Of all the places in the world, I never thought Waco, Texas would be on my travel bucket list. But the Fixer Upper nerd in me is strong.

Just a week before our visit to Texas, James and I watched Chip and Jo renovate and open their new restaurant Magnolia Table. We obviously had to go! We rented a car and drove up from Austin (it’s about an 1.5 hour with no traffic) and arrived at the restaurant around 10:30 AM, preparing ourselves for maybe 45 minutes to an hour wait. Boy were we naive. For a party of two, we were quoted a THREE AND A HALF HOUR wait with more than 200 parties ahead of us (it was even longer for more than two people). The good thing was that once you gave them your cell phone number, they texted you a link where you can see your place on the waiting list. Armed with this info, and a few hours to kill, we wandered around town and even had time to visit the Magnolia Silos a few miles down the road.

The hostess said to head back to the restaurant once there were “only” fifty people ahead of us, which I’d say is pretty accurate. By the time we were sat, it was 2:00 PM and you better believe we were ready to eat! To start, we had the “Bacon & Eggs,” which was bacon coated in brown sugar, deviled eggs and the best jalapeño jam I’ve ever tasted! James ordered “Chip’s Ham Sandwich,” and I got the “Simple Greens + Roasted Chicken” with a side of cheesy grits (divine!). I have to say, whatever Chip & Jo set out to do, they do it really really well! All in all, I’d highly recommend! If you go in knowing that the wait is going to be crazy long and are okay with wandering the town while you wait, the trip to Waco is definitely one you won’t forget!