Restaurant Review: Funky Monkey Wine Company

I had been eyeing the Funky Monkey Wine Company menu for ages. AGES. So when a Groupon came out for the downtown location, I knew I had to grab it. Who can turn down $40 worth of food for $20? I bought the Groupon, of course, and last week convinced a friend to venture out to the Mills50 District for a bite after work.

It is a very small restaurant that is almost hidden in the shadows at night time. If I hadn't known that it was next to Bananas Modern American Diner (owned by the same people that own Funky Monkey), I probably would have driven right past it. As it was, I had to turn around and crawl back to find the parking lot. Is that a bad thing? Absolutely not. I love a hole in the wall, especially if it has good food. It just surprised me, for some reason that I cannot pinpoint.

The decor at Funky Monkey is...well....dark. It was very dark in the restaurant; so dark in fact that I can tell you that I think the main color scheme included a deep purple and black, but don't quote me on that. I'd love to show you a photo but well, you guessed it, it was too dark. Now, don't get me wrong. I adore a small, intimate, romantic setting. The Funky Monkey has the potential to be just that. However, when my friend has to use a cell phone light to read the menu, and when the server needs to move the candle on the table so that we can "see the food better," that is a little too "intimate" for me. I'm at a restaurant, not in bed. On the opposite side of the coin, though, some of the tables are so close together that, frankly, if I was there on a date I'd probably learn just as much about the couple sitting next to me as I would about my companion.

Antonio's on Sand Lake

My littlest sisters (twins) graduated high school a couple of weeks ago. They are ten years younger than I am, so of course, this means I am officially old. They also graduated from a huge high school, and that means that their graduation ceremony was insanely long. However, one of them was a valedictorian and the other was in the honors program, so their names were called fairly early and, as sad as this is to admit to those whose last names begin with Y, I somewhat tuned out the second half of the ceremony. Oops. What was I thinking about instead? The celebratory meal that we were going to have after the ceremony, of course!

The twins' chose Antonio's, an Italian restaurant in the Restaurant Row area of Dr. Phillips, for us to have dinner at following their graduation. A few members of my family, including myself, had been there once before several years ago, and I was looking forward to returning. C and I got there before the rest of the family (we were a party of nine total, including C and myself, my three sisters and parents, my aunt, and a friend), so we decided to go up and have a drink while we waited.

Eversave.com Save Rewards Giveaway! (closed)

And the winner is......Mrs. Downing! I've sent you a message on Facebook as I didn't have an email for you. Congratulations, and thanks so much to everyone that entered! Even if you did not win, you will still have $3 in Save Rewards to use on your first purchase if you just signed up for Eversave as a new user!

If you've read my blog previously, you will know that I am a HUGE fan of the daily discount websites that have become popular of late and use them often to try out new local restaurants. Eversave is one of my favorites of these sites, in part because they were one of the first to start listing multiple Saves in one day and Saves that are available for more than 24 hours. In fact, I visited Oishi just last month using a Save purchased from Eversave, and I have another Save for Maria Bonita (a Mexican/Cuban restaurant located on the east side of town) waiting to be used soon!

So, due to my crazy love for Eversave, I was totally psyched when Eversave Orlando contacted me about doing a giveaway for them here on my little blog. And with that, here are the details:

China Sun - Local Chinese Take-Out at its Best

Hidden in the middle of an area of Orlando that one would most likely not venture to in search of a delicious meal, China Sun is found. While it isn't an upscale or expensive restaurant, China Sun is the best Chinese take-out that I have tried since moving back to Orlando four years ago. I will admit, I've never actually been to the restaurant's storefront (located at the corner of Oak Ridge and Rio Grande); we've always ordered by phone and had our dinner delivered. We have our standard favorites, but I do like to venture out once in awhile and try something new, so we've had a good sampling of their menu over the last couple of years.

We ordered food from China Sun for the first time in a few months last week, and since it was just C and I (and he didn't want leftovers for a week like usual), we only ordered a few items and most of them were off our list of "go-to" options.

Orlando's Taste of the Nation to Benefit Share Our Strength

The only thing better than going to a local foodie event that I can think of is, well, going to a local foodie event that benefits No Kid Hungry, Share our Strength's nationwide effort that was established to end childhood hunger in America by 2015. Taste of the Nation Orlando is an event that does just this. Here's the amazing thing: 100 PERCENT of the ticket sales will go to No Kid Hungry. Every restaurant, chef, mixologist, planner, etc that is involved is donating their time to make sure that ticket sale prices will purely go to this worthy cause.

Photo from Taste of the Nation 2010 by MPuckett Simple Reflections

This year, the Taste of the Nation Orlando event will take place at the Orlando World Center Marriott on August 6th, 2011. VIP entrance begins at 6pm, with general admission at 6:45, and the event will last until 10pm. General admission tickets are $100 each. VIP admission is $150 a ticket, and includes general admission plus early entry to the event, goody bags (eep! goody bags!!), and exclusive seating.

Photo from Taste of the Nation 2010 by MPuckett Simple Reflections

Taste of the Nation Orlando includes representatives from tons of local restaurants and venues, including The Capital Grille, K Restaurant & Wine Bar, Sanaa (at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge), Whole Foods Market, plus many more. For the current full restaurant list, check here. As the event gets closer, I will post any further information I get regarding participants and the morsels they will be offering.

Photo from Taste of the Nation 2010 by MPuckett Simple Reflections

During the event there will also be an auction held, with some seriously awesome items up for bid. Some of these include getaways (both in-state and out; there is even a getaway to the Arizona Biltmore up for grabs!), sporting events, and (probably most exciting to all of the foodies) some seriously awesome restaurant items. One of them is a four course chef's tasting for two with wine at The Ravenous Pig. Those of you with upcoming weddings or children take note: there are also various photography sessions up for bid. Those that I've listed are only a small sample of the auction spoils that will be available that night!

Photo from Taste of the Nation 2010 by MPuckett Simple Reflections

Who will the proceeds from this event benefit locally? Both the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida and the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. In addition, Florida Impact will also benefit from all of the events of this kind statewide.

Photo from Taste of the Nation 2010 by MPuckett Simple Reflections

At this point, how could you not want to attend Taste of the Nation Orlando? I know I sure cannot WAIT for August 6th to get here.

To buy tickets, or to donate if you cannot attend, click here.

Also, if you purchase a VIP ticket between now and June 20th, use code ORLDAD for 10% off. What a great Father's Day gift that would be!

Photo from Taste of the Nation 2010 by MPuckett Simple Reflections

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Restaurant Review: Anatolia

My mother had recommended Anatolia to me a few months ago, saying the Turkish and Lebanese offerings were amazing and "just like the little place across from our old house in Boston," so with praise like that, it was immediately on my list of must-eats. However, I kept forgetting about it when trying to decide on a place to eat! Then, a couple of weeks ago, I got into a chat on Twitter about it with a few fellow foodies, and decided C and I would have to try it that weekend for lunch.

Located in the Dr. Phillips shopping center off of Sand Lake Rd (right in the "Restaurant Row" area), Anatolia is a small restaurant with gorgeous decor wedged in between Einstein's Bagels and Starbucks. It has a few tables on the outdoor walkway for when the weather isn't too hot and is great, in my opinion, for both a casual lunch and a semi-dressy date night.

C and I have been looking for great Mediterranean food (his goal is to find a kebab as good as the ones from The Golden Grill in Clevedon, the little town we lived in in the UK) for some time now, and we definitely found it at Anatolia. This is far from street food, though, and the prices reflect that to an extent. However, it is worth the money, be it for lunch or dinner.