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Welcome to Groupon Austin! For our inaugural deal, $25 gets you $50 worth of grub and guzzle at the Woodland, located at 1716 S. Congress Ave.

You're probably thinking, "That sounds great, but I've never bought a car or a computer without first reading the Wikipedia definitions for car and computer—I'm not about to buy a Groupon either without a briefing." Well neither would we, and since this is everyone's first Groupon, allow us to briefly explain how it works.

How Groupon Works

Groupon is a combination of the words group and coupon. Each day, we offer an unbeatable deal on the best of Austin: restaurants, spas, sporting events, theater, and more. By promising businesses a minimum number of customers, we get discounts you won't find anywhere else. We call it "collective buying power"!

If you want to get the deal, just click BUY before the offer ends at midnight. If the minimum number of people (25 for today's deal) sign up by the end of the day, you'll get a printable gift certificate in your inbox the next morning that you can use whenever you want (well, at least until the deal expires—today's expires in three months). If not enough people join, no one gets the deal (and you won't be charged), so invite your friends to make sure you get the discount!

It's nice to wake up to something new every day. Some people get their daily fix from desk calendars with a cute puppy and a funny caption every morning. Groupon is like a desk calendar, except the puppy is an unbeatable discount and the funny caption is a profound reflection on the flowers and needles growing from life's cactus. We selflessly share our deep insights, hoping that you will join our mob of consumers, thus strengthening our collective buying power and commanding even better deals.

Details

You’re always up for expanding your palate, but sometimes you just crave comfort food. With today’s Groupon, $25 gets you $50 worth of food and drink at the Woodland, a restaurant with a reputation for serving classic American fare exceptionally well.

Portion size is more than generous at Woodland—it’s epic and munificent. Thick, spicy layers of pulled-pork and shaved onion spill out of the toasted brioche bun in the Joe Mama sloppy joe. The grilled and marinated portabella sandwich is smothered with provolone cheese and dripping with roasted garlic aioli. Ask for extra napkins. If you’re looking for something lighter, Woodland serves a variety of leafy salads, such as the arugula and fennel tossed with a citrus vinaigrette and loaded with dried cranberries, goat cheese, and almonds. For dinner, try the homemade meat loaf, fish and chips, or succulent beef tenderloin.

The Woodland features an extensive and inventive specialty cocktail menu. The ginger cherry limeade is a blend of cherry cider, Monopolowa vodka, and gingered sugar with a splash of lime juice; the Belhaven is a blend of Stoli Vanil, cucumber, and mint. If you’re overwhelmed, don’t worry; there are great wine and beer lists and happy hour specials six days a week. Bottles of wine are half priced on Sunday and Monday evenings after 7 p.m.

The décor at the Woodland maintains the restaurant’s cut-above appeal, with walls painted in shades of greens, light fixtures twisting into branches, and a cubist tree painting hanging in the U-shaped dining space. To complete the theme, there’s a giant tree in the middle of the room. But odds are, you’ll be too distracted by the Woodland’s ridiculously expansive pie selection to even notice.

Reviews

Yelpers rave about the Woodland's casual American fare, giving it 3.5 stars:

• The atmosphere is somewhere between awesome and campy – Brian S.
• The food was great and the drinks were spectacular! I had the Grilled Salmon, which was cooked perfectly. My girlfriend had the Pot Roast, which was the best we’ve ever tasted – CK C.
• It has been awhile since I’ve been amazed with a restaurant. The food was fantastic and pretty cheap as well. – Patrick B.