Mynt Fine Indian Cuisine (https://www.myntorlando.com/) is an Indian restaurant in Winter Park that I’ve wanted to go to for years. I finally made it there with my two closest former co-workers from my librarian days, which are really not that long ago. We used to go out to lunch every once in a while, usually on Fridays if at all, but I would at least see them every day, throughout the day. Now those sightings are few and far between, and the lunches even moreso. So going out to Mynt was a rare and wonderful treat, especially sitting outdoors on a gorgeous February day with these two brilliant people.
I didn’t even realize that Mynt had lunch specials, but they do. They come with basmati rice (of course), yellow lentil dal that I ate with a spoon like a soup, and a cute little samosa, with the most savory potato filling and the perfect, delicate, flaky crust, served with tamarind and mint chutneys. Everything came in round metal containers called tiffins.
Mynt also served the most delicious garlic naan I’ve ever had. This was for the table to share, but I could have easily and happily gone through a few baskets of it myself.
My vegetarian co-worker ordered vegetable korma ($10), with mixed vegetables and paneer cheese in a creamy onion cashew sauce. She let me spear the last chunk of tender potato at the end, so I could try the sauce for the first time.
My dieting co-worker ordered the vegetable biryani ($11), the most beautiful dish of garden vegetables and paneer cheese over spiced saffron rice. I didn’t ask to try his, but look at how gorgeous this presentation was:
Since this was my first time at Mynt, I ordered one of my favorite dishes, lamb vindaloo ($12), with tender chunks of boneless lamb and potatoes in a spicy, tomatoey, vinegary curry. I asked for it spicy, and it sure was spicy, but I could handle it just fine. I loved it, but whenever I make it back to Mynt, I would try something new just because I eventually want to expand my palate with Indian cuisine.
And me being me, I also ordered aaloo gobhi ($10) for the table — a vegetarian dish of potatoes and cauliflower (currently one of my favorite vegetables to cook and eat) in an onion gravy. I asked for it medium, so they could also enjoy it, and it was so flavorful and good. This was a new dish for me, and I loved it too.
I hadn’t eaten at a restaurant since December, when I met another friend on the opening day of bb.q Chicken. It felt so nice and normal, and I think this outdoor lunch at Mynt was the happiest and most upbeat I’ve felt in a while. The company was great, the surroundings were beautiful, the weather could not have been nicer, and every dish we ordered was prettier and tastier than the last. I would totally return, especially to try the expanded dinner menu or the weekend brunch buffet.
The Saboscrivner 