Twin Peaks, Orlando

Twin Peaks is like Hooters, if it was up north and in the snowy mountains. Servers in short shorts and plaid tops from which those 'twin peaks' runneth over is the uniform, but other than the sex appeal, this isn't a Hooters rebadge.

For one: Twin Peaks offers up their own beers (two varieties), as well as a plentiful assortment of other brews from smaller companies, and the small print at the bottom of the beer menu indicates they have those major label brews. Still, Ed was tickled to get a manly sized Bell's Oberon, while I went with a girl-size of Abita's Purple Haze. I saw that they had the lovely Leinies, but the hanging decor indicated it was Canoe Paddler, which we'd tried last month and weren't thrilled with. Beers are served extremely cold in frosty mugs-in fact, mine developed icebergs!

The menu is small, and leans towards hearty, manly-type meals. This is a good thing when you're feeding two locusts and a husband with a big appetite. As we were really hungry, I was left with the decision to order an appetizer and I went for something that ended up being HUGE: the barbeque nachos.

These hit the spot: tangy barbeque sauce, tender pork, ample cheese, with beans that were like a puree near the bottom. A word to the wise, there are a stack of naked chips in the bottom of the mound-if you dig these out first, you'll be able to spread the goodness more evenly across your chips. To be honest, Ed liked these so much that he ignored the fries that came with his sandwich.

There was a nice twist on the offerings. GameTeen saw the Hangover burger and was determined to get it: a burger with an egg and bacon on top, what could be better? There is no picture because in true locust fashion, he devoured the thing before I had a chance to get a picture. It was declared excellent and I suspect he will now be bugging us to return soon.

Meanwhile, Ed and I both thought the steak sliders sounded perfect and ordered them. Steak is really a misnomer, these were pot roast bites on garlic toast, served with au jus and a horseradish dip and steak fries. They were tender and lightly seasoned-the horseradish made them perfect. With my first, I spread the horseradish on the bread, which was a waste: dip the end of the sandwich in the ramekin of dip. It's a little messier, but you get that in your face bite that makes it taste even better. The steak fries were seasoned with blend similar to old bay: not bad, but they're really cannon fodder.

Chef ordered the chicken fried chicken, and he was sold on the jalapeno cream gravy. This was also man-sized, and he ate the whole thing. It was served with mixed vegetables with bacon and sauteed onions in them. The fact that they had corn meant he wasn't touching them, but Ed and I both nibbled-bacon makes everything better.

Through it all, we had a very chatty server, she was eager to share information about Twin Peaks, the beers and how the email list gets you some great information. I think it surprised her that I'd joined the list as soon as we'd heard they were coming to Orlando. We were curious and well, it was a little of what we expected in the server department, and a nice alternative to wings and beer at Hooters.

I will say this: we do have a routine at Hooters and that involves sharing the ample orders of curly fries and getting a larger order of wings. It is rare we spend more than $55 for the four of us. Twin Peak's prices aren't out of line, by any stretch of the imagination, but those beers and the large appetizer brought us to $75. I've been told that we will always get those nachos, so I guess I'll be prepared that we're spending a little more. At least everyone enjoyed their meals, the service was good, the beer variety was good and cold and it's a nice alternative on I-Drive.