The Woodland on South Congress has been serving lunch for less than a month, but the word must be out, because every table and booth turned over at least once during the noon-hour today. And the pies in this case were going fast. Our table accounted for one giant wedge of apple pie with a beautiful hand-woven (not pre-cut) lattice top.

Here’s my Big Wish when it comes to The Woodland: may the heavenly pork empanadas never leave the menu, ever, for any reason at all. You must try one to know why I beseech the menu divinities to heed my request. This is non-fatty, completely cooked-down pork seasoned with chiles and more and served with a delightful green sauce and some beautifully dressed finely shredded cabbage.

The on-line menu and what’s actually available are not the same, at least not at lunch-time. Today’s soup was tomato bisque, and a lot of it was being served. The main-dish special of the day was chicken-fried steak. A first course brought to our table in addition to those empanadas was a plate of fried oysters, with yet another sauce that could be consumed in bucket-sized quantities. Of the main courses, I tasted only my own very acceptable salmon plate. Chicken pot pie brought in a large bowl would have fed a platoon. It’s reported that the sauce was rich and that there was both light- and dark-meat chicken.

There was a party including several children. Because the acoustics at The Woodland are so lively, it’s difficult to hear the waitstaff or tablemates, so I doubt that even a colicky infant would create any sort of disturbance. Several people were being served at the bar, and I think that I saw meals brown-bagged for takeout being picked up. I’d be interested in sampling other offerings on a future visit, but I’ll never forsake those pork empanadas.