About a month ago, Jeff and I were catching up on some Fixer Upper episodes that we missed during our renovation (thanks to not having the satellite connected), and we watched the one where Chip and Joanna renovated and started a restaurant. While showing the food options that Joanna was cooking and perfecting for the restaurant, we decided that we needed to take a little road trip to Waco and give Magnolia Table a taste test. So last Monday, that's what we did - join us on our road trip, won't you?
Waco is a 90 minute drive from our house, so we got on the road at 8:00 am. It was hot and we dressed accordingly...which got interesting when we drove toward some ominous-looking clouds:
Well sure, let's just drive riiight into that.
And we did. I took this before it got so bad that we could barely see - I pulled up the radar on my phone and saw that we were in the worst of the storm but we'd be out in a little bit, so we just slowed down and sure enough, it turned back to simply rain instead of a torrential gullywasher.
We found the restaurant pretty easily and parked behind it - I figured there would be a lot of people there because it's summer and if you're going to visit the Silos, you'll probably also visit Magnolia Table, which is why we wanted to get there fairly early. It was still raining but they had a large canopy set up for everyone to line up and give their name to the hostess - there was an hour wait, which I expected. They took my phone number and said they'd text when our table was ready; I know don't get out much but I thought this was a great idea instead of handing out hundreds of buzzers like they do at the restaurants in our town.
We decided to check out the Take Away area, because it was inside and it was still raining. OK, I would have checked it out even if it hadn't been raining, HA!
The floor at the entrance - the entire restaurant is done in mosaic tile like this.
You could order a coffee while you waited, if you wanted.
There wasn't a line at all, but I only wanted to purchase a coffee mug (I admit I have a slight problem with acquiring coffee mugs).
Meanwhile, Jeff was reading Joanna's new cookbook - I offered to buy it for him, but when he saw the price, he was aghast. Apparently Jeff has never bought a cookbook before.
They also had ready-made sandwiches and cold drinks available for purchase, and I had to take a picture of a quintessential Texas sandwich - this is pimiento cheese on Texas toast. See how thick that top slice of bread is? There's another, same size, on the bottom and pimiento cheese in the middle which I've had a couple times in the 25+ years that we've lived here and have not developed a taste for. But Texans seem to love it.
Another shot of the floor - it was really beautiful.
The rain stopped so we went outside to check out the courtyard - it was pretty wet out there but the staff was already out drying chairs and using a giant squeegee to clear the grounds of water. Soon our text came through, and we were shown to our table:
This is what 34 years of marriage does to you - twin poses.
Every detail was charming, from the water bottle at the table, to the printed napkins, the hand-thrown ceramic vase with fresh eucalyptus in it, and the coffee mugs - this is the style that I bought in the Take Away area.
We had a hard time narrowing down our choices for breakfast, which is why Jeff got lunch and I shared some of my breakfast with him:
Scrambled eggs, pepper bacon, and OMG homemade tater tots, which were so good...
And French toast. This was so light and yummy that if I went back, I'd probably order it again, only not with the other plate of food. I had two pieces and gave the rest to Jeff, along with some of my bacon.
This is the Gaines Brothers Burger, with Havarti cheese and bacon onion jam - I had a bite and it was really good, although quite rich.
The restroom area is between two wings of the restaurant, and Jeff was facing it. He couldn't get over the fact that so many people were taking pictures of the restroom as they stood in line, so he had to take a picture of that:
Obviously Jeff does not quite get that we were in a place akin to Disneyland for many people.
This is what they were taking a picture of, and for the record, the inside of the women's restrooms were really nice - Joanna does such a nice job with every detail!
Our waitress was super friendly, as all of the Magnolia staff seem to be. I've been there three times now and I've never encountered anyone who was just doing their job - their welcoming attitude really makes you feel like they are happy you're there, and not just a cash cow visiting a tourist attraction.
Leaving the restaurant - from a gullywasher to blue skies!
We actually lucked out with the weather, because the rain brought unheard-of-in-June temps in the mid-70s. With lower humidity than our town. It was wonderful, and a welcome break from what we normally live with. We hit a couple more Magnolia spots in town before heading back home, but I'll save those pictures for another post.
What a fun place! And the food looks divine!!!!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a fun day trip! Isn't it crazy how popular places based on TV shows can be? The food looks amazing, tho, so at least it wasn't a tourist trap with bad food.
ReplyDeleteI've never actually watched their show so I guess I'm behind the curve on this whole situation. But your breakfast and lunch look really yummy!
ReplyDeleteHomemade tater tots! And that gigantic burger looks amazing. What a fun day you all had. And cool weather to boot!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful morning trip. Rain and all.
ReplyDeleteOh, almost forgot to tell you.... we got moved into our new house!
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I can remember when Waco was known for that cult back in the day. Now a days, the Gaines family with their Magnolia everything has really put a new spin on Waco!
ReplyDeleteWait, so is the mug you got like the one on the table when you were served! Fellow mug lovers want to know! ;)
ReplyDeleteOMG homemade tots YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSss Gawd, I love potatoes WAY TOO MUCH
What a fun getaway for you too! Little day trips like this are such a great treat!
That place sounds fun and I love the floor tile. Almost art deco. Did you ask Jeff if the men's restroom was just as nice? John said that men's rooms are so utilitarian compared to the women's and he is jealous LOL.
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