pretty expensive. What no other drinks or drink menu? Not that I don't love wine, because I do. After the waiter came back we asked about a drink menu (because the table next to us had one) and at first he said no, well what about mixed drinks, or beers, we pressed him. He told us to wait one moment and came back with a drink menu for us! That was a bit frustrating. There is a happy hour everyday from 5-7. $5 wines and beers.
Ok-so then we got into what we should order. For an appetizer we decided on the duck quesadilla. For one of the people in our party-it was their first time trying duck, which is always exciting.
SMOKED DUCK QUESADILLA
House hickory smoked duck, jack cheese, crema, buttered tortilla, cranberry
and pear chutneyI loved this duck quesadilla! The duck was cooked just right, not overly greasy! The cheeses were really creamy and believe it or not I loved the cranberry chutney with it. My guests were not to sure about it-not your typical quesadilla!!
For my entree I decided on the Bison Burger:
Blue cheese, caramelized onions, balsamic, green leaf lettuce, tomato
I don't think I could tell the difference between Bison or Beef, but it was a pretty tasty burger. The balsamic and blue cheese goes well together. It's a large, messy burger. The fries tasted like they had old bay seasoning on them, which I really love.
My friends tried the Bulls Eye Burger-
Angus burger, smoked cheddar cheese, bacon, serrano mayonnaise, BBQ onions, mix lettuces
There were no complaints and no left over on these burgers either! I couldn't even sneak a bite so they must have been pretty darn good too!
Now comes the headache (again)-it's time to leave and we wanted to split the bill. I thought it was pretty simple -2 bills, 4 burgers, and split the appetizer. My friend Jordan ended up with the whole appetizer and my bison burger. After I asked the waiter to fix the error, it came back and still had my bison burger on her bill. Luckily we had enough cash to give her as I didn't want to have more of an issue. I bid my farewell to my friends and waited to get my car from valet. I thought I had won the lotto at first, when the car pulled up and it was a new black BMW. I shook my head no and the young valet went to research for my car. Finally, my red talon was retrieved. Overall, Prickly Pear was a great meal, just make sure you bring along some tylenol to go with your meal.
No comments:
Post a Comment