Magnolia Blue

Located at 1807 North Main Street in High Point, Magnolia Blue offers upscale Southern fare for dinner seven days a week and a brunch on Sundays. There is a full drinks menu with original cocktails, and meat and potato and soup offerings rotate daily. Magnolia Blue Upstairs offers lighter fare, a patio, and a bookable private room.

In search of a good New Years Eve meal and no longer in close proximity to Undercurrent or the Quaintance-Weaver trifecta, I booked a reservation for Magnolia Blue. This last meal of the year ended up being one of the best meals of the year as food, service, and ambiance were all very good.

Housed in a former newspaper building, Magnolia Blue is sleek and cozy. There is a lot of gray, but it doesn’t feel drab. The music playing alternated between Christmas tunes and EDM, an oddity that no one could explain, but not enough of a distraction to detract from the meal.

Magnolia Blue’s menu suggests creative takes on familiar dishes. Fried green tomatoes, shrimp and grits, gumbo, chicken and waffles, and chicken and dumplings are among the offerings, but these are not the versions you’ve had before. For example, the dumplings in chicken and dumplings are toasted gnocchi, and the dish comes with andouille and kale. Though practically the entire menu held appeal, my wife and I settled on a fried green tomato starter (our litmus test dish for Southern fare), a zydeco salad (andouille, potatoes, roasted tomatoes, asparagus, arugula, and a fried egg), a cream of crab soup, and a bayou shrimp and crab pasta.

By and large, the food delivered on its potential. The fried green tomatoes well-breaded and nicely plated albeit a rather small portion. The pasta, on the other hand, did not skimp. The shrimp were flavorful and cooked just right, and trottole is an underrated pasta shape. The real star, however, was the sauce, which was brothier and more complex than the typical alfredo. Some bread to mop it up would have been a welcome addition. While the zydeco salad’s components were tasty, the red wine mustard vinaigrette was overpowering. Though requested on the side, it was served atop the salad. Fortunately, our server, Phil (who did a great job overall), was apologetic and brought a second bowl of greens to make things right. We saved enough room to split a dessert, and the chocolate cherry bread pudding won out. It paired well with ice cream and closed out a satisfying meal.

Magnolia Blue is not a cheap meal, but as an “occasion” restaurant, it is fairly priced. Entrees run from the teens to the upper twenties, and the quality justifies the price. Neither drinks ($10 for craft cocktails) nor desserts (under $10) were exorbitant, either.

Just a few hiccups shy of a five-star experience, Magnolia Blue is one of the best restaurants that High Point has to offer. Polished yet innovative, it merits many returns.