Mike B.
Yelp
Today we found ourselves in the Asheboro area and my wife did a quick search of our Yelp bookmarks and remembered she had bookmarked Magnolia 23 at one time. She quickly looked at their hours and saw they open at 11am on Sunday's (closed Saturday's, and Monday-Wednesday).
She remembered all the love Magnolia 23 receives so she called even though it was before 11am to see if reservations were required. Lucky for us someone answered and he confirmed they do not take reservations and tables are seated first come, first serve.
Our directions told us we would arrive within 5 minutes of opening, so we made our way there. We easily found 2-hour street parking available and later learned there is a parking lot immediately out the back door (which is actually the preferred entrance). Once we parked we headed to the entrance on South Fayetteville St. The building itself is very cozy and charming from the outside and my wife quickly showed me the outdoor area which is equally as charming and feels very southern.
We walked in through the door and were immediately greeted by the owner, Don. He was welcoming and gracious even though we later saw a sign on the front door requesting that guests use the back door for entering and exiting. We suspect this allows for people seated at the front of the restaurant not to be crowded or interrupted by guests arriving and exiting. At the rear entrance there are restrooms and a small hallway which is out of the way of the customers seated.
Don pointed us to the back of the restaurant and asked us to check in with another gentleman. The restaurant is long and narrow and we could easily make our way to the gentleman. As we walked to the back we could see most of the tables were occupied and they had just opened. We told him we had a party of two and he took us to a small table. We immediately fell in love with the place, it was comfortable, cozy and you could tell that for most people they were very familiar with Don, Doris and their team.
We saw chalkboard menus at three locations throughout the restaurant and when our server arrived to take our drink orders we inquired and she told us their full menu was on the chalkboards. Today they offered five entrees, fried chicken with either white or dark meat, baked tenderloin with dressing and gravy, chuck roast, stew beef and Kansas City ribs. All meals are served with your choice of two sides (collards, cabbage, green beans, black eye peas, crowder peas, mashed potatoes, potato salad, mac and cheese, basked apples, rice, slaw, pintos, limas, yams and fatback) and either a roll or corn bread.
We intended to take a picture of one of the boards but when we stood up to leave there was a large line of people and we couldn't easily stop and take a picture. We later found a picture of the menu on their Facebook page so we are including that as well.
Our server stopped back in with our drink orders and asked us if we were ready to order. My wife decided on the fried chicken with white meat, and chose green beans and yams for her sides with a corn muffin. I decided on the stew beef with green beans, mac n cheese and a roll.
We commented to each other that their concept of offering a smaller menu with a handful of entree choices and 10-15 sides along with a handful of desserts is brilliant. Don stopped in at our table and we enjoyed chatting with him. He told us that Magnolia 23 has been in business since 2009. My wife commented she had seen the article in Our State magazine and he was quick to point us to a picture on the wall which showed them featured in Southern Living and other magazines as well. It is clear he is proud of what he and his wife has done and it shows.
The interior of the restaurant including the bathrooms is neat and clean and we noticed a sanitation rating of 95.5. Our meals arrived in a timely manner and looked incredible. They were piping hot and we dug in.
We enjoyed each and every bite, it was cooked and seasoned perfectly. The town of Asheboro looks to be a special place and Magnolia 23 is a staple within the community.
We also decided to order a fried apple pie served warm and our server offered us ice cream with it to which we quickly replied, "yes". It also arrived in a timely manner and tasted delicious. Like we said, when we left there was a large line of people waiting to be seated and we believe we overheard an estimated 30 minute wait. We lucked out today and timed it just right.
We will absolutely be back and wish Don and Doris and their team continued success.
