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Well-deserved weekend getaway: Saturday in Waco
Since late October, Abel has been working 12-13 hour days, and has usually only had one day off during the week. Needless to say, our time together has been limited beyond dinner and sleep. So, when we got an invite for a weekend in Waco right before Christmas, we immediately said yes.
Magnolia Silos
As it turns out, we were not in any sort of hurry on our Saturday morning departure, so we arrived to the Magnolia Silos around noon.
Not surprisingly, there was a line at the bakery, and the shopping area was crowded. Earlier, before we decided to leave Magnolia Table for a quicker lunch option (see "Taqueria trumps Magnolia Table" below), we browsed the gift shop and found a lot of the items for sale to be shockingly expensive: I considered buying a 12 oz. coffee mug, but once I realized it was $18.00 I quickly lost interest, and I like buying Christmas ornaments from places we visit, but an individual ornament that's priced at $28.00 just isn't my thing.
The area at the Silos was smaller than I'd anticipated, but given that we came at a busy time of day and right before Christmas, it may have just been the effect of the crowd. There were ample opportunities for Instagramable photo-shoots, which we absolutely took advantage of. We were also relieved that we'd picked the perfect cool, breezy, cloudless day to visit and almost kicked ourselves once we realized there were food trucks on site. I could've had an over-priced grilled cheese sandwich!
Overall, I wouldn't build an entire day just around a visit to the Silos. Aside from shopping (and we're not talking bargain shopping, either) and eating, there isn't much else to do on site, but if you like shopping and eating, then it's perfect! And there is ample space for kiddos to run around and play.
Taqueria trumps Magnolia Table
When we arrived in Waco mid-Saturday morning, we attempted to have lunch at Magnolia Table but were unable to due to the 90 minute wait time for a table of four and the fact that we were very hungry. While I don't mind eating at hyped up places when visiting a new city, the wait times and lines are very often enough to deter me and I will happily settle for a less popular but more hometown type of place.
We quickly found Taqueria El Crucero to be just across the traffic circle from Magnolia Table and free of any wait times. Here, the menu is posted on an interior wall and you order at a window to the kitchen. At this point in time, I had been craving pupusas for weeks and when I spotted them on the menu I ordered them without hesitation.
The seating was cramped as it is a very small restaurant, but being that Abel and I eat at taquerias quite often, I felt very comfortable and excited for my plate. We quickly discovered that the food was delicious and homemade, including the tortillas, which I was especially happy to find because serving store bought tortillas can absolutely ruin a place for us. The pupusas came out hot and served with curtido, rice, and beans.
I can't speak for anyone else but, once we were served and eating, I forgot all about the bougie lunch we almost had.