Moghul, Winter Park

Sorry to have left my meager assemblage of devotees in limbo for so long, but, someone had to take their talents to Cooper's Beach this summer (don't get too excited - this is just a brief interlude before Summer Away 2011 Part Deux) and I agreed it should be me. I am excited to report that I had lunch at this Indian restaurant (in what I believe was the old Krystals) on 436 near Aloma today and it was great. I had the lunch buffet for $9. It included Naan, Roti, Basmati Rice, Cabbage Mutter, Mixed Vegetable Curry, Chicken Tandoori, Yellow Daal Fry, Chicken Curry, Channa Masala, Rice Pudding and a Garden Salad. All were wonderful. I'm just angry with my stomach for only being able to handle three trips (full plate of course) to the buffet. It was a first time for the Mutter. It was buttery flavored, yellow, translucent fettuccine width strands of cabbage. Not bad as a side. The Mixed Vegetables in Curry was the best. I hate vegetables. I had three servings of this. It had every vegetable (peas, carrots, potatoes, zucchini, green beans, baby corn, lima beans, etc) under the sun and even some Paneer (cheese), but that may have fallen in by accident. The red/orange sauce was sweet for a curry. The waiter said it was really the butter sauce they use in another dish (I forget which) and misidentified. The Chicken Curry had a moderate amount of heat. It was full of little squares of white meat. Very good. The Tandoori was good. Sometimes they can under cook it so the inside is slimy. Since they use the portions of the chicken that have dark meat, this can make it taste gamy. This was almost cooked through. The Daal was a yellow puree with nice flavor. The Chana (chick peas) had a brown sauce and whole peas. The Rice pudding was good. It's thinner than an European version. It wasn't as sweet as some that I've had so it was superior. I didn't try the salad. The bread and rice were all perfect. Overall everything was surprisingly acceptable. If they put this care into a lunch buffet then I am confident of the rest of the menu. The wait staff (2) were great. Even though a buffet is kind of self serve; they filled me up three times without prompting, they answered all my questions, they were quick with bill. They accomplished this even though the place was getting near full. The place seats about 50. It's broken up into a bar area and a dining area. In the dining area the booths are under the windows at the periphery of the room. The tables are inside of that. The bar area has a few stools, but seemed to be mostly used for take out/pick up orders. They did a brisk business there. The color scheme is Cabernet and black. It gives it a very sultry feel. They have some ethnically appropriate decorations. The place was an old fast food locale so there is so only so much that can be done. I don't want you to think it is posh by any stretch of the imagination, but, it's better than most Indian decor. The place was filled with a hodgepodge of society. Plenty of Indians, Caucasians, young, old, hipsters, and maybe a gay. A good portion were greeted as return visitors. I know the place has been open for a few months so I'm sure I'm not breaking any headlines to anyone in the neighborhood. Frankly, I was shocked that a place in this part of town would have such a following so fast or be any good. I encourage you to get on the bandwagon. They took Amex and sodas were under $2.