Visiting Magnolia Market at the Silos in Waco Texas: Logistics

Visiting Magnolia Market at the Silos

Logistics:

Flying:

Fly into Dallas, rent a car and drive 1.5 hours to Waco.

I met my cousin outside the Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) airport baggage claim. She arrived by plane a few hours earlier and had taken the shuttle to pick up a rental car for us. She waited at a Starbucks nearby until I texted her that I'd landed. When I had my bag and was ready to leave, she pulled up to the baggage area and we were off.

*Tip: There are several airports in Dallas, make sure everyone is booking a ticket to the same airport.

Driving from Dallas to Waco:

Eat in Dallas before you head to Waco.

Dallas/Fort Worth is huge and you'll be excited to drive to Waco. You can find something to eat much easier before you get on the road. 

My husband has family in Texas and I really like Chuy's Tex-Mex. We drove to this location in Arlington, TX so that we were heading south. We laughed, strategized and enjoyed guacamole/chips and fajitas.

We drove I-35W South for the majority of the trip and it's an easy drive.

*Tip: We like the Waze app for directions, which will tell you of hazards ahead etc. If they offer a 2 minute reroute, take it. We didn't think a 2 min reroute made sense so we ignored it. What it meant was that there was an accident ahead and they were trying to have us get off the highway for 2 min to skip and then reenter the highway after the problem. Instead we were in a slowdown that added 30 min to our trip. Lesson learned.  

Reserving a Hotel in Waco:

We stayed at the Fairfield Inn and Suites on Woodway Drive in Waco. It was just what we needed: clean and air conditioned rooms, free breakfast so we could get to Silos without delay, easy access to the highway, safe parking. 

Waco, Texas is big. We were surprised by the scale of the city and the huge highway running through town. Everything was much bigger than we expected. The bustling part of the city is not cozy or charming. The highway and "feeder road" was a bit of a challenge for us. Pay attention to what lane you're in and whether it is a "turn only" lane that heads back under the overpass. You'll get the hang of it, but give your driver a break and don't distract her on her first trip to the hotel, the Silos and back. For example, after exiting the highway, we missed the driveway into our hotel every time! The 7-11 (handy to pick up bottled water and snacks) next door shares a driveway with the Fairfield Inn and always threw us off.

Parking:

There is a large free parking lot on the South side of the Magnolia Market/Siols property, behind the row of food trucks. There is also street parking and other lots that seemed to charge $10. I didn't hear anyone complain about parking or access so I assume other visitors had luck finding a place, just as we did. (*Note: I didn't hear anyone complain about anything the entire trip. Good job, Chip & Jo!)

Lines:
Our visit was the Monday/Tuesday after the Sunday "Marathon at the Silos" and we were expecting huge crowds hanging around after the big event. The store was busy, but there was no line to enter at 9 am. The bakery line at 12:30 took about 30 min outside and 5-10 min inside. The Magnolia Table line (Tuesday morning at 9 am) took 30 min to put our name in and 15 min after that to get a private table for 2.

Heat:

It's hot in Texas and at 95 degrees, it was unseasonably warm when we were there May 6-9. My Pacific Northwest self was used to 58 degrees and it felt very hot to me. Take advantage of the shade! There are covered picnic benches on the stage of the Silos. There are super cute black & white striped awnings over

many picnic tables on the lawn. The main store is air conditioned as well as the bakery. There is a free cold water bottle fill station on the grounds near the Silo stage. (What a smart idea!) as well as cold bottled Magnolia water for sale for $1.50.

*Suggestion: I would love for them to sell cups of ice for a nominal amount on the property. Drinks go warm quickly and a cold drink is better.

Bathrooms:

On the lawn area off to the side near the barn store exit, there is a separate building that's a multi-stall bathroom. I don't know if it is air conditioned inside, but the line for it is in the sun. I opted to wait in line inside the main store (air conditioned) for the 2 larger individual bathrooms that were air-conditioned. The wait was never more than 20 min and I was always glad for the chance to admire the displays while in line. There is also a 1-person air conditioned bathroom inside the bakery. After waiting in line outside, be sure to take advantage of this cute and handy bathroom.

Timing:

We flew into Dallas in the afternoon. Ate an early dinner at Chuy's and were at our hotel in Waco by 7:30 pm. We unpacked and talked endlessly about what we thought it would be like. We were up and out of the hotel and at the Silos (10 min drive?) by 8:45 am. We spent the first day there. We made a 7 pm reservation for dinner at Diamond Back's and it was perfect (more on that later). We drove back to Magnolia Market to look around and take pictures of the Silos lit up. We knew it would be closed, but noticed that they certainly could have been open as people did arrive to check things out just as we did. We were in line the next day at Magnolia Table at 9 am. It took about 30 min to get through the line to put our name in. After that we had coffee in the courtyard until they texted us that our table was ready, maybe 15 more minutes. We got a darling table and loved our breakfast. We headed back to the hotel to shower, pack and check out. Then we went to Magnolia Market at the Silos for a last bit of shopping and picture taking. Then we drove around Waco and found Clint's shop, the Magnolia shop on Bosque and a beautiful retail home store called The Findery. Then we had coffee at Common Grounds, ate a late lunch/early dinner at George's (not recommended for a girl's trip), drove through Baylor's college campus and then left for Dallas at 6:45 pm hoping that we missed the rush hour traffic. We did and the trip to our airport hotel was smooth. We spent the night and both had flights around noon the next day. It was like clockwork! Don't shortchange yourself. If you're going all that way, don't schedule your flight out of Dallas the 2nd night, it's too tight.

Okay, I will gush and share the details tomorrow, but I wanted to get the logistics down for you. Hope it helps you have a wonderful trip to Magnolia Market at the Silos in Waco, Texas!

Read about getting cupcakes here.
Read about shopping at Magnolia Market here.

#magnoliamarket #magnolia #milestomagnolia #wacotx #chipandjo #chipgaines #joannagaines #girlstrip #thesilos #magnoliamarketsilos

City Series: Dallas: Rise No.1 Souffle

My friend, Carol, was full of good ideas for how to spend our day together in Dallas.  When we were standing in a recreation of the Bush Oval Office, she mentioned that she hoped we'd have time to get souffles later that afternoon. I always have time for a souffle!

We walked into Rise No.1 on a quiet afternoon intending to catch up over a coffee and dessert souffle.  We ended up ordering a light meal, which became the culinary highlight of my trip to Dallas.

It started when the waitress mentioned their Rise No.1's famous "Marshmallow Soup."  Carol urged me to be hungry because she thought I would really like this creamy tomato and carrot soup with 3 perfect goat cheese souffles floating on top.  

When it came, I was struck by how much they really do look like marshmallows.  The soup was creamy, but not rich and had a depth of flavor that still has me puzzling, how did they do it?  I am the salt police and often find dishes to be heavy handed.  No, this soup was perfect - probably the best I have had in the cream category.  Rise No.1's Marshmallow Soup comes with a tiny pitcher of pesto oil to drizzle on top.  I tried it, but found the spongy goat cheese souffles were just the right complement to the soup - it didn't need anything else. It was magnifique. 

We rounded out our meal with a small "Rise No.1 Salad" (baby greens, roasted pecans, matchstick-cut Granny Smith apples and blue cheese - optional) dressed with a Pecan Vinaigrette in which I detected notes of vanilla.  I ate every bite.

Near the entrance (and within view of our table) was a beautiful display of French dishtowels for sale.  Aren't they lovely?  My favorite thing about French dishtowels is the imaginative and happy color combinations.  Orange, aqua and plum.  Red and bright pink.  Taupe, apricot and purple.  If I hadn't "organized" my dish towel collection lately and seen for myself just how many I have (forty? I might actually have 40), I would have bought myself one on the spot. They were gorgeous.

The restaurant has a very French-feeling sink area just outside the restrooms that is surprisingly beautiful.  The dim lighting, lavender-scented soap and basket of French linens to dry your hands gives a charming farmhouse feel to the area.  Never underestimate the power of a linen hand towel to make an impression.

Yes, we had dessert too.  Carol had a Tarte au Fruit (apple) and I sat cross-legged in the middle of this Chocolate Souffle, complete with chocolate sauce to pour inside.  Yum yum yum.

Linger is a good word to sum up our afternoon at Rise No.1 souffle and wine bar in Dallas, Texas.  Carol and I talked and talked and talked.  It was wonderful to reconnect - how can it be 5 years since we first met in a cooking class in Paris?  We picked up right where we left off and it was so much fun.  I must get back to Dallas...and quick!

City Series: Dallas: Bush Center: Cafe 43

What a way to spend the day!  Carol and I had a leisurely lunch at Cafe 43 (George W. Bush was the 43rd President!), the museum restaurant at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Texas.

I ordered an entree salad of tiger shrimp, quinoa, arugula and feta with a roasted lemon vinaigrette.  They had me at "roasted lemon." It sounded delicious and it married the flavors of the sweet shrimp and peppery arugula perfectly.

We had a lovely table by the window and enjoyed catching up in the bright and friendly restaurant.  As we were leaving, Carol bought some of Laura Bush's famous "Cowboy Cookies" for us to snack on.

Do you remember the famous "bake off" in Family Circle magazine between Mrs. Bush's Cowboy Cookies and Tipper Gores' Ginger Snaps during the 2000 Presidential campaign?  I do! I thought it was a really cute idea and think that Mrs. Bush's cookies could have won by name alone.  The cookie recipe is printed on the Cafe 43 card and was published with slight modification here in The Washington Post.

After lunch, we looked through the museum gift shop and I passed up my chance to get a really neat souvenir.  Then I drove back the next day to buy it. Have you ever done that?

The souvenir was a Christmas ornament with a photo of a cardinal painted by George W. Bush.  I kept thinking about it afterwards and not knowing if they had an online store, I took a sudden detour when I saw "SMU" on a highway exit.  I made my way back to the little parking lot, walked to the gift shop and got my ornament.    When I left, I showed the parking attendant my new treasure and he too thought it was worth the trip back.  He also told me to "say Hi" to Michigan for him.  Done! 

Bellocq Tea Atelier

I knew you'd want to see this.  A tea store within a design store.  It makes perfect sense, doesn't it?  If you are pulling together furniture, fabrics and art to create the perfect space to entertain in, you'll want something lovely to serve, right?

This is the Bellocq Tea Atelier within the Restoration Hardware Gallery at Highland Village in Houston.  I love how the dramatic display on the landing of the main staircase and I think that the distinctive yellow tins would look beautiful on a tea tray when entertaining.

A sample of each tea is displayed near it's container, a bit like a tasting table.  Though theses samples are there to showcase the quality of the loose tea and encourage to customers to experience the scent of the many complex combinations.  I loved the display as well as the experience of exploring the many combinations through scent.  I can attest that the tea leaves and floral/citrus additions are of the highest quality.  Can tea be gorgeous? Yes.   

I was in a rush, but I do remember liking No. 1 Bellocq Breakfast the best.  The next time I am in town, that tin is mine!

Eskimo Kiss

When I am traveling, I'm always on the lookout for things that bring delight. My sisters-in-law in Texas are "on board" with this concept and consider it their mission to take me places that we don't have in Michigan.

Enter The Eskimo Hut.

We were driving home on a hot, Houston afternoon when Susan announced, "I know what you'll like!" and pulled into, what looked like, a car wash. To my amazement, it was a drive-thru frozen daiquiri store. You can order almost anything, but much of the draw is that you can get a "real" frozen margarita to take home and enjoy. Since it was mid-afternoon, we opted for nonalcoholic Pina Coladas and a few Diet Cokes, but it was really fun. Somehow choosing from a million flavor combinations (with names like "Code Red," "Orangesicle," and "Hurricane") and ordering from the car window, made us feel really wild. We got our giant drinks, popped in a straw and happily slurped all the way home.

Outdoor Dining

Everything tastes better outside. I took this photo at the Amazon Grill on Westheimer in Houston. A super-cool casual Latin American restaurant with a huge outdoor patio. Have you noticed all of the magazines spotlighting Houston just after I returned? Lucky (Dec '07) and Domino (Feb '08, page 15-17) are the latest to pack pages full of cool new shops in Houston. Now I'll have to wait a whole year to check them out. To stay organized, I keep a city file of stores that I want to visit. My Houston folder just got a little thicker.