Magnolia's Contemporary Southern Bistro

I really enjoy going out for breakfast.  Magnolia’s had 3 items on the menu that I wanted to try, so I made it a mission to get there to try them.  From the outside, it doesn’t exactly have a lot of street appeal, which made the inside a nice surprise, I was expecting a dive, what I found was a cheery space painted a soft yellow.  

 

Magnolia’s is made up of two small dining rooms, you walk into the first which contains six tables that seat four and one that seats two.  The second dining room is smaller.  It has a very long table in the window that seats 8, a four top and a 2 top, so it’s a pretty intimate space.  The tables are covered in white table cloths with a long piece of white paper on top.  Each table also had 3 freshly cut purple carnations.  Nice.  Around the tables are black metal and plastic chairs, the kind that you can rent for weddings.  These worry me; I’ve seen many a disaster involving these types of chairs and let’s say… Kansas City’s hefty set… whereby someone sits down only to have the chair collapse under their weight.  The music stops, everyone is quiet.  People try to help the person up as murmuring ensues.  Once the person is back up, the music starts again and everyone politely pretends like nothing ever happened.  Ok, right now, some of you are angry at me, but a few of you are smiling, why, because you’ve been at those same weddings, graduations, birthdays, etc., and you know exactly what I’m talking about.  Oh well, I’m sure those chairs will be switched out over time.

 

We were greeted and seated right away and our server brought a carafe of water to leave on the table as we browsed the menu.  There are only 4 options under the “Breakfast Plate” section of the menu:  “Biscuits and Gravy”, “Nutter Butter French Toast”, “Sweet Potato Pancakes”,” Bacon and Eggs”.  These items are served on Saturdays and Sundays only.  We ordered the Nutter Butter French Toast with cracked pepper bacon and Sweet Potato Pancakes with turkey sausage links.  The French Toast sounded very intriguing to me, it is made with “Farm to Market Bread Company’s” Challah Bread, (at least according to a tweet I read).  I know firsthand that Magnolia’s does use Farm to Market Bread Company’s bread because they received a shipment through the front door while we were there.  The biscuits however were being carried in by a woman from a house across the street, still on the baking sheet.  They truly were homemade!  They looked great; I’ll have to try those the next time.   

                                           



Nutter Butter French Toast



Anyway, back to the French Toast, you receive two pieces of bread, cut in half, and completely covered in finely crushed Nutter Butter Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies.  On top of that was a generous helping of house made 

Cap'n Crunch French Toast;
image by Amber Thomas

whipped cream with a little bit of coffee in it.  Wow, very rich.  This is the most innovative French Toast creation that I have seen since trying “The Blue Moon Café’s” Cap’n Crunch French Toast in Baltimore.  The cracked pepper bacon was a good complement to the toast, it added a little heat to all of that sweet.   



Sweet Potato Pancakes



The Sweet Potato Pancakes were really very good.  These tasted almost like eating pumpkin pie because of the spices used, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.  I could eat these for dessert.  They looked burned, but weren’t.  They were also very small, but after I started eating them, I was glad.  They were so rich I couldn’t possibly have eaten much more.   

I’m not fond of the coffee here.  I’m pretty sure that it is brewed in one of those machines that you put the little plastic container in that gives you one cup at a time.  Neither of us liked the coffee, but luckily our favorite coffee house, The "Filling Station” is just across the way and we could always go there afterward. 

 

Magnolia’s is not really a breakfast spot.  They don’t open until 10 am.  Too late for breakfast, too early for lunch and their breakfast plates are only served on weekends.  So, I don’t think that it will be a regular on my breakfast rotation.  However, I am coming back to try dinner some evening.  They don’t have a liquor license, but you can bring your own wine or beer.  There is a $10 corkage fee per bottle of wine and a $1 fee per two bottles of beer.   There is a patio behind the building with a small stage; the waiter told us that they hoped to begin having live music on weekends.  It might be fun to hang out here some evening.

I have just a couple of complaints.  One, It was hot inside; it would have been more comfortable if it had been cooler.  Maybe the air conditioner was acting up because there was a floor fan blowing air around.  Two, I don’t think the ventilation system is working well because when we left, we smelled like we had been cooking over hot grease all day.  Really.  Both of these issues are easily remedied and definitely not a reason to not try this place.  All-in-all, we had fun, just like we always do.  I wish that you could have been there with us.

Chez Elle

There are several trendy breakfast spots in Kansas City in old buildings in old neighborhoods that have gone for the "trashy chic" look with beat up old kitchen tables and rickety chairs (and that's fine). However, whoever owns this place put some money into the décor; everything is new and inviting. There are quite a few stairs to climb to the entrance, but don't let that deter you if you have trouble with stairs, there is a ramp on the left side of the building.

After climbing the stairs and entering, you find yourself in an inviting two story space that feels rather like a lobby. The order counter is to your left, the menu is written on a chalk board above the entrance to one of two dining rooms. You place your order and are given a number that you place in one of the kitschy little metal Eiffel Towers that are on each table. I thought these were cute and I appreciate that I don't have to wait, bunched up with everyone, near the counter for my order to come up or have someone walking through with plates of food yelling customer names every few minutes.

The kitchen is in the center and open to what I would consider the main dining room, to the right of the order counter. The other dining room is more coffee house style with black leather couches and chairs, a few tables to sit at and art from local artists for sale on the walls, this room has windows, the main room does not. Both rooms are inviting. I like that the spaces are so distinct, I can choose one or the other based on my mood.

Food:

There are 26 crepes listed on the menu (I'm sure you can come up with your own favorite concoction as well). In addition, the menu states that vegan, gluten free and buckwheat crepes are also available. Other menu items available: Greek, Spinach and House Salads; Soup of the Day; an assortment of house made pastries, smoothies and coffee.

We each ordered a cup of coffee and decided to share four crepes.

Crepe One: Bonjour - ham, scrambled eggs, Swiss cheese and hollandaise. (It came with the scrambled eggs piled on top, hmm…) We both thought this one was rather bland (possibly because we were also eating crepe two at the same time).

Crepe Two: Jambon - Black Forest ham, pesto, spinach, mozzarella and crème fraiche. Wow. The pesto tasted house made, very fresh, as was the spinach. The basil and garlic in this really made it pop. We both really liked it.

Crepe Three: Tropicale - coconut cream custard, almond brittle, pineapple and kiwi. I thought this one was okay. I did like the mix of flavors and textures. My co-diner absolutely loved it.

Crepe Four: Citron - lemon curd, strawberries (on the side) and whipped cream with a dash of powdered sugar. This one is served cold. My co-diner thought this one was too tart. I really liked this one. The tart lemon mixing with the ripe, sweet strawberries was a nice mix. This one would be especially refreshing on a hot KC summer afternoon.

The bill came to $34.80 before tax or tip (there is a tip jar at the order counter). We both really enjoyed this place and will be back.