Magnolia Cafe Brunch - A Mother's Day Tradition

A Mother's Day tradition in our family is having brunch at the Magnolia Café in Austin, Texas. We meet around 10:00 a.m. even though they are open "24/8". I should mention, if you wait until mid morning to show up, you will certainly have to wait about 30-45 minutes for a dining table. The lazy wait is what makes the brunch experience so enjoyable. The cafe provides a self-serve coffee service complete with ceramic mugs, each different and probably purchased at a garage sale, flavored creamers, sugar and sugar substitutes, and the best fresh-brewed coffee on a Sunday morning. While you are relaxing with your coffee on the outdoor, covered patio, you can read any one of hundreds of newspapers lying around on the benches.

We always wait extra time, if needed, to sit in the patio area. It is covered with beautiful flowering vines, giant shade trees, and huge pottery vases full of blooming perennials. It is a real Springtime Mother's Day delight. Once you are seated, the wait staff is very friendly and serves you quickly. You do need to be a little careful while sitting under the huge Texas Oaks because there are some really excited birds in those trees. We have been left presents on more than one occasion, and I'm not talking about Mother's Day presents. My Mother-in-law told me to be sure I get a waiting area bench under an awning.

My favorite breakfast, off the dozen or so pages of menu, is the Gingerbread Banana Wheat Pancakes ($3.50) with a Spinach Bacon Omelette ($7.25). This is way more than one can eat alone, but the delicious combination is too hard to resist. Sometimes, I am in the mood for a Mexican breakfast and order the legendary Migas ($6.50) or the Eggs Zapatino ($6.75) - a yummy toasted English muffin topped with scrambled eggs, chili con queso, and ham and served with home fries. The wonderful thing about the menu is there is something for everyone. If you are not as hungry as I get, they have excellent breakfast tacos ($2.25) with your choice of meats, avocado, cheese, eggs, potatoes, black beans - whatever you can think of, you can have wrapped up in a homemade flour tortilla.

Magnolia Café is famous for their selection of pancakes and omelettes. There are dozens of varieties of each on the menu or you mix your own creation from any of their popular ingredients. Beyond those favorites, they also offer every traditional Tex-Mex plate, chicken plates, veggie plates, salads, and sandwiches ($6.25-$8.95). If you are a Portabello mushroom fan, Magnolia Café is your place. You can order a healthy grilled, marinated Portabello mushroom topped with red bell pepper, red onion and jack cheese. ($6.95) I took some customers to Magnolia Cafe one evening for dinner. They had a live music open-mic session on the outdoor patio. My boss commented on "the dinner really giving us out-of-towners a true flavor of Austin. It is quaint, relaxing, down-to-earth good food, with great entertainment."

If that doesn't do it for you, there are fish plates, burgers, steaks, pasta, turkey, and fajitas on the menu. If you are feeling adventurous, you can try the Tropical Turkey Taco ($6.95) served in a wheat tortilla with smoked turkey, jack cheese, avocado, pico de gallo, and pineapple. Another dinner favorite is the Pasta Caspian ($9.95), which is julienne grilled chicken, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, black olives, fresh spinach, and garlic in a white wine butter sauce. All this is tossed with linguine and garnished with feta cheese and fresh basil. The pasta dishes are all served with garlic bread.

This menu is definitely not one you would expect from a café, but it is what made Magnolia Café a "24/8" favorite of Austin. There is truly nothing like their Gingerbread Banana Wheat Pancakes with hot maple syrup - mmmm mmmm!

Magnolia Café is located at 2304 Lake Austin Boulevard in Austin, Texas. (512) 478-8645

Magnolia Café South is located at 1920 South Congress Avenue, in Austin, Texas. (512) 445-0000