Magnolia Cafes, Austin, TX

Why is this man so popular?

2011-01-31T21:14:00.000-08:00

He was the boss who signed their paychecks, but he was more. He was ready to have fun. At the busiest time on a weekend morning, they would stop everything, turn the cafe into a 2 minute party while singing their theme song, and then jump back to their places and keep serving food. Here they are putting on their show...

Imagine 3-part harmony:

Omelettry West is the place you go in Austin, shop shop shoo wah, yum, shoo wah.
Omelettry West is the place you can get lost in... shop shop shoo wah, yum, shoo wah.
You better "ooo" come "ooo" whoever you are, shop shoo wah,
You better "ooo" come "ooo" in your Japanese car,
shop shoo wah,
shop shoo wah,
shop shoo wah, yeah yeah yeah...... yummmmmm.

Peter, 1983

2011-01-31T21:12:00.001-08:00

Yes, that is Peter on the left, the Magnolia Cafe South's current GM, back in about 1983.

Let's talk about Love. Justus, on the right, would begin preparing his own lunch by spicing up some fresh butter with fresh peppers and raw garlic. It came to be called "Love Butter" because Justus was the Doctor of Love - plus he bore an uncanny resemblance to Jesus. We loved the effect. Yes - Love Butter is still on the Magnolia's menu today. Thx, Justus!

February Calendar Photo: 1983

2011-01-30T19:49:00.000-08:00

Young and beautiful, hearts off for the Omelettry West waitresses. They could take it - and they could dish it out. Sending wishes for a Happy Valentine's Day to 'yall.

Happy New Year 1983

2011-01-30T19:45:00.000-08:00

This was the January glamour photo for the one and only 1983 Omelettry West Calendar project. The dishwasher stripped down and took front stage for this one.

A few pictures from the good old Omelettry West: K & P

2011-01-30T19:29:00.001-08:00

Just a fun picture of Kent and his first wife Patricia (above pic), hard at work behind the front lines at the Omelettry West. The cafe opened on Jan. 1979. They were open for breakfast and lunch only, closing at 3 pm daily. Patricia and Kent split up a year later (the restaurant business IS hard, it's true) and Patricia went on to create the Kerbey Lane empire. Kent finally bought 100% of the shareholder stock in 1987 and the business was renamed the Magnolia Cafe.

The RCA Victor Dog Mural

2010-05-11T19:40:00.000-07:00

Remember the excitement of getting your first color TV? We do. So we decided to preserve a bit of history on South Congress.

If you can drive by, check it out: the "Sam Allred and RCA dog mural" is getting spiffed up. You may recognize the artist, Corn, who is doing the restoration painting.

This is from Wikipedia:

In 1953, RCA's all electronic color-TV technology was adopted as the standard for American color TV...

To read more about RCA on Wikipedia, click here.

Spiffed up for SXSW

2010-03-08T19:27:00.000-08:00

Every year, the Magnolia Cafes host some official and unofficial SXSW breakfasts. No RSVP or special invitation is ever required, honest.

But returning visitors to the Magnolia South (1920 South Congress Ave.) will hopefully notice the spiffing up we've done for the event. Though you won't be back in the kitchen to see the completely refreshed floors and fixtures, you will most certainly notice that the dining room is now a beautiful aqua blue, and that the patio has a computer and beverage station to speed up service for you.

Just as we wiped the dust off our jeans and put the cafe back together again, we were introduced to two young men from Minneapolis, John Grider and Mike Fitzsimmons. Their business is called Broken Crow (http://www.brokencrow.com/about), and they came to Austin searching for large bare walls to paint murals on. Our niche of the neighborhood now has stalking lions, roosters, a giraffe, and birds coming out of an old Victrola.

Last, let me mention that the Magnolia Cafes have been included in the SXSW Eat Well Guide (http://maps.eatwellguide.org/maps/homepage/view/113). Between us and the other fine restaurants in Austin, there's no need to go home hungry.

Have a great visit to SXSW 2010. Let us know if we can do anything to make it better.

Kid Art Show July 2009

2009-07-23T21:02:00.000-07:00

Kids draw the funniest, beautiful and intriguing things. Here we present a selection of children's art left at the Magnolia Cafe: inspired and heartfelt.

(Click the picture to be taken to the slideshow.)

Magnolia Cafe now offers online shopping

2009-07-17T13:30:00.000-07:00

In response to customer demand, we now offer selections of our Magnolia-branded merchandise for customers to purchase online using our new Magnolia Cafe Shopping Cart.

To celebrate this grand opening, we have stocked up on some popular designs including the red Magnolia "Sorry We're Open" baseball hat:

You'll find this and many great t-shirts, including flamingo designs on American Apparel sexy girl T's, on our new web site. We ship to any US destination via USPS.

Have you got a homesick Texan? Or a University of Texas graduate? We would be delighted to send them a little piece of home. We hope you find the shopping convenient and easy to use! Bye for now,

Yummmm… at Tony and Paige.com

2009-02-16T07:16:00.000-08:00

We're sending out a 'thanks' to Tony and Paige for writing about their meal at the Magnolia Cafe South.

Tony and I had a delicious Valentine’s dinner at The Magnolia Cafe on SoCo. It was the best restaurant we have been to since we moved to Austin...

Thanks y'all! We hope to serve you many more great meals, and thanks for telling your friends about us. To read the full post, here's the link:
Yummmm… at Tony and Paige.com

Valentine's Day! 2009

2009-02-09T11:31:00.000-08:00

You're looking very beautiful tonight. No, really. I love your hair like that. And you're also looking for a perfect place for a romantic dinner. Well, let's look no further than one of the Magnolia Cafes.

Magnolia Cafe, Lake Austin Blvd., is offering Heart Shaped Ravioli, Thai Chili Shrimp on coconut cilantro rice, Tilapia Florentine topped with spinach and crab meat, and Flat Iron Steak with mushroom gravy and caramelized carrots. For dessert: Chocolate Torte with Raspberry Compote or Gateau Marissa with strawberry icing. Entrees range from $10.95-$11.95.

Magnolia Cafe, South Congress, is offering Peppercorn Encrusted Filet of Beef with goat cheese tamales and asparagus, Asian-Style Halibut with baby bok choy and wasabi rice, Apricot and Lamb Tagine with ginger couscous, and Heart Shaped Ravioli. For dessert: Gateau Marissa with strawberry icing, or Chocolate Covered Strawberries. Entrees range from $12.25-$15.25.

Making memories.

At two locations.
Magnolia Cafe, 2304 Lake Austin Blvd., Austin
Magnolia Cafe South, 1920 South Congress Ave., Austin

A great pic of Magnolia food

2009-01-20T16:23:00.001-08:00

Originally uploaded by murphelz

A customer has posted this beautiful picture on Flickr. We just want to say - thanks! I think that it's a Flamingo Sandwich with bacon added. It has been a popular vegetarian item (minus the bacon) for a long time. Thanks for sharing your enthusiasm.

From the Way Back Machine: Happy New Year 1983

2008-12-28T06:22:00.000-08:00

Should we tell you who this Omelettry West cook was? Since he may have gone on to a career in law or medicine, I think not. Suffice it to say that this cook volunteered to wear the diaper to celebrate the New Year for the wacky calendar that was being invented for 1983.

The calendar was rich with jokes. There were dozens of special commemorative days like the (hypothetical) day that they paved Town Lake, the day that they air conditioned the entire downtown of Austin, and - yes - Doris Day.

Here is a link to our previous blog post about the Omelettry West calendar project.

We send you our joyful wishes for a Happy New Year 2009. Thanks for being part of our community.

We are not Martha: Gingerbread Pancakes

2008-12-03T19:42:00.000-08:00

Many people ask us for the Magnolia Cafe's recipe for Gingerbread Pancakes. We have a scaled-down version of the recipe that was once tested by Dweezil Zappa and Lisa Loeb on the Food Network. Two young women from Boston recently decided to mix up a batch for dinner, and here's the link to their story featuring Magnolia's original recipe. They've done a great job adding their own detailed photos and instructions:
We are not Martha: Gingerbread Pancakes

To Two 20-Something Bostonians: Cooking at home can be dangerous. You've acted bravely. Thanks for blogging about our delicious food, and we hope that you'll come dine with us whenever you can get to Austin.

Magnolia Cafe to be featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives

2008-11-21T08:10:00.000-08:00

The Food Network features Guy Fieri as host for their Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. We are pleased to announce that the Magnolia Cafe South has been filmed and featured for an upcoming edition.

Chef celebrity Guy Fieri was in our kitchen. He made gingerbread pancakes, blackened shrimp and more with our chef.

Then Guy Fieri was in our dining room. He schmoozed the employees and patrons. He was larger than life. It was a blast.

Now you can watch us on TV!

Central Standard Times:
Monday, Nov 24 @ 9 pm
Tuesday, Nov 25 @ 12 midnight
Sunday Dec 7 @ 2 pm

In Austin, this is Time Warner cable channel 32.

It's that time again: The Kid's Art Show October 2008.

2008-10-29T11:26:00.000-07:00

We hope you see your favorite pictures here. Thanks to all of the kids who made contributions!

Twitter, and the recent celebrity sightings at the Magnolia Cafe

2008-10-11T08:20:00.000-07:00

Recent days have blessed the Magnolia Cafe with visits from a few celebrities: Kate Walsh, Ellen Page, Bill Murray. Although we respect their privacy and hang back from autographs, the internal silent scream of fan-dom strikes. This is the result of very early training: Elvis, the Beatles. Even if they were just on TV - we screamed.

While some of us, paralyzed with adoration, simply grip our fork and spoon tighter, others send a Tweet to friends and the world wide web. If you don't already know this web-based celebrity, let us introduce Twitter. www.Twitter.com is micro-blogging. It's a wonderful way for people to have conversations - with quick little sentences exchanged and parried - on the web.

So we invite you: When you see a celebrity at the Magnolia, just send a Tweet on Twitter with the words "magnolia cafe" in them. We'll be pulling our Twitter news into the sidebar of this blog to share with the world. It really is better than screaming.

>>> 11/1/08 NOTE: we've revised our process for getting our customers' news onto our blog. You tag on Twitter with "magnolia cafe" or review us on Yelp. We get to read your responses and then we will post the best ones on our site. (Otherwise erroneous data can get out there.) Customer feedback is always appreciated. AND - If you see a celebrity - please let us know. We'll try to get your news up as quickly as possible daily.

It was a pleasure to hear from this customer...

2008-10-07T20:10:00.000-07:00

This is just a quick blog post to say thanks to 'Born Again Bird Watcher' for so eloquently describing his pleasure at discovering the Magnolia Cafe.

He writes:

One of the down-sides of travelling as much as I do is the inability to always eat in a way that is at the same time both healthful and emotionally satisfying. Most all cities and towns across America have at least one restaurant that can provide these twin requisites, (read the full post)

Thanks John! Please come back and say 'hi' when you travel through Austin again.

Veg Out! Austin - Ben's Top 5 Plates of Nachos

2008-08-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

I suggest that Austin vegetarians bookmark this neat web site:
"Veg Out! Austin... where herbivores eat out in Central Texas"

Besides mentioning Magnolia Mud, a recent article by Ben recommends 5 tops picks for vegetarian nachos. You can read all about his top 5 list here.

Just briefly, here are the recommended choices, in no particular order:

Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz, Nacho Libre with grilled tofu

Freebird's World Burrito, Nachos with black beans and queso

Magnolia Cafe, Super Nachos

ZuZu's, Black Bean Nachos

Chuy's, Special Nachos

Good to know!

The sights, tastes and smells of Austin, TX

2008-08-19T18:56:00.000-07:00

The editors at Conde Nast Traveler answer questions and share travel secrets, tips, and dispatches from the road, and apparently Julia Bainbridge (one of their writers) has a soft spot for Austin.

I think that Julia has nicely captured some of our current mystique, and she reminds me of some things that I ought to go enjoy before the summer is through.

She mentioned our Magnolia Cafe in the category of "good coffee." I have to agree with her, after drinking a few cups of what they call American-style coffee in Europe this summer, it's nice to be home.

Here is her lovely article about Austin if you'd like to read it for yourself.

Spreading the Love: The Food Trailer Culture in Austin

2008-07-11T06:24:00.000-07:00

Rich from Plano recently visited Austin, and he has a couple of good tips for visitors. Who knew that you could stay at the Barton Creek Resort at an incredible price through Expedia? As for dining,

We hit Magnolia Cafe, Chuy's Tex-Mex, County Line BBQ, and tried a new place Gumbo's. Along the way, there might have been a Shiner or two. You can read his blog post here.

But this was his "pièce de résistance" - Hey Cupcake.

We'd like to tell you more about Austin's trailer culture. The city is enjoying an unusual phenomenon these days: micro-restaurants serving absolutely delicious food out of mobile trailers. Hey Cupcake is located on S. Congress Ave, about 2 blocks north of Magnolia Cafe South. They've become a big attraction for both residents and tourists in our SoCo neighborhood.

So, if you've visiting Austin, you should definitely come visit us at the Magnolia Cafe. But you should also try to fit in a meal or dessert with one of our friends in the trailers. They're an Austin experience.

Hey Cupcake on South Congress Ave.

LuLu B's Thai Sandwiches on South Lamar

Flip Happy Crepes, near Zilker Park

From the Way Back Machine: the waitresses with Kent Cole, 1982

2008-06-28T11:52:00.000-07:00

Back story: the Omelettry West was the first incarnation of today's Magnolia Cafe. Kent and his wife Patricia were asked to help open a new location for the Omelettry. K & P were quickly made part-owners of the new venture and went to work. Kent only learned to cook the day before the official opening.

A year later, Kent found himself single again. Perhaps that explains the gorgeous look of the waitresses in this picture.

The photo was taken by Jack Rheem for a special project: a 13-month calendar to be sold to customers (the extra month was called "Thermidor" which explains the extra long Texas summer between July and August). Each month featured a beautiful B/W photo of the early staff and cafe environment. It is the ultimate collector's item for Magnolia Cafe followers.

I'll eventually post all of the pictures to this blog. Thanks for your interest.

dP

The Kid Art Show, recent contributions by talented customers.

2008-06-12T20:21:00.001-07:00

YouTube introduction to the Annual ROT Biker Rally, Austin, TX

2008-06-04T19:18:00.000-07:00

It's here! It's time for the motorcycles to engulf downtown Austin and the Travis County Expo Center. We've got a video from YouTube to help you get excited:

The official rally takes place over three days, June 14-16, at the Expo Center.

FREE PARADE & CONCERT on June 13th:
Congress Ave (from 2nd to 11th and 1 block on each side) will be closed for the parade from 4pm Friday to 2am Sat. The parade will happen at about 7:30pm and the concert should end around Midnight.

Magnolia Cafes, at two locations near downtown, will be welcoming visitors and locals with excellent home-cooked food 24 hours.

www.rotrally.com For road closure, concert and parade info, visit the City of Austin's web site.

Neon Sign of the Magnolia Cafe - Austin, Texas - "Sorry, We're Open"

2008-04-21T17:10:00.001-07:00

Neon Sign of the Magnolia Cafe - Austin, Texas - "Sorry, We're Open"
Originally uploaded by JIMWICh

This beautiful picture of our sign was posted by a fan on Flickr. The owner of the picture has suggested this music as well. What an interesting combination! Please feel free to play this podcast to enjoy the sounds of Texas (?)

Says Meg of Minnesota: Every person deserves their own Magnolia Cafe

2008-04-04T19:36:00.000-07:00

Meg writes a blog to share her Top Five lists.

We're please to make it into her Top Five Restaurant list. She writes: "What makes food so great is the rest of the experience."

5. Magnolia Cafe, Austin, Texas
I had dropped out of high school and was waiting to find out whether I got into college or not the summer my sister came home from her freshman year at UCLA. A little after midnight, Sarah and I wanted to find a cup of coffee, so we went cruising around South Austin. That's when we found Magnolia, the digs I can't go without patronizing every time I visit Austin. I bring everyone there, and all the food is delicious. Every town deserves a 24-hour greasy spoon. Every person deserves their own Magnolia Cafe.

Click here to read her full blog post. Thanks Meg!

What we didn't know about SXSWi

2008-03-07T10:27:00.001-08:00

The Magnolia Cafe is part of the "inner circle" of SXSW Interactive intelligentsia. We discovered this blog post about us by a fan:

SXSW Interactive (day 1)
Posted by Nick Finck public@digital-web.com
March 7, 2008

...I myself have been busy hammering away the details on my presentation for Saturday only to take a break for a midnight dinner at the notorious Magnolia Cafe were geek ideas for the next killer apps are discussed and new companies are formed seemingly overnight. Tonight there were few from the web industry at the cafe, my guess is because most of them are still stuck in Dallas. Tomorrow should be pretty exciting and we are hoping for a more insightful blog post summary that goes beyond the weather and travel.

We'd like to remind our visitors to Austin that we're open 24/8. We hope that you can stop by, grab a meal, form a new internet company and blog about us.

For a recent review of Magnolia Cafe, please visit this updated page on CitySearch. We're so happy that they recognized the Real Us at "Four and 1/2 Stars!"

Our friends on Flickr enjoy the Sorry sign

2008-03-04T12:47:00.001-08:00

sorry (reposted)
Originally uploaded by mofo

It's amazing how this marketing message got started. Let me be clear to say that I wasn't there, but I saw the original sign in the window at the Omelettry West (which later became the Magnolia Cafe under the new ownership by the former sweat equity manager, who later became my husband, Kent Cole).

If you can imagine the intensity of starting your own restaurant AND having to be one of the cooks in the kitchen from opening to closing -- well, this sign is a result of post-traumatic-cook-syndrome.

The sign was prophetic: only years later did we become a 24 hour eatery. Maybe because, when you turned the sign over, it said Come In, We're Closed.

I'll be blogging a bit about our creative marketing choices from 1980-1995 or so. You might enjoy staying in touch with us and seeing the eccentric charm of Kent Cole in print advertising. Thanks for your generous time and curiosity about the Magnola Cafe.

d.p.

Kudos to Magnolia Cafe from Rare Magazine

2008-02-24T10:13:00.000-08:00

We've got the scoop from Rare Magazine that Magnolia Cafe will be featured in the upcoming May issue. Rare Magazine has taken a cue from the venerable Austin Chronicle's "Best" list, and they've put together their own "Rarest of the Rare."

The Magnolia Cafe has been chosen in some category, but we don't want to spoil the suspense. We'd just like to thank the two customers who volunteered to eat their lunch in front of the Rare Magazine photographer - thanks to Stacey and Sarah!

Stay tuned to the May issue, and find out who else got a Rare mention for something special.

This, from the Rare Magazine web site:

What is Rare Magazine?

Rare is a monthly magazine based in Austin, Texas -- the coolest city in the world. We represent the best of Austin -- from boutiques to restaurants to artists to realtors and everything in-between. We give our readers a taste of what's local, fun and interesting.

Valentine's Day! 2008

2008-02-07T21:31:00.001-08:00

The Magnolia Cafe 2008 calendars are available

2007-12-22T08:01:00.000-08:00

The Magnolia Cafes have enjoyed a long history of eclectic marketing efforts. Every year we run a short edition of the Magnolia Cafes annual wall calendar, printed in Mexico. You'll see eight of the designs in the picture above.

The price is only $1.00 each, and the selection of images will surely allow you to find one that matches your decor or holiday gift list.

Available while supplies last, at either Magnolia location:

Magnolia Cafe (original)
2304 Lake Austin Blvd. Google Map

Magnolia Cafe South
1920 S. Congress Ave. Google Map

To order by phone, please call: 512-447-7636
(If you miss us, you can leave a message and we'll call you back.)

Magnolia joins 'Eat Local Week' 12/8-12/15

2007-12-06T13:17:00.000-08:00

As part of Austin’s Eat Local Week, both Magnolia Cafes will be serving Chipotle Barbecue Bison Burgers from Saturday, Dec 8 through Friday, Dec 15, 2007. The Texas grass-fed buffalo are raised running free at the Thunder Heart Bison ranches in South Texas. For more info go to thunderheartbison.com

The cafes will donate a part of their proceeds for this week to Urban Roots, which uses sustainable agriculture to help kids learn life and job skills. Urban Roots is part of YouthLaunch, which provides empowering service experiences for young people. For more info go to youthlaunch.org.

Happy Thanksgiving, circa 1981

2007-11-22T10:40:00.000-08:00

In the early days of the Omeletry West (before it became the Magnolia Cafe) Thanksgiving was a giant affair for all of the employees. The tables were pushed together in the dining room to make one common table, and Kent was in charge of cooking the turkeys.

Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving, with all the trimmings!

Magnolia South closed for new carpet, 10/30/07

2007-10-29T11:19:00.000-07:00

Please forgive us for closing briefly on Tues. Oct. 30th, from 6 am - 5 pm. We'll be installing new carpet, a new sound system, and performing other routine maintenance. Opening again for dinner at 5 pm.

The Magnolia West location did the same updating just two weeks ago. It looks and feels great, with new carpet in both dining rooms and new flooring throughout our kitchens.

Your patience is appreciated. Being open 24/8 puts a lot of wear-and-tear on the physical premises. We do in fact need to close once in a while for improvements. Thanks for your continued patronage.

Celebrating Halloween with Amy's pumpkin ice cream.

2007-10-26T12:33:00.001-07:00

Amy's ice cream has been part of Austin's quality of life for almost as long as the Magnolia Cafes.

We are excited to offer you Amy's pumpkin ice cream for Halloween. We can't give you a forest of yellow and red leaves, but what better way to mark the changing season than with a taste of pumpkin on a beautiful sunny day. That's autumn, Texas style.

BEST OF AUSTIN AWARDS, 10/14/07

2007-10-14T21:48:00.001-07:00

We are delighted to learn that our customers have voted to make us #1 in the BEST OF AUSTIN AWARDS 2007: Best 24-Hour/Late restaurant in the local Austin Chronicle newspaper.

We appreciate your support. It means a lot to us. Thanks to our many loyal customers who participated in the balloting this year!

Not 24/8? Magnolia on Lake Austin Blvd. announces brief schedule change 10/15-17.

2007-10-10T14:48:00.000-07:00

Being open 24/8 has its demands. In reality, we actually need to close once in a while for both predictable and grand improvements to the premises.

Magnolia Cafe (2304 Lake Austin Blvd.) will be closing briefly on: Mon. Oct. 15th at 3 am.

Reopening for delicious food and good service on: Wed. Oct. 17th at 10 pm.

Please consider driving over the Magnolia Cafe South for the 2+ days that we will be closed for maintenance. We hope to accommodate you there.

Welcome all hungry ACL Festival-goers!

2007-09-14T16:13:00.000-07:00

The Magnolia South welcomes you to our beautifully remodeled patio and garden room. It's spacious and breezy, with South Austin details (like our plastic green chairs and funky chandelier)!

Of course, you'll find our usual giant menu of fresh food options at both locations, and (note) the Magnolia Cafe original location is within walking distance of Zilker Park.

We invite you to join us, rest and relax, and have some Tex-Mex, burgers or veggies with a frosty glass of our featured beer: Sam Adams Octoberfest. We're open 24 hours, and serve breakfast all day and night.

Map for Magnolia South.

Map for Magnolia Cafe original location

Getting the gardens ready for our remodeled patio grand opening...

2007-09-14T16:06:00.000-07:00

Cool your summer with our hot sauce

2007-07-30T18:52:00.000-07:00

August is the hottest month, and it's also the month for the Austin Chronicle's Hot Sauce Festival at Waterloo Park, Sun. Aug. 26th.

We'll be offering a min-sauce-festival through the month of August. Try our Chip and Sauce Sampler -- 4 oz. each of Magnolia hot sauce, smoky chipotle sauce, and the best creamy delicious queso in Austin, TX.

You can make it into a party for one with a frosty cold beer. We'll be adding Stella Artois to the selection just for this month.

We hope you enjoy it.

Something unusual we found on YouTube...

2007-07-28T17:13:00.000-07:00

Apparently, back in 1987 our kitchen was occupied as a recording studio during an art opening. We're currently pretending that we remember this. Here's the link to watch the video.

"Velotrace Jazz Project live at The Magnolia Cafe, Austin,TX 1987. Provided family fun for our friend Jonathan's art opening. Vincent O'Brien-guitar, Thor Harris-drums, Brett Bowen-bass."

Thanks for the memories!

Red, White and Blue - Pancakes - for the 4th

2007-07-02T08:56:00.000-07:00

Count on us to be open all day and night, as usual, on the 4th of July.

To celebrate the holiday, we'll be serving red, white and blue pancakes from 9 am to 2 pm.

Recipe from the Austin Farmer's Market dinner special

2007-06-09T17:10:00.000-07:00

We shopped this morning at the Downtown Austin Farmer's Market and brought back a selection of fresh organic arugula (Animal Farm Permaculture Center), garden tomatoes (P/2 Organics)and fresh basil.

Here is the recipe for the salad on tonight's dinner menu:

Arugula and Parmesan Salad
Make a paste out of 1 garlic clove and 1/4 t. salt by mashing them together.

Add: (another) 1/4 t. salt, 4 T. balsamic vinegar, 3 T. minced fresh basil, 1/4 c. finely grated fresh parmesan, 1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper.

Continue whisking and slowly adding oil until well blended: 1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil.

We added quartered ripe garden tomatoes and homemade croutons.

Enjoy!

From the Farm to Magnolia Cafe

2007-06-08T15:11:00.001-07:00

We periodically shop for fresh ingredients at one of the local farms or farmers markets. Recently we've joined forces with local farmers by advertising Magnolia Cafe in a wonderful new magazine that just hit the stands: Edible Austin.

With its beautiful photography and interesting articles -- well -- it just whetted our appetite for farm-fresh goodies.

So look here in coming weeks as we explore recipes for using local foods for our Saturday dinner blackboard specials.

Meanwhile, you can be inspired in a number of ways:

Read the Austin Fresh Food Newsletter with a map and hours of Austin farmer's markets.

Visit the Edible Austin website and pick up a copy at your favorite restaurants and stores.

Saturday, you're invited to a giant party celebrating the Sunset Valley Farmer's Market 10th Anniversary.

Sunday June 10th, meet and eat with the celebrated people behind lots of good local food: Edible Austin Farmers Fair fundraiser ($10 suggested donation).

Technorati tags: austin, texas, restaurant, business

Knocked out at the Magnolia!

2007-05-14T09:24:00.000-07:00

Found in our in-box:
Subject: Maddie Sue - Another Satisfied Magnolia Customer!

Thought y'all would like this! My daughter, Maddie Stratton, has NEVER fallen asleep in a restaurant before. But obviously, she LOVED her Magnolia experience. Please feel free to use this, and thanks again for a GREAT meal, especially since it was my Yankee in-laws first time here. Keep it weird, y'all! :-)

Regards,
E.S.

Roses for Mom at our Mother's Day Brunch

2007-05-02T16:40:00.000-07:00

We'll be offering an amazing brunch for Mother's Day complete with complimentary roses for the mom in your family.

Serving Sunday brunch featuring eggs benedict, eggs florentine, bagels with lox, fruit parfaits with yogurt and granola, french toast, migas, breakfast tacos, and a world of omelette selections from the traditional (ham and cheese or spinach and bacon) to the eclectic (marinated portabella or smoked turkey and pico de gallo). Homemade pancakes include buttermilk, whole wheat, cornmeal and gingerbread.

Technorati tags: austin, texas, restaurant, business, menu

Hungry in Manhattan

2007-05-01T13:50:00.000-07:00

It was just another busy day at the Magnolia Cafe office. Noses to the grindstone, except when someone would walk in with a plate of fragrant hot food from the cafe next door. Ahhh! THEN, suddenly the phone rang:

ATTENTION: "Customer of ours now lives in Manhattan. Is pregnant. Must have Cream Cheese Artichoke Enchiladas. Could we freeze-dry them and send them on up?"

No joke. This dame was for real -- and serious!

We don't know much about freeze drying and don't have a 'to go' menu for NASA. So we'll send you a recipe. We've given it our best effort, so here it goes:

Dear Melanie in Manhattan,
We’re happy to help you with your Cream Cheese Artichoke Enchiladas dilemna. The solution is a bit complex but you seem motivated!

The filling:
Artichoke hearts and cream cheese (softened)

The Lemon Sour Cream Sauce: this is easy, ratio-wise

In a double boiler so it won’t burn, heat ½ water and ½ sour cream. While it’s heating, make a roux (Heat butter til it’s nutty brown and quickly stir in white flour and cook and stir until it’s pasty) and slowly stir the roux into the hot water/sour cream mixture until it thickens up a little. If the mixture is not as hot as the double boiler allows, it might not thicken the roux.

The Verde Sauce: this is harder on ratios because we make big batches of the sauces and I’m not sure of the portions for a home size but you can divide it up. Maybe you would prefer to buy off the shelf verde sauce at the store. If so, just heat it up.

In food processor:
5 bunches cilantro, washed and stemmed
20 serranos, stemmed
1 and ½ cup garlic cloves
8 medium onions

Puree til smooth. Pour into bowl.

In food processor, puree 3 #10 cans tomatillos. Pour into the bowl.

Add spices:
1/3 cup cumin
¼ cup oregano
¼ Tablespoon honey
a little salt

Whisk thoroughly.

Wet both sides of the corn tortillas and heat them in a very hot fry pan. Remove and roll the filling into them . Top with the two sauces and serve with Spanish rice and black beans. Top the black beans with shredded cheddar and/or white jack cheese and one ring of onion.

Hope this helps and good luck with your Manhattan phase.

Yours,
Kent
P.S.-- It takes a LOT of people and heavy equipment to cook like we do. It's ALWAYS EASIER to come join us to eat at the Magnolia Cafe. We're professionals. We can handle it.
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Bluebonnets are looking good...

2007-04-08T17:54:00.000-07:00

The bluebonnets are having a wonderful spring this year. We saw them popping out on our recent drive between Houston and Austin on US HWY71.

The Texas Department of Transportation has this interesting map that shows you reported locations of native vegetation, including our beloved bluebonnets. See Texas Wildflowers and Fall Foliage to learn where the best spots are.

Visiting Austin from out-of-town? We'd love to feed you at the Magnolia Cafe. out-of-town

Gingerbread pancakes for the masses...

2007-04-07T13:06:00.000-07:00

The Magnolia Cafe was recently invited to deliver breakfast and lunch to the crew from Good Morning America. They were following their weatherman to north Austin.

The human-interest story was about a teacher who was trying to lose weight. So they plunked down a stack of a dozen thick, fluffy, steaming Magnolia Cafe gingerbread pancakes in front of her. >Cut< to NYC where the entire celebrity crew was digging into the Magnolia's famous cakes.

Was I the only one who noticed that they were tormenting that innocent school teacher?

I just want to say that the Magnolia Cafe is a perfect place to eat when you're on a special diet. We make custom orders all-the-time. Just tell us what you have in mind, and we will most likely find an accomodation that works for you.

But if you just have to have those gingerbread pancakes, come visit us, or take a look at this very cool blog from a sentimental Texan. She's got our gingerbread pancake recipe posted, with a lot of other great Texas food recipes. (Free recipes.) homesicktexan

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