Dining at Magnolia House
It’s 2016! Can you believe it?
To close out 2015 I stuck to my plan of staying home in my pj’s and, boy, did I enjoy it. So much so that I kept it low key the entire holiday weekend. Visited family, did some bargain shopping, played a little Boggle…it was pretty swell. Now, I’m well rested and rarin’ to go. I’ve got some awesome things planned that I CANNOT wait to share with you. In fact, why don’t I start now?
Just before Christmas my mom and I headed to Pasadena to enjoy a lovely dinner as a guest of Magnolia House. This quaint spot housed in a craftsman bungalow has been in business just over a year and specializes in cocktails and shared bites. In other words, it’s tailor made for me.
Walking in, I was immediately charmed by the decor.
Even without the Christmas decorations it’s incredibly cozy. But, do the food and drinks measure up?
Boy do they ever!
I started with the current drink special – One Night in Cusco. Peruvian rum combined with lime, honey and angosturra bitters it made for a deliciously tropical cocktail. I absolutely loved it.
For my second drink I opted for one of the house cocktails – Marigolds at Magnolia.
This cocktail is a true work of art. Made with vodka, lemon and honey it was served by the bartender who sprayed a mist of rosewater over it as he set it down. Completely different from One Night in Cusco it was equally as delicious in it’s own way.
One cannot survive on cocktails alone so we ordered some bites to share. We started with the Winter Squash Hummus.
Slightly spicy it was served with a colorful variety of root vegetables. Fresh and flavorful it was the perfect start to our meal.
Then came the brussel sprouts.
Now, I’ve been a fan of brussel sprouts since I was a little kid. Way before they became the latest food trend and I’ve loved sampling the various dishes that are now offered. This one? This one shot straight to the top. Charred sprouts mixed with a cilantro pistachio pesto and smoked bacon are topped with a crispy egg. Crispy egg? It’s a poached egg that’s been breaded and fried. We cracked it open and the warm yolk oozed over the dish. We dug in and…wow. So incredibly delicious.
To finish the meal we shared the Prime Skirt Steak. Topped with chimichurri and accompanied by Belgian fries it was a fitting closer. The fries were perfectly seasoned and filled with flavor and the steak was so tender it melted in my mouth. Yum.
Magnolia House is a true delight and I can’t wait to go back.