Austinist Reviews: Magnolia Café South

Last night we went to the Magnolia Café on South Congress. For as long as we’ve lived in this city (20 plus years), this was our first time at this location.

The first thing we noticed when we sat down was that they offer peppermint tea, and although summer isn’t over yet, we couldn’t pass it up. We sat in our booth, our temperature alternating between warm and cold (the A/C there isn’t the best in the world), enjoying a nice warm mug of tea.

For an appetizer, we had the Neptunian Landscape, a grilled potato dish doused with verde sauce, sour cream, avocado, green onion and plenty of cheese. It was different from any mixture we’ve had before, and we finished it up quickly. The avocado and sour cream calm the spiciness of the verde sauce and onions, but don’t put out the fire completely.

Our friends got the Big Breakfast Tacos and Magnolia Stirfry with Chicken, but we decided on a Chicken Taco, chock full of chicken, spicy black beans, sprouts, and topped with cheese and plenty of sour cream. Muy delicioso, pero very messy. We now know to ask for extra napkins beforehand, because it’s just not the same when you have to use a knife and fork to eat a taco.

Our one mistake of the night was ordering the Spicy Garlic Cream dressing for our side salad. It overpowered the salad of mixed greens, and we couldn’t eat as much of it as we would have liked. Our spiciness threshold just isn’t high enough.

The decadent Peanut Butter Pie was our dessert. Topped with chocolate, the pie is just perfectly creamy; it melts in your mouth. We have never had such a peanut butter pie (where has it been all our life?), and will definitely be back for more.

Magnolia Café South
1920 South Congress Ave [map]
Open 24 hours a day, all week

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By Elizabeth S. in Food on September 6, 2006 11:02 AM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

eliz. s.

Thanks for the comment, Kat! I was so happy to see their salad of mixed greens, and am eager to try another of their dressings on it.

Kat

I have spent many a late night and lazy afternoon at that Magnolia, and I love almost everything on their menu. The Neptunian is tart, garlic-y and spicy, with a little crust on the cheese--perfect. Their verde is a garlic lover's dream. I have spent years trying to copy it. Magnolia Cafe itself is a garlic lover's dream. Somebody in their kitchen really likes the stuff and ain't afraid to use it. Their burgers are surprisingly good for a veggie-lover type place. Though they're not very big, they taste outdoor-grilled. I love their garden tacos with verde salsa--perfect home fries, spinach, sweet red onions, and I forget what else--but they're great. They're salads are a wonderfully rich mix of baby greens, and they're dressings (home-made I think) are all delicious. I'd like to give a better review but I haven't had restaurant-eating in my budget for a while. I just remember I've never been dissapointed there. Just wanted to put my two cents in.