If I could give this place ten stars, I would. You will have a wait when you get there, and you…read morewill wait no matter how long it takes. You cannot find a better place for a meal, or more kind folks running the place from top to bottom. And if your plate is too big to finish, feel free to take it home, because you'll want to save room for dessert.
Magnolia 23 is a staple in our household. So long as we've lived within a 30 minute drive, it has been a great place for a Sunday lunch, or any other meal within the hours they are open. They treat you like family from the very start with the way that they take names for the line. It's natural to start a conversation with the people around you, because everyone has the same end game - a great meal.
Once you're seated, it's never long before a waitress comes and takes your drink order. The menu for the day is posted on Facebook and written on the board on the wall, along with the sides and dessert options. There's no menus because it's a meat and two sides, plus a bread of either roll or cornbread. The seating is tables and chairs, although some areas have couches for seating, which is a nice change of pace.
Today I got stewed beef with sides of mac and cheese, yams, and bread choice was cornbread. My other half got the country style steak, with sides of cabbage and rice with gravy, and bread of cornbread. The littles shared a fried chicken plate with side of mashed potatoes with gravy. They divided and conquered their food so fast I forgot to snag a picture of it. The stewed beef was perfection. So tender, and the juices went well with the cornbread. The yams were expertly spiced, and prepared with so much love. The mac and cheese was delicious, so I offered some to my youngest who promptly stole the rest of it. I did sample the country style steak, and it was so delicious that none was spared. I cannot wait to eat my leftover stewed beef later this week, as I knew I wanted to save room for dessert.
We ordered two fried apple pies, and a slice of Hershey bar cake. Be careful with the fried pies - the filling turns into molten lava when heated, so despite the fact that you'll want to take the largest first bite, please be patient and spare your taste buds from their imminent demise by letting it cool a minute. The spices on the apple filling on the fried pies were perfect, and I savored every bite that I stole from my husband. My dessert was the Hershey bar cake, which I split with one of my littles. It didn't have a thick layer of icing, which was great. The cake had a nice crumb, and was sweet without being overly sweet.
If you haven't been here yet, make sure to take note of their hours and then take a trip to Asheboro. Once you've finished your meal, feel free to take a stroll around downtown and know that you've just had the best meal around. Magnolia 23 is worth the price and worth the wait, because you will be blessed by the whole experience.