Sunday, August 19, 2007

Lili's Bistro on Magnolia

Well, I finally made it over to Lili's and if you've been there already, I'm probably just preaching to the choir. Lili's is in the Near Southside of Downtown on Magnolia and is a great example of the type of small restaurant everybody wants near them. The menu has a wide range of items to select from and the actual restaurant is interesting enough to prevent any lulls in first date conversations ("oh look, Mrs. Bairds...").

Anyways, I went with a couple friends so we sampled a few items. First, we had to wait on the third person to show up, and after staring at our neighbors' gorgonzola waffle fries for five minutes, I gave in and we got an order of them. Amazing. All fries should be covered in gorgonzola and green onions. These are really just yuppie cheese fries and I don't mind admitting that I love them. The item is an appetizer and is huge. You could get by with one for a table of four but you'll find yourself glaring at your friend that you just know ate more than his share...yeah, they were glaring at me.

For the meals, my fiance had the smokin' hot turkey roulade, I had the basic burger, and our friend had the three-cheese burger. I know, the burger selection was pretty weak but I had to try it and I was in a burger mood.

To imagine a roulade, take all the ingredients in a sandwich and wrap them in a thin piece of dough. Then bake the bundle, cut it into fourths, and serve it to a drooling customer. The roulade was a hit except for the sprouts. Apparently the hot sprouts didn't go over so well, but there are other sandwiches without sprouts.

The burgers were amazing. I chose the sourdough bun but I remember them having another option. The burger was perfectly cooked and the trimmings were great. The bun/meat combo never seemed too messy or greasy. The three cheese burger looked good but my friend was not interested in letting me take a bite of his burger.

I haven't been for dinner but I definitely will be going soon. The food was great, the ambience was great, and our server was great. This is the ideal place for a date (first or otherwise) or a great place to meet some friends. The restaurant is not that big and seats are limited but its worth the wait. We went at lunch and got the last table open at 12:00. But don't let that scare you away.

As usual, if you agree or disagree, let me know. If you've been and have a recommendation on something to try let me know.

Lili's Bistro on Magnolia on Urbanspoon

-FortWorthHoleInTheWall

7 comments:

Unknown said...

I doubt that he is a Racist and Sexist. He probably just did not like you. I have a black female friend, Tonya, who adores the restaurant and the owner. I am sure she would be quick to disagree with you. The food is top notch, the service is accordingly, and en environment is enchanting. I highly recommend it to anyone and if you stop by for lunch try the Tilapia it is incredible.

Anonymous said...

I hardly think that this is the venue for unsubstantiated and liable statements like those referring to Lili's Bistro on Magnolia. I should hope they are removed.

Anonymous said...

Went here today and it was wonderful. Had lunch and the ambiance is great. The food was even better just had the chicken burger and it was so bueno my mouth is watering from the memory. The sourdough bread was just the right kind of crispiness and lightly buttered. It tasted sweet, the chicken was juicy full of taste and the melted cheese gave it just a hint of creaminess.

The service was prompt and polite what more could you ask for.

Anonymous said...

$$$Bruno$$$ Most disappointing experience for the money. It started out as a 6:30pm friday dinner where we usually go next door to The Spiral Diner but by a friend's suggestion we gave this place a try.
To start, they don't have the usual "going out" foods that we were used to...but since it was pricey, we expected good food...boy did we learn otherwise. Here goes: I wanted a salad, but all they have is iceberg lettuce. My wife ordered a salad for $8. It came with a quarter cut sized of iceberg with some red onions, some tomatoe pieces and dressing. She had to cut it up...also came with some kind of flatbread. Ok, I had ordered the "Fresh from the Farm" for $18. Expected fresh veggies, rice, beans, etc. Well they only have white rice...white rice?? This is a fancy place and no brown or wild rice? So I get the veggies with a red cabbage bean salad with an upgrade of salmon...for another $5. I get the plate and the salmon is the size of a Ding Dong. The veggies have some kind of spice not mentioned in the menu. Now I like hot but it wasn't what I wanted or expected. The upside is that the bean salad was good. To drink I had water...sadly it was not filtered because I know what Fort Worth water tastes like. There were 8 in our party and a few others were disappointed with their "Brie" dish. Another had ordered a Sprite or 7-Up...not sure which. It came in a can...again, real ritzy place. She had said it smelled moldy and tasted funny. So she looks at the date on the bottom of the can and it was 2007. We are in in 2008 people. Then came dessert, we ordered the banana cake...the Sprite girl got Lemon torte...this salvaged the meal but didn't save it. My wife and the girl also had the waffle fries with goat cheese and green onions...it was good but then how can you screw up waffle fries?
Anyhow, if you like food that is delivered not as read on the menu, unfiltered water, white rice, iceberg lettuce, and year old Sprite/7-Up...then expect to pay $90 for a party ticket of 4. Bottom line! It sucked!!

FortWorthHoleInTheWall said...

Anonymous, I'm sorry you had such a bad time. But let me show you where you went wrong. First, get the arnold palmer. Its lemonade and iced tea. Brilliant! Then, as I've said before, get the House Burger. Its affordable and awesome.

Give them another shot at lunch. It may be more in line with what you expect price wise and selection wise.

On another note. I went recently and learned that the crab cakes rock socks off. No lie. My dad was sitting their sockless after dinner.

Anonymous said...

Better read many reviews about this place. Just about every entry that Vance makes is some kind of verbal attack against a customer. He assumes that everyone will accept his type of dining as compared to other dining establishments. Fort Worth is too large of a city to deal with such a small place like this in an area of Fort Worth that was once condemned by the city and is now slowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwly trying to bring it back up. This is one dining experience that will not be tolerated much longer in the Magnolia medical district of Fort Worth. Strongly suggest that this place be avoided. Trust us!

Anonymous said...

Finally made it for lunch...not sure what all the controversy seems to be about this place, but I saw a very ethnically/gender(-ally?) diverse business that served good, honest food that didn't come out of a Ben Keith freezer bag. Turkey Roulade was indeed awesome, one half was light on sprouts, other heavy...I love sprouts, but when there's so many you can't bite through them, the spread's a little uneven. My husband had the House Burger, which was incredible. Yuppie cheese fries? Yes, please!

I thought it was fantastic, and I'm willing to pay a little more for real, honest-to-goodness food.