Woodlands @ Ft Lauderdale

Sunday afternoon. Getting ready for the day. We were going to spend the rest of the day at Ft. Lauderdale beach.

Me: "Shall we look up Indian restaurants in FL...it's been a while, right?"
A: "Good idea!"

He quickly googled and found Woodlands! Can you believe it? FL has Woodlands! For those of you who haven't heard of it, Woodlands is a very famous pure vegetarian south indian restaurant back home. And we were thrilled to be so close to one, if not home. The last time, we had been to one in Anaheim, CA, and it was a bad experience. We decided to give this a try and am glad we did!

They have a buffet for $9.99, that too, on a weekend! (Hello Mayuri..!!! Are you reading this? Read and learn! ).
And the buffet had Chaat (Indian street food) and Masala Dosa (A masala dosa is made by stuffing a crepe with a lightly cooked filling of potatoes, fried onions and spices. It wraps the crepe around an onion and potato curry.) and Uttappam ( Uttapam is a thick pancake, with ingredients like onions, tomatoes and other veggies, cooked right into the batter.) as part of it.

We had Pav Bhaji (Pav means bread and Bhaji is a potato based curry. The bread is toasted on an iron girdle with lots of butter and is served with the Bhaji.) and Papdi Chaat ( papdi refers to crispy fried dough wafers made from refined white flour and oil. In Papdi Chaat, the papdis are served with boiled potatoes, boiled chick peas, chilis, yoghurt and tamarind chutney and topped with chaat masala and 'sev') to begin with.

And then the parathas, panner butter masala, daal makhni, baingan bartha, utthappam, sambar, vada, coconut chutney and cilantro chutney

And then the Masala Dosa

And then there was tomato rice too. For dessert there was a vermicilli pudding and a custard. Both were fantastic. We had a couple of helpings even though we were stuffed.

And they even had yummy mango juice in the buffet. How cool is that?

The food was as good as what you get back home.The restaurant was packed, no wonder. This restaurant is totally worth going to, to shell a penny and fill your tummy. We then waddled to the beach.

Cafe Del Mar @ Ft Lauderdale

We drove from Cape Canaveral all the way to Ft Lauderdale, after a brief stop at Cocoa Beach. We reached the restaurant at 10 : 30 pm. We had called them much before and made sure that they are open. We were pleasantly suprised to know that they are open till 1:00 am and that their kitchen closes at midnight. Great! We parked our car and sauntered to the restaurant. We loved Cafe Del Mar. Of course, we love CDM and listen to it all the time while driving, but this was a completely different experience. We have always talked about sitting at a restaurant on the beach, with the slightly chilly breeze gently carassing our faces, eating some hot dinner, listening to the waves and many more. And that's exactly how it was here.

There was plenty of outdoor seating.

And this is a picture of the beach, opposite to the restaurant. It was late in the night and very dark.

We were first served bread and butter.

They totally understand the "no meat" concept and offered to make anything without meat!
We asked for Gnocchi - Potato pasta with a creamy cum tomatoee sauce. I don't remember what it was called. It was the Chef''s choice of that day. It was hot and fantastic!

And the Rigatoni & pollo limone - romano cheese, fresh tomatoes, fresh garlic, splash of lemon and touch of cream. This one was very light and super!

The waiter brought us fresh ground red pepper and checked on us often. They have B1G1 coupon in the entertainment book, which they accept on all days except Saturday. A real sweet deal with a stunning view!

Sublime @ Ft Lauderdale

We were in Florida for a week, exploring the atlantic coast, the gulf coast and Key West, and were enjoying the savor of the different cuisines. We were traveling the Bourdain way ;-). The very first evening we landed in Miami, we forayed to Sublime. We found this gem when we googled for vegetarian restaurants in Miami/Ft Lauderdale.

This restaurant has an amazing decor and the food is incredible! It is cholestrol-free, vegan and a fusion of everything you can find on earth!. The ingredients used are natural and organic! It all sums up to an upscale restaurant that stands out for its food and decor.

Talking about the decor, you will find cascading window waterfalls, skylights through which moonlight was streaming, Italian glass tiles, an open-hearth oven, and exotic trees reminiscent of a tropical rainforest.

The wait staff was quite knowledgable about the food and patiently answered our questions.The service was quick too.
We ordered the sublime ade to start with. It is a freshly squeezed lemonade. Very refreshing.

We were served a complimentary appetizer - pesto polenta. Basically, it was polenta marinated in pesto sauce, and the pesto was devoid of pine nuts.

We ordered the famous Frito Misto - crispy cauliflower tossed in sweet chili sauce, garnished with sesame seeds. It was outstanding!

For the main course, we got the Sublime Picatta - gardein cutlets, grilled asparagus, olive oil whipped potatoes and lemon caper sauce. The caper was sour and had a very interesting taste.Gardein is actually the "meat", a protein alternative made from transformed wheat and soy, floured and sauteed until a gentle crust forms, then combined with a well-balanced lemon caper sauce. It is something we have never had before and very outlandish!

And then for dessert, the Chocolate Nirvana - chocolate cake, Kahlua “butter creme”, dark chocolate ganache. It is dairy-free and I swear we would never have known the difference!

A: Can't believe this is vegan!
Me: I wish they gave the chocolate in a bowl, instead of making designs on the plate... Easier to lick it off, you know?

I was in heaven while drowning myself in every bite of this gorgeous looking dessert.

It came to $52 for the two of us with tax, but the experience was truly sublime. You can order anything of the menu and will never be disappointed. Nothing can ever go wrong at Sublime.

Tip - Follow them on twitter for some amazing coupons and deals!