Mrs. LanceAround enjoying the Woodlands
Everyone has a “favorite restaurant”, don’t they?
And doesn’t your “favorite restaurant” change from time to time? (Not very often, but occasionally)
And, isn’t it a wonderful experience when you find a new “favorite restaurant?”
That’s what happened to Mrs. LanceAround and I this week. Mrs. LanceAround needed to see a medical specialist who happened to be from South India. We were talking about our mutual love of the South Indian dish known as Masala Dosas, when he recommended that we try the Woodlands Restaurant.
Woodlands is located just north of the Florida Mall at 6040 S. Orange Blossom Trail. We went there immediately after our visit to the Doctor. It did not take long for us to realize that we both had a new favorite restaurant–Not just a “one of our favorites”–But a brand new “this is our absolute favorite restaurant in the whole world” favorite.
We really liked it!
We spoke with the owners, Ragavendra and Suma Sheregar. They were born in Udupi in the Indian State of Karnataka, located on the western coast about halfway between Mumbai and the southern tip of India. They had about 25 years experience in food service before starting the Woodlands restaurant around seven years ago.
According to their website, Woodlands has locations in Charlotte, NC and Ft. Lauderdale, FL. I was not told if Ragavendra and Suma own all three locations, or just the Orlando one. Their menu proudly states “Pure Vegetarian South Indian Cuisine” but their website does not mention that the restaurants are vegetarian. Since Mrs. LanceAround and I are vegetarian, this was an added bonus of Woodlands.
But even the die hard carnivore will have a hard time not liking the plethora of Indian delicacies offered at Woodlands. Masala Dosas are one of their specialties. The one they made for us certainly was the best we had ever tasted. From 11:30am to 3:00pm on Tuesday through Friday they have a hearty buffet that changes daily. When we were there, we enjoyed daal, malabar adai, vegetable curry, avial, coconut-tamarind-mint chutneys, raita and some Gulab Jamoon for dessert. We loved every single dish we tried. Mrs. LanceAround was especially taken by the flavor of the potatoes in the vegetable curry. They were scrumptious. The buffet was only $7.95.
Also impressive was the personalized service. When I told the owner that Mrs. LanceAround’s doctor recommended the Masala Dosas, they went into the kitchen and cooked up a batch. After serving us one, they took a sample to every other table in the restaurant.
Wow!
Woodlands, 6040 S. Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, FL 32809 Phone: 407.854.3330
Lance Around Orlando 
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