Tis Me Michelle

I’ve been interested in exploring the many options around the city that aren’t TikTok or Insta famous. The greater Orlando area has been exploding with new spots, and many are wonderful. Some are okay, but most are expensive and not super accessible. I want to highlight neighborhood spots that have been serving the community affordably and deliciously.

Pho Huong Lan 2 can be considered my first stop, even though it’s the second location, so it probably is pretty popular. My next stop was Mirchi Indian Street Food. I’ve driven by this area so many times and had no idea it was there. Off W. Colonial in Winter Garden, you can find this spot in a shopping center. So, of course, there was plenty of parking!

The Atmosphere: I really loved the decor. The beautiful umbrellas on the ceiling were so pretty and added to the vibrant colors throughout. My favorite part was the eclectic, quirky tabletops. I sat at a table made up of Indian comic covers. Each table had different tops, from newspaper clippings to stamps. A bit kitchy, but in a great way, kind of reminded me of a diner.

The Meal: I started off with Mint Masala Soda. Ever since I had that one at Bombay Street Kitchen, I’ve been hooked. I enjoyed the one at Bombay more, but it was refreshing nonetheless, and it wasn’t too sweet, which I appreciate. My server did recommend the Mango Lassi, which sounds great, but I have been trying to not go overboard with sugar, so the soda seemed a bit tamer.

There were so many options I wanted to try and honestly didn’t know how ham I was going to go. Then my server told me they had some preset lunch options. It ended up being the right choice in terms of the amount of food and price. There are three lunch options. First, an All India Thali for $12.99, where you can choose a chaat, Indo-Chinese, and a main entry option. Second is a dosa special, where you can choose three from a list of options for $12.99. Finally, a list of chef specials for $8.99. I went for the Thali.

For my chaat I chose a papdi chaat. I wanted to try the samosa chaat from the regular menu, but that’s basically a meal, so this was a good alternative to get the flavors and still have space to try more. It was a small portion, but just enough. I absolutely love the mixture of the chutneys, especially the tamarind chutney. Super flavorful and exactly what I wanted.

Next up was the Indo-Chinese dish, and I opted for the Chicken 65. The menu at Mirchi is vegetarian-forward, with many vegan options as well. But there are a few chicken options, and don’t sleep on it. This Chicken 65 came out fresh and hot, and super juicy. This and the chaat were the highlights of the meal for sure.

Finally, the main dish was the chana masala with basmati rice. This was good, but not the highlight for me. I would have preferred a bhatura or puri with the chana than the rice, but I get that that’s much yummier to provide part of the thali. My order at Woodlands is the chana bhatura, and I much prefer that. But this is not a bad lunch for this price, with the other items. I would have much rather had the chicken 65 as my main meal. It was a good portion of both the chana and rice, and I had enough to take away. I wanted to try the Ras Malai, but before I could ask, I was given the check, so I took it as a sign to control myself.

Overall: This is such a good little low-key spot. Everything on the menu was $15 or less, including the lunch options. That’s a great deal and allows the option to try a few things. Given it’s street food, I expect it to be smaller portions. This round, I asked for my meal ‘medium’ spice, but it didn’t pack enough heat for me, so I will definitely be upping the spice level next time. There are quite a few things on the menu I’d come back to try.

Rating: 8.3/10

Address: 1021 S Dillard St, Winter Garden, FL 34787