Magdalena's in Corydon, Indiana, is one of the few locally-owned restaurants in Harrison County. Offering traditional Southern dishes, Magdalena's is a favorite dining place among both Corydon residents and visitors to the town alike.
Review
My mom loves Magdalena's. When she takes someone out to dinner, she takes them to Magdalena's. To my mom, Magdalena's is a big treasure hidden in a small town. In fact, it was my mom who took me to Magdalena's for the first time.
I, on the other hand, could take Magdalena's or leave it. I've eaten there two times, and both times my food was bland and unremarkable. Then again, maybe it's just what I'm ordering or who is cooking when I eat there because I hear people brag about the food at Magdalena's constantly.
My first trip to Magdalena's was ruined by a woman whom I later learned is a regular there. I was trying to visit with my mom, grandma, and grandpa, and this woman came to our table and took over the conversation. She stayed for so long that I finally had to ask her to leave so we could enjoy our meal. I certainly never mind talking to someone, but this woman crossed the line and interrupted our dinner. It made the rest of the meal uncomfortable for everyone.
The crazy thing was that my mom and brother ate there a couple of months later, and they were approached by the same woman who had the audacity to come over and pinch my 18-year-old brother's cheeks and swoon over how cute she thought he was. He was too horrified to react, and they ended up leaving before they had planned in order to get away from the woman.
The second time I ate at Magdalena's, we saw the woman there again, but this time we managed to avoid her. The result of these three encounters is that I never want to eat there again. I understand that this woman is a regular and they certainly aren't going to tell her not to come back, but I'm certain that she is running the restaurant's customers off.
The first time I ate at Magdalena's, I had the sautéed shrimp with sweet potato patties and steamed vegetable medley. I tried the sweet potato patties based on the recommendation of my mom and husband, but I really didn't find them as impressive as everyone made them out to be. They just tasted like mashed sweet potatoes, nothing special. I felt pretty much the same about my shrimp and vegetables – they just weren't any different from something I could have cooked at home for myself for a lot less money.
The second time I ate at Magdalena's I was really hoping it would be much better than my first experience there, but it wasn't. This time I had the prime rib, mushroom, and swiss sandwich with steak fries, and, again, it wasn't anything special. In fact, my "prime rib" tasted like it came out of a microwave meal. Not to mention that this time we waited nearly a half an hour for our food. I would have expected a longer wait if we had a larger party or if they had been busy, but there were only four of us and we were the only people in the restaurant until the aforementioned woman and her husband arrived.
Overall, I can't say that I'll ever choose to eat at Magdalena's again, but I can't promise that someone else wouldn't have a different experience. Maybe I've just been there on bad days. But, I gave them one more shot than I usually give places I'm disappointed with (I'll never eat at Famous Dave's again), and I still cannot see what my mom loves about the place.
Recommendations
- Sweet Potato Patties
Pros
- Interesting restaurant in an interesting town
Cons
- Obnoxious customers
- Poor service
- Unremarkable food
