Local Chef To Open Pizza Concept in Winter Park

“ORLANDO ARE YOU READY?”

Paul Soto
By Paul Soto Add a Comment
Photo: Official

According to recent public records, an exciting new pizza concept is coming to Winter Park.

Chef Michael Collantes will be opening his new concept, Perla’s Pizza, at 959 W Fairbanks Ave. 

Perla’s, which briefly existed under a joint partnership in 2021, used to serve up radically unique pies. 

“So go ahead and scarf down a cheesy, red-sauce pie dotted with curled-up rounds of pepperoni, Calabrese peppers and bananas. That’s right, bananas. Call me bananas, but it’s a great combination. The only thing missing? More bananas. The fruity flavor was subtle at best, and I wanted to, uhh, taste the bananas in this pizza they call “It’s Bananas.” Speaking of, remember Bananas magazine? Man, I was bananas for it. That is, until they put Scott Baio on the cover. Blecch!” wrote Faiyaz Kara of Orlando Weekly about its earlier incarnation.

Collantes previously Orlando Weekly, “All I can say is it’s Florida Man pizza.” 

“We’re using pizza as a vessel to create something tasty and nontraditional. Really, it’s just pizza we like to eat. And, yes, bananas will make it onto our pizza.”

While no opening date has been set, a recent Instagram post cryptically states “ORLANDO ARE YOU READY?” 

“PERLAS PIZZA – EARLY 2025.”

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Paul Soto is a freelance writer. He is a graduate of UT-Austin and Syracuse University's MFA in Creative Writing. He lives between the U.S. and Portugal, where he is working on his first book.
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