My friend Ruth and I just checked out Magnolia in the Haymarket in Lincoln.
The first thing that happened was the host gave us each a single rose. A little cheesy, but hey, free flower. As we looked around, we saw that no dudes got free flowers. The owner, a woman herself, explained to us later that she named the place Magnolia to honor women and that they give flowers to women to show appreciation for the hard work they do. I felt a little guilty, since I do almost no hard work at the moment, but I thought her explanation was very sweet.
Ruth and our flowersThey had a pretty decent wine list. I tried a little of the Montes Cabernet, which I wasn't crazy about, but after 6 months of no drinking, my palatte is crap. Luckily, my taste in food is superb. I ordered the duck with a cabernet-raspberry reduction glaze. It came with soup or salad, veggie, and another side (some of the choices were mashed potatoes, rice pilaf, roasted red potatoes, and pesto risotto). I chose the creamy tomato soup, and pesto risotto; the veggie was steamed broccoli. Ruth ordered the vegetable cakes with rice pilaf.
Let me interject into my description of the food to talk about special diets. Whenever I go to a restaurant, I give them the Cliff's Notes version of what I can and can't eat (no raw fruits or veg is the big thing). Many times, the server pretends to listen, then my entree comes out on a big bed of dirty lettuce. Our server at Magnolia, on the other hand, listened carefully, asking questions to clarify. As we were waiting for our entrees, the chef came out twice: once to see if it was okay if he used fresh raspberries in the sauce as long as it was cooked (it was), and once to see if he could cook the duck medium (it wasn't). I was very impressed that the staff was so consciencious about making sure the food met my dietary restrictions.
Okay, back to the food. The soup was very good-- chunky and flavorful. Very tomato-y. The bread that came with it was delicious and the herby, garlicky butter was even better. Once the meal came I was worried I had fallen into the proverbial trap and filled up on bread. I hadn't. My duck was succulent-- about a thousand times better than the duck I got at Bohemian Cafe in Omaha last month, and the risotto is one of the few I've had that I actually like. Most risottos that I've had end up tasting like the cheesy rice from a box that I ate in college. This risotto was different-- the main flavor was the pesto, with a nice parmesany flavor mixed in. The rice was not over or undercooked.
I always forget to take the picture until after I've taken a couple bitesI had a bite of Ruth's veggie cake, which I was glad I hadn't ordered. It was just way too rich for me, which is not something I would expect from the vegetarian menu. I expected that the golden brown crust hid a filling mostly comprised of vegetables. My bite ended up being mostly cream cheese and just a few shreds of veggies. Fried cream cheese is great and all, but I don't want to make a meal out of it.
As we were paying our checks ($50 for two meals and two glasses of wine), the owner came over to chat with us and tell us about their Sunday brunch special. Their buffet menu will include the normal Nebraska buffet brunch food, but with crab cakes and baked brie for $10. Magnolia has excellent food and has a great staff. If you haven't been yet, you should try it out.
