By Nicholas Ware
UPDATED 6-7-13: website and address added.
On Tuesday I had a chance to visit Orlando's newest breastaurant, I-Drive's Twin Peaks (8350 International Dr. Orlando, FL 32819, 407-680-2811). Twin Peaks is a relative newcomer to the girls-beer-and-sports dining category that is dominated by Hooters, but also includes franchises such as Tilted Kilt and Winghouse. Before we get started, no, the restaurant does not feature waitresses named Laura Palmer nor hostess that greet you with a lovingly-carried log. Special Agent Coopers with a keen sense of punnery have likely already realized to which twin peaks the name of the franchise refers (hint: they are located below the clavicle and above the navel). Twin Peaks is an update on your average breasteraunt (the puntastic named given to this category of pub), but does feature some amenities that might make it the breasteraunt of choice for Orlandans.
Orlando's Twin Peaks is the only one in Florida. The Dallas-based chain has a strong presence in Texas but is still in the process of expanding to other regions. Twin Peaks Orlando is 9000+ square feet, which is not tremendous in comparison to some other bar/restaurant spaces, but still manages to feature two full-service bars (one on the patio and one inside), 65 HDTVs in sizes of up to 80 inches, a fire pit (sadly unlit during my visit), and 32 beers on tap, including two unique to the chain. The location place Twin Peaks across from the "I-Drive Live" development, though like many of the small strip malls along I-Drive, it's easy to miss your intended turn. Like most sports bars in the area, Twin Peaks offers all of the major sports packages--the 65 TVs can play up to 12 games simultaneously--as well as UFC pay-per-view events without a cover.
A few things set Twin Peaks apart from other restaurants in its category. The decor, instead of being the boring wood-and-paper-towels of Hooters and Winghouse or low-rent-UK-pub of Tilted Kilt, is meant to evoke a mountain cabin. The chairs feature a faux-hand-crafted look that would be regrettable if the cheesy upholstery weren't so delightful. The walls were somewhat more bare than I had expected, but animal heads abound (so steer clear if you're a PETA member). To set its beer apart, Twin Peaks keeps its draft kegs at 29 degrees Fahrenheit and its mugs at 5 degrees Fahrenheit. This creates a pleasant "beer slush" at the top of every mug. The mugs come in two sizes: 10oz "girl size" and 22oz "man size." The beer list is both snob-friendly with six local craft beers and some national crafts as well, and cretin-friendly with your Anheuser-Busch-InBev and MillerCoors crud. The two in-house brews are the Dirty Blonde (basically a Shock Top) and the Knotty Brunette (basically a Yeungling). Both are fine, but unspectacular. The menu tries some interesting things--there is venison chili available--and everything is not just cooked in house but also prepped in house. That means while the ingredients may be shipped refrigerated or frozen, the food, even the appetizers, is not just nuked in a microwave, which is a welcome change in this particular restaurant category.
My experience at Twin Peaks was very pleasant, and my server Jaden was warm without being overbearing while offering good advice and prompt answers to my questions: my definition of good service. I'm not a huge fan of the breasteraunt category, but I would definitely choose Twin Peaks over its competitors. After the cut, enjoy some photos of the interior, the beer, and the food.
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| This is the street sign, which is somewhat hard to see from the street. |
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| A view of the interior bar. |
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| Another view of the interior bar. |
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| The patio bar. |
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| Animal heads WILL stare at you while you eat. |
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| BULLWINKLE!? |
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| Oh deer, this didn't turn out well... |
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| I very much like the kitschy upholstery. |
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| It's also featured on the booths. |
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| The fire pit stayed unlit, sadly. |
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| The ATM at the entrance is themed. |
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| An upside-down canoe on the ceiling, because why not? |
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| These axe-in-a-piece-of-wood sculptures were used to divide parties that used the long tables. Pretty cool. |
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| This is a "man size" Dirty Blonde. Perfectly acceptable beer. |
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| The venison chili was surprisingly good (since venison is not the best meat), but not as spicy as I had been led to believe. |
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| The chicken-fried chicken was gigantic, but sadly not wonderful. A bit too dry and the breading was a bit too thick. The gravy was interesting, though, with a hint of jalapeno in it. |
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| The mashed potatoes were quite good, though. For perspective, that piece of chicken is probably about as big as my head. |
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| Yes, the shape of the ice cream scoops and placement of the cherries is wholly intentional... |
