My wife and I ate at Magnolia on a Saturday night and had a bizarrely terrible experience. \r
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The restaurant is very loud with bad 80's flourescent lighting, exposed cheap-looking ceiling fans, and an acoustic tile ceiling.\r
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We tried to order wine, but the server advised us to get another (more expensive) one, saying that it was 'spicier'. When we opened it, it was sweet, like maneshevitz aged in french oak. Although the service was attentive - they filled our water glasses within a milimeter of the brim - they left our empty bread basket on the table during the entire meal, not asking if we wanted more, or wanted it removed. The dishes that we were served on were battered white pasta bowls from the 80s. Earlier that day, I had found substantially better china at the Salvation Army.\r
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We got a chickpea cake as an appetizer that was pretty good, but not refined. We ordered the ""wild alaskan salmon"" and the pork shoulder. The pork arrived overcooked and dry despite being requested ""medium rare"". The salmon was cooked fine, but was pale as chicken and flavorless (most likely Atlantic farmed). We sent the pork back and got a tuna entree instead, which tasted more like the potato crust than a piece of fish. The vegetables that came with each entree were a strange combination of the raw and the cooked, the preserved and the fresh. The tuna came with shredded beets and corn, the salmon with preserved artichokes and beans. It was as if a group of self-taught chefs were opening jars of 'fancy' ingredients to impress a rube-like clientele.\r
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