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|  Bananas a Modern American Diner Named One of the Best Brunch Spots in the U.S. by OpenTable Diners Orlando, Florida – May 2, 2012 – Bananas a Modern American Diner announced today that it has been named a winner of OpenTable Diners’ Choice Awards for the Best Restaurants for Brunch in the United States. The list of winners is derived from more than five million reviews submitted by OpenTable diners for more than 12,000 restaurants in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. “We are very pleased by this acknowledgment from OpenTable diners,” said Eddie Nickell, co-Owner of FMI Restaurant Group. “We are proud to know that these diners thoroughly enjoyed their overall experience at Bananas Diner and gave us such high marks” said Nicholas Olivieri, co-Owner of FMI Restaurant Group. “We are also proud to be one of only four restaurants in Florida and the only restaurant in Central Florida to receive this award” said Nickell. "The Best Brunch Diners’ Choice winners have proven that they have the perfect recipe for a standout brunch,” said Caroline Potter, OpenTable's Chief Dining Officer. “OpenTable congratulates Bananas a Modern American Diner on being the place people want to celebrate the weekend." Based on feedback collected from OpenTable diners between April 1, 2011 and March 31, 2012, the 50 award-winning restaurants received the highest scores. 2012 Best Brunch Winners - Top 100 Restaurant List
Bananas a Modern American Diner Named One of the Top Late Night Dining Restaurants in the U.S. by OpenTable Diners Orlando, FL —August 24, 2011 — Bananas a Modern American Diner announced today that it has been named a winner of OpenTable Diners’ Choice Awards top 50 Late Night Dining Restaurants in the United States. The list of winners is derived from more than ten million reviews submitted by OpenTable diners for more than 12,000 restaurants in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. “We are very pleased by this acknowledgment from OpenTable diners,” said Eddie Nickell, Co-owner. “We are proud to add this to our list of accomplishments which include Top 50 Brunch Spots in the U.S. awarded in April of this year to Bananas Diner by OpenTable Diners.” Nicholas Olivieri, Co-owner continued, “We are proud to know that these diners thoroughly enjoyed their overall experience at Bananas a Modern American Diner and gave us such high marks. We also want to congratulate the other restaurants in Orlando which were also part of the list, including BB Kings and Taverna Opa.” "The best late night restaurants list is one of OpenTable's most important awards, as this category is particularly helpful to our network of diners, said Caroline Potter, OpenTable's Chief Dining Officer. Even in major metropolitan areas, not every restaurant has cultivated an amazing late-night scene -- but these fifty winners have! OpenTable congratulates Bananas a Modern American Diner on elevating the after-hours dining culture in their city." Based on feedback collected from OpenTable diners between August 2010 and July 2011, the 50 award-winning restaurants received the highest scores. For more information about all of the restaurants on this list, please visit http://www.opentable.com/latenight. About Bananas a Modern American Diner Bananas – a Modern American Diner offers Orlando a unique Diner experience with many of the classics you grew up with re-envisioned with a culinary twist. Owned by Nicholas Olivieri and Eddie Nickell who introduced Bananas Diner in the summer of 2010, they also own Funky Monkey Wine Company on Mills Avenue and on I-Drive at Pointe Orlando and Funky Monkey Vault, a wine and gift retail store on Mills Avenue. Olivieri and Nickell introduced two new concepts to Orlando July this year; Nick’s Italian Kitchen and Prickly Pear – Where Orlando Meets the American Southwest. These two concepts are in the prestigious Sanctuary Condominium in Thornton Park. Bananas Diner is open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Friday and Saturday nights 24-hours with Drag Servers and Sunday Brunch. Bananas entire menu is available all the time and boasts Broadway at Bananas on Tuesday evenings, Bananas Got Talent on Sunday nights, Monday Night Queen-Go and Sunday Drag Gospel Brunch hosted by Danielle Hunter. Bananas - a Modern American Diner Named One of the Best Brunch Spots in the United States by OpenTable Diners Orlando, FL — April 19, 2011 — Bananas - a Modern American Diner announced today that it has been named a winner of OpenTable Diners’ Choice Awards for the Top Restaurants for Brunch in the United States. The list of winners is derived from more than seven million reviews submitted by OpenTable diners for more than 12,000 restaurants in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. “We are very pleased by this acknowledgment from OpenTable diners,” said owners Nicholas Olivieri and Eddie Nickell. “We are proud to know that these diners thoroughly enjoyed their overall experience at Bananas – a Modern American Diner and gave us such high marks. We are excited to be acknowledged and to represent Florida and specifically Orlando on the list of the Top 50 Best Brunch Spots in the United States.” "The Best Brunch Diners’ Choice winners have proven that they have the perfect recipe for a standout brunch,” said Caroline Potter, OpenTable's Chief Dining Officer. “OpenTable congratulates Bananas – a Modern American Diner on being the place people want to celebrate the weekend." Based on feedback collected from OpenTable diners between April 2010 and March 2011, the 50 award-winning restaurants received the highest scores. For more information about all of the restaurants on this list, please visit http://www.opentable.com/bestbrunch. About Bananas – a Modern American Diner Bananas – a Modern American Diner offers Orlando a unique Diner experience with many of the classics you grew up re-envisioned with a culinary twist. Owned by Nicholas Olivieri and Eddie Nickell who introduced Bananas Diner in the summer of 2010, they also own Funky Monkey Wine Company on Mills Avenue and on I-Drive at Pointe Orlando and Funky Monkey Vault, a wine and gift retail store on Mills Avenue. Olivieri and Nickell announced April 18th that they will be introducing two new concepts to Orlando in the summer of 2011; Nick’s Italian Kitchen and Prickly Pear – Fresh American Cuisine. These two concepts are to open in the prestigious Sanctuary Condominium in Thornton Park. Bananas Diner is open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Friday and Saturday nights 24-hours and Sunday Brunch. Bananas entire menu is available all the time and boasts Broadway at Bananas on Tuesday evenings and Sunday Drag Gospel Brunch hosted by Danielle Hunter and Alicia Markstone. Bananas, a Modern American DinerWritten by Scott Joseph The first time I saw Bananas, which bills itself as “a Modern American Diner,” I knew it was going to be somewhat different. Instead of a bright and cheery decor -- I was expecting lots of yellow, you know, like bananas -- its dominant color scheme is black and red, as in the custom-made padded leather ceiling tiles that create a checkerboard effect overhead. I suppose that reflects the Modern in the name. (We could argue that American Diner is redundant, since diners are uniquely American, meaning the eateries and not the people eating there -- you can find those all over.)
But I didn’t know that Bananas would distinguish itself from other diners with its food, which is exceptional in comparison. It offers the types of food you would find in a typical diner, and serves three meals a day, all day, and 24 hours on weekends. But the quality is so much better than the usual “greasy spoon” or hash-slinging saloon.
I paid three visits to Bananas -- four counting the time I was turned away because the restaurant was full and could not accommodate more diners; more on that later.
The breakfast side of the menu (which is a bright yellow design) has many of the basic morning items, including pancakes, waffles, biscuits & gravy, omelets and other eggs done to order. An usual segment of the menu features five variations on eggs Benedict, including versions with crab cakes, avocados and Buffalo hot sauce. My breakfast companion chose the Southwestern version, which had, as all of them do, Canadian bacon with two poached eggs on muffins but regionalized with salsa and pepper jack cheese for a bit of spiciness. The eggs were done perfectly, and the gooeyness of the cheese and luscious hollandaise sauce was delightful.
I was happy to see my favorite “morning after” item: a chili cheese omelet. It was big and fluffy, the cheese inside, and topped with a generous plop of meaty chili and a dollop of sour cream. Hangover? What hangover?
Burgers dominate the other side of the menu. There are a baker’s dozen with various toppings, and each is available with angus beef, turkey or chicken breast, which probably should put them in a different category altogether, but there you go. I especially liked Daddy’s Burger, which had blue cheese, applewood smoked bacon and caramelized onions on top of a thick, juicy patty (beef, of course). The bun was fresh, and the lettuce and tomato were all the other toppings it needed. One criticism: the fries were fairly pedestrian and unsuited for such a good burger.
During my evening visit I ordered the meatloaf, a fairly standard diner offering and one that frequently falls short. Here, though, it was pretty wonderful -- the slices of loaf with a Dijon crust served atop a mountain of mashed potatoes with corn nearby. I felt like a kid again, eating meatloaf, mashed potatoes and corn in the same bite.
I was pleased with all the servers I met. They were equal parts professional and playful, appropriate for the setting.
My breakfast visit was on a Sunday morning, but only after I made reservations. A couple of Sundays before I showed up without calling first and was turned away. (In fact so popular is the diner that a second location is already in the works.) That’s because the Sunday gospel shows, which are performed by lip-syncing female impersonators. Coupled with the rainbow flags that fly outside, you might get the notion that this is a gay restaurant. (We won’t even get into the Freudian implications of the monkey holding a banana in the logo.) But when I finally did get inside I found a great number of couples (the kind that can marry legally), many of them with children. And everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. And why not?
Bananas is at 924 N. Mills Ave., Orlando. It’s open for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, until midnight most days (11 p.m. Sundays) and around the clock on Fridays and Saturdays. Click here to download the front of the menu and here to download the back of the menu . Here’s a link to the Web site
Orlando Sentinel Bananas: Modern twist to the diner concept ORLANDO SENTINEL FOOD EDITOR October 10, 2010 Bananas a Modern American Diner takes counterculture to a whole new level for Orlando. With comfy booths the color of bottled ketchup, bold black and white accents throughout the room and an ambitious menu inspired by a grandmother's home-style recipe box, Bananas is ground zero for comfort food in the Mills 50 district.
Created by Eddie Nickell and Nicholas Olivieri (the same creative team that brought us Funky Monkey Wine Co.), Bananas takes your memories of grilled cheese sandwiches and similar fare to your grownup culinary sensibilities.
My first visit was for dinner on a rain-drenched evening. Shaking off the dampness, my guests and I locked in on the specialty items on the menu. There are 13 dishes each priced $12.95 that read like an all-star list of blue-plate specials. We chose the Dijon-crusted meatloaf, chicken pot pie and Thanksgiving dinner (yep, the whole shebang 365).
I think the Bananas kitchen stole my mother's meatloaf recipe and cranked it up a notch or two. The puff pastry on the pot pie created a gorgeous golden dome that nicely deflated into the creamy sauce underneath. The filling had nice cuts of green beans, carrots and large chunks of breast meat. It was dinner and a hearty next-day lunch. The Thanksgiving plate came with two large slices of turkey that covered the plate edge to edge. What the stuffing lacked in seasoning it made up for in buttery taste. Cranberries and mashed spuds completed the familiar holiday meal.
For lunch, the comfort food parade continued with a BLT ($8.90) made with heirloom tomatoes and applewood smoked bacon. The slaw was too tangy for my taste, but the macaroni salad rocked with creaminess and texture.
My guest ordered the three-cheese grilled cheese sandwich that came with a cup of tomato and sage bisque ($7.90). The bisque was more saucy than soupy. In fact, it would have been great tossed with pasta. All was made well when our server checked on us. Without hesitation, she asked my guest if she would prefer a cup of chili ($3.65 cup, $5.65 bowl, cheese $1 extra). The thick, meaty, no-bean chili was russet-colored triumph as good as some of the award-winning competition chili I have judged.
There are lots of options for appetizers and desserts, and without trying to sound too much like Mom: This menu can make one forget that your eyes can be bigger than your stomach. Portions are large and you can always come back and balance a few items out with salads and such.
If you do indulge, don't miss the nicely heat-restrained sweet corn and jalapeno poppers ($5.95) or the sweet potato fries ($3.50). Desserts are on display in a case as you walk in. The red velvet cake ($4.99) is Southern tea party good, the chocolate peanut butter cheesecake ($4.99) a face-tingling indulgence. We took a black and white cookie ($4.95) back to the office. About the size of a small Frisbee, it is easily cut into wedges to share among four to six people.
Bananas is open around the clock on Friday and Saturday, making it a prime destination for late-night munchies.
Food Editor Heather McPherson can be reached at 407-420-5498 or hmcpherson@orlandosentinel.com. The dish on dining
Bananas a Modern American Diner *** Where: 924 N. Mills Ave., Orlando (in the Mills 50 district between Weber and Marks streets)
When: 7 a.m.-midnight Monday-Thursday, open 24 hours Friday and Saturday; the restaurant closes at 11 p.m. Sunday
How much: $4.90-$12.95
Wines by the glass: $4.50 and up
Extras: late-night eating, breakfast all day, Sunday brunch, Friday and Saturday late show with guest drag servers
Wheelchair access: Easy
Contact: 407-480-2200
Online: bananasdiner.com
Dining on a budget No worries here. The broad menu is flush will bargains. Copyright © 2010, Orlando Sentinel
Orlando Weekly Magazine Peel slowly and eat This modern American diner is top banana By Faiyaz Kara After all the hyperbolic, vitriolic, sometimes alcoholic words we had heard and read about Bananas (the diner, not the Woody Allen flick or the fruit), we were justifiably frightened but fired up to experience all this Mills Avenue joint had to offer. Would we find parking? Would we be served by a petulant trannie? Would the kitchen make us wait 45 minutes for chicken and waffles? After two separate visits, one for breakfast and one for dinner, all those burning questions were ultimately answered.
Sufficiently tart goat cheese ($8.95), for example, is crusted with panko and almonds, though we didn’t really find the dollop of sun-dried tomato jam to be particularly necessary. Burgers are done 17 ways here; our choice, a perfectly cooked Caprese burger ($9.95), wowed us. It’s certainly one of the better burgers to be had in the city, and we indulged in every bite of the Angus beef patty crowned with tomato, a sizable disc of mozzarella and basil-pesto mayo. On the side, onion rings ($1 extra) upstage soggy crinkle fries by virtue of their impressive circumference and cracklin’ crisp coating. A beanless-chili-laden “loaded dog” ($5.90) was satisfactory, but didn’t hold a candle to the one served by John Liotine – the guy who, until recently, sold hot dogs from his wiener-shaped vehicle parked on Colonial Drive and Ferncreek Avenue.
No, our consummately courteous and polite waiter wasn’t a cross-dresser, but he did inform us that the chicken and waffles ($12.95) would take awhile to prepare. Yes, 45 minutes, but we had nowhere else to go. What we got was a superbly crispy breast and thigh lathered in white sausage gravy, and a quartet of waffles done just right. We would’ve preferred the chicken to be seasoned a bit more, but if you’re ever craving a plateful of awesome late-night drunk food, this is your dish. Bananas is open 24 hours on Fridays and Saturdays, and hungry revelers have been known to pop in after 2 a.m.
For breakfast, too much cream cheese and not enough strawberry filling had us regretting the order of stuffed French toast ($5.99); but a thin hollandaise sauce was the only fault in an otherwise decent eggs Benedict ($8.99), served with Canadian bacon and diced home fries.
For the most part, desserts come in liquid or cake form: Hand-spun milkshakes ($6.99), like the “Happy Days” with cookie dough ice cream and chocolate chip cookies, are an overly decadent way to end any breakfast, lunch or dinner. I was disheartened at the complete lack of pies in the display case, but the coconut cake tangy with Key lime ($4.99) was a conciliating crustless capper.
And the parking? For a diner that prides itself on being decidedly quirky and queer, it’s no surprise that finding a spot here can be a drag. (Note from restaurant: Complimentary Valet is offered each night during dinner service)
Funky Monkey founders bringing modern diner concept to Orlando’s Mills 50 District in summer of 2010 2010 brings with it the best foods of years gone by – comfort classics, if you will – in the form of a chic new diner opening soon in the Mills 50 District. Bananas Modern American Diner, a new concept from restaurant visionaries Eddie Nickell and Nicholas Olivieri, is about coming home to all the foods you love, only much, much better than you have ever experienced.
Created in the true spirit of the diner, Bananas Modern American Diner is about hearty, familiar fare with a culinary twist, and environments stylish enough for the executive lunch meeting but casual enough for a late-night country fried steak after hitting downtown Orlando nightlife.
“We envision the wait staff getting to know people on a personal level, how they like their coffee and what their favorite dish is. This is the place that you can always count on for excellent comfort food and a relaxing atmosphere early in the morning, for lunch, or even late at night. It’s all the best food and sense of community that a good diner can provide,” said Nickell. “This is the kind of place where you can see yourself becoming a ‘regular’.”
Bananas Modern American Diner is located at 924 N. Mills Avenue in the Mills 50 District, minutes from the heart of downtown Orlando. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, Bananas Diner will be open for a variety of crowds, from early risers to business executives to night owls, and everyone in-between. Hours will be: Monday through Wednesday, 7 a.m. to 12 a.m.; Opening Thursday at 7 a.m. and staying open until Sunday at 11 p.m.
Diner Comfort Classics with Premium Twist
On the menu at Bananas Modern American Diner are classic recipe favorites, from Hamburgers served 18 ways to Fish-N-Chips, re-imagined with bold, unique flavors and a fresh flair. With its early-morning and late-night hours, Bananas Diner encourages guests to start the day off right with a hearty breakfast. From traditional favorites like Eggs Benedict served six different ways, to Country Fried Chicken and Waffles; the entire menu will be served all day long. Bananas will offer free WiFi and take out service for those on the go, including fresh coffee, fruit or anything on the menu.
Nickell and Olivieri are known for their innovative concept creation, Funky Monkey Wine Company Downtown and on International Drive at Pointe Orlando. Keeping with the theme Bananas will host unique entertainment, excellent service and delectable dishes. Executive Chef Matt Slattery will oversee Bananas as well as Funky Monkey.
“This is the right time for a concept like Bananas Diner,” said Olivieri. “People want comfort, something familiar – but they also demand a high level of quality and imagination in their food. They will find that here, along with an atmosphere that feels like home.”
Bananas Modern American Diner will open Summer 2010. Visit www.bananasdiner.com for exact opening date.
Eddie Nickell is the President Elect of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association of Central Florida and Owner/Operator of the Funky Monkey Wine Company. Nicholas Olivieri is the Co-Owner/Operator of the Funky Monkey Wine Company.
To host a private event or to have FMI Cater your party Check Availability and for more information use the drop down box below.
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Eddie Nickell and Nicholas Olivieri, the owners of the Funky Monkey Wine Co., are the pair behind Bananas. The building’s yellow facade reveals an interior awash in reds and blacks, mainly in the form of pleather and padded vinyl, from the comfy booths to the kitchen doors to the colorful ceiling. Photographs of icons Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and local drag-queen diva Danielle Hunter play into the diner’s “modern American” appellation, and their classic diner fare offers enough twists to keep things interesting.
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