The Basics

 

Located at 319 North Front Street in Downtown Wilmington, The Basics serves upscale Southern cuisine. It is open for breakfast (8-10:45 on weekdays), lunch (11:15-3 daily), dinner (5-9 Monday-Saturday), and weekend brunch (10-3 Saturday and Sunday). There is a full bar, and food specials change daily. Online reservations and ordering are available.

 

My wife and I were looking for a nice breakfast/brunch spot for our anniversary, and The Basics, a five-minute walk from where we were staying, seemed to fit the bill. It’s got exposed brick and vintage stools that exude retro charm. Add to that an amiable server and Led Zeppelin in the background, and The Basics provided a great atmosphere.

 

The menu offered plenty to choose from, and we ultimately went with migas (potato cake as the side) and the daily omelet (blueberry pancake on the side). Ultimately, the food rated as good, not great. The omelet (sausage, potato, vegetables) was hearty and satisfying. The pancake was tasty (good blueberry flavor) as well albeit dense and crisp rather than light and fluffy. The potato cake was more akin to a mashed potato puff, definitely not bad in its own right but perplexing for anyone expecting anything latke-esque. Accompanying biscuits were small and dry.

 

While we weren’t wowed by The Basics, we’re still glad that we gave the restaurant a try. The food doesn’t reach the level of the atmosphere and service (or its price point, for that matter), but it isn’t a liability, either.

Earl's

 

Located at 121 West 9^th Street in Winston-Salem, Earl’s offers Nashville-inspired cuisine for lunch and dinner. The establishment is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily with dinner entrees available after 4 p.m. and brunch on weekends. There is a full bar, outdoor seating is available, and live music (country) plays on Friday and Saturday nights.

 

A whiskey kitchen is becoming de rigueur for North Carolina cities of a certain size, and Earl’s is Winston-Salem’s take on the concept. While it can’t hold a candle to either 913 in Greensboro or Whiskey Kitchen in Raleigh, it fares well enough on its own merits.

 

Conveniently located near Wise Man and Radar breweries and the Ramkat, Earl’s is spacious and comfortable. Though I’m definitely not a country music fan, “What am I doing here?” never entered my mind.

 

Earl’s specializes in chicken, but the menu offers everything from burgers, sandwiches, and salads to meatloaf to tomato pie. For our first visit, my wife and I opted for a fried pickles starter, a Winston Hot Chicken sandwich, and chicken and dumplings. While the app arrived relatively quickly, we faced a considerably longer wait for the entrees. Granted, fried chicken takes time, but the kitchen’s pace could best be described as leisurely. However, Portia, our server, was warm and friendly and did a great job.

 

When it did arrive, the food was more satisfying than not. The fried pickles were a definite hit. They do them as chips rather than spears here. They were very thin, very crisp, and packed a good bit of dill flavor. The accompanying ranch tasted homemade. That same crispiness extended to the tots and the chicken sandwich as well. The latter packed a welcome kick from the dry rub, and creamy slaw in the sandwich was a nice touch. That said, I found myself missing the sauciness of a “Nashville Hot,” and this did not feel like $14 worth of sandwich. At least it was easy to eat. The chicken and dumplings, on the other hand, were worth the $16 charged and then some. The gravy was rich and herby, savory without being too salty. The dumplings were delectable, and chicken is a house specialty here for a reason.

 

Overall, Earl’s falls short of great (except for, perhaps, in chicken), and the kitchen is slow, but it offers good service, solidly tasty food, and an inviting atmosphere.

J. Pepper's Southern Grille

 

Located at 841 Old Winston Road in Kernersville, J. Pepper’s Southern Grille offers locally sourced Southern cuisine for lunch and dinner daily. There is a full bar, and patio seating is available. Food and drink specials change daily.

 

Much like Lucky 32 in Greensboro, J. Pepper’s offers dressed-up versions of familiar Southern dishes. Maybe it was a confluence of favorable circumstances (warm, sunny day + patio seating + not too busy), but “the Kernersville version” made for a surprisingly outstanding lunch.

 

Though the inside is dark, J. Pepper’s patio is an open and inviting space. My wife and I showed up for a midweek lunch and were seated without any wait. One look at the menu told us that we would have difficult decisions ahead as J. Pepper’s offers no shortage of enticing options. After mulling over a few sandwiches, we settled on a fried green tomato starter, shrimp and grits, and a southern salad. The first two are among my go-to dishes when available, so J. Pepper’s had a high bar to reach to leave an impression.

 

Fortunately, the food more than hit the mark. J. Pepper’s fried green tomatoes and shrimp and grits fall among the top five versions that I’ve had anywhere. The former paired really well with a sweet and smoky bacon jam while the latter featured sizable shrimp, very creamy grits, and hints of sherry in the sauce. The southern salad was no slouch either as it came topped with large chicken tenders that were both crisp and juicy. Speaking of salads, a deviled egg Caesar is a winning choice as an entrée side option. All this made for a very filling meal (and leftovers), which is fortunate as I can only imagine the desserts.

 

J. Pepper’s pricing was right where it should be for a restaurant of this type: entrees in the teens and apps in the $8-$11 range. Kate provided friendly and attentive service, and we weren’t left waiting long for anything.

 

Whether we caught J. Pepper’s on a particularly good day or whether the establishment is criminally underappreciated remains to be seen, but for a nice lunch in Kernersville, look no further.

Sweet Old Bill's

Located at 1232 North Main Street in High Point, Sweet Old Bill’s offers barbeque and modern Southern cuisine for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday. There is a full bar, and patio seating is available as is curbside takeout.

Sweet Old Bill’s had been on my to-try list for quite some time, but mixed reviews made it less than a top priority. After finally hitting it up for takeout, I’m glad that I did. It isn’t the best barbeque in the area, and it will probably drive diehard Lexington traditionalists up the wall, but it’s tasty and well-rounded.

Sweet Old Bill’s bills (pardon the redundancy) itself as “burgers, brew, and cue” and a good assortment of all three can be found here. The menu boasts everything from the requisite pulled pork or chicken (in sandwich or platter format) to homemade pork skins, redneck charcuterie, and more than a half-dozen burgers. There are also several salads and a Tree Hugger veggie burger for those so inclined.

My wife and I opted to split a large brisket nachos and a pulled pork platter with tomato pie and sweet potato fries as the sides. Everything was ready when I arrived for pick-up, and though I didn’t linger long, the restaurant looked like the kind of place that would either be a lot of fun or headache-inducingly loud at full capacity. Staff were friendly, and they appeared to be following COVID precautions.

The sides outshine the meats at Sweet Old Bill’s, and that may be the cause of some of the mixed reviews. That isn’t to say that the meats are bad – they are neither tough nor completely flavorless – but rather that no one will confuse them for Black Powder Smokehouse’s offerings. The gooey, cheesy tomato pie is transcendent and the sweet potato fries are better than most. The nachos come nicely loaded with corn, black beans, jalapenos, and cheese, but the chimichurri is the flavor that stands out the most, for better or worse.

There are cheaper options than Sweet Old Bill’s, but you get a good amount of food for your money. The $12 pulled pork plate included a half pound and two sides while the $14 large nachos yielded two entrée-sized portions (and leftovers).

For those whose tastes allow for a flexible interpretation of barbeque, Sweet Old Bills is a solid contemporary option.

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.

The Mecca Restaurant

Located at 13 East Martin Street in downtown Raleigh, The Mecca Restaurant offers Southern food for breakfast and lunch daily and dinner every day except Sunday. There is a full bar, and private dining is available.

Calling a restaurant “The Mecca” sounds like the height of hipster pretention, but this place is very much the opposite. Founded by Greek immigrants in 1930, The Mecca is as old-school as old-school gets with classic décor, a comfortably familiar menu, and competent execution all-around.

While there are definitely more chic and comfortable places to dine, The Mecca oozes nostalgia. Red stools along a long counter, a black and white checkered floor, and heavy wooden booths give the look of a place untouched by time. The menu is equally immune to faddishness, offering Southern favorites (fried chicken, fried fish, and chopped BBQ), a few nods to the founders’ heritage (a Greek salad and Zorba’s beef tips), and the eyebrow-raising Garry Dorn burger (a veal cutlet sandwich).

Hungry from wandering around GalaxyCon, my wife and I bypassed sandwiches in favor of platters: fried fish and BBQ, respectively. Both came with a hushpuppy, slaw, and two sides (mac n cheese for both of us, butter beans for her, and fried okra for me). While neither dish was attractively plated, both tasted considerably better than they looked. After decades, The Mecca has making this kind of food down to a science. Both the fish and the okra were fried to a golden brown sans greasiness, the slaw was creamy, and the BBQ was not dried out. Admittedly, vinegar-based is not my preferred style, but The Mecca’s was as good as a rendition of that type as I’ve had anywhere.

For three quarters of the meal, service was courteous, prompt, and attentive. However, we made the mistake of ordering a blackberry cobbler after The Mecca got busier, and the dessert took so long to reach us that they ended up comping it. At under $3, it still would have been worthwhile, and much of The Mecca’s menu is similarly value-conscious. Both lunch dishes were under $10 apiece, and while the fried fish contained a disappointingly small amount of fish, there was still enough on the plate for a filling meal.

The Mecca is the kind of time-displaced icon that everyone should try at least once, but for those who are willing to trade innovation for simplicity, it’s more than just a novelty act.

Southern Roots

Located at 119 East Main Street in Jamestown, Southern Roots serves Southern-inspired cuisine for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Friday and dinner on Saturday. There is a full bar, a patio for outdoor seating, and catering is available.

Thanks to its proximity to both work and home, its local ownership and use of locally inspired ingredients, and its tantalizing menu, Southern Roots had occupied a spot on my to-try list for quite some time. I finally got my chance today, and while it was an uneven experience, I am glad that I did.

Nestled in downtown (if one can call it that) Jamestown across from the post office, Southern Roots is a fairly attractive space inside and out. It features an inviting patio, an elegant long bar, and plenty of wall art though the palette is very muted.

My wife and I arrived for lunch to celebrate our anniversary just after noon and had our pick of inside or outside seating. We opted for the former, which ended up being a mistake as we found ourselves in close proximity to two large groups. This made for a louder meal with slower service than anticipated, and one can hope that is the exception rather than the norm here.

Southern Roots offers an appealing menu full of local and regional specialties and a few surprises. Fried green tomatoes, pulled pork, and country steak mingle alongside artisanal pizzas (okra with caramelized onions, anyone?), sandwiches, salads, and more. Quinoas and quiches rotate daily, and one can cobble together a vegetarian plate from any four of the dozen-plus sides.

My wife and I split the fried green tomatoes (one of our go-to dishes) and went with the Cobb wrap (guac, house-smoked turkey, bacon, tomato, greens, and blue cheese) and seafood risotto (scallops, shrimp, crab, portabellas, and a parmesan cream sauce) respectively. The tomatoes were crispy and very nicely battered, but the dish could have used some more spiciness/smokiness (more pimento, perhaps?) to balance the potent sweetness of the accompanying applewood bacon jam. A similar theme could be found in the Cobb wrap. The turkey was great (as were the accompanying sweet potato fries), but there weren’t enough vegetables to counter the pungent strength of the blue cheese. The risotto, on the other hand, was magical. Scallops were perfectly seared yet not the least bit tough, shrimp were generously sized, portabella slivers fit in well, and the whole thing was cheesy, creamy perfection.

While a pricy dinner option, Southern Roots made for a more affordable than expected lunch. Our app was $8, the wrap was $9 (with one side included), and the seafood risotto was $16. Our server was apologetic regarding delays and acquitted himself well otherwise.

All told, while Lucky 32 remains my favorite for upscale Southern, I would still give Southern Roots another try. It would be worth it to learn if this place is ever not busy and if anything on the menu touches the quality of the risotto.

Whiskey Kitchen

Located at 201 Martin Street near Nash Square in Raleigh, Whiskey Kitchen specializes in whiskeys, cocktails, and Southern cuisine. Patio seating and private/event dining are available. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday and 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Monday.

Coming from Greensboro, I was skeptical that anything could match 913 Whiskey Bar without being priced into the stratosphere. Raleigh’s Whiskey Kitchen managed to match its strengths – a deep drinks menu, a more compact food menu full of delicious-sounding Southern bites, friendly service, and affordable pricing – while providing considerably more space. Even if you are not a whiskey drinker, you can find plenty to like here.

Whiskey Kitchen is a casual, seat-yourself spot, with an inviting high-meets-low motif. Think brick-and-ductwork industrial with big garage doors but also a striking mural behind a sleek, long bar. The combination proved both distinctive and inviting.

Though Whiskey Kitchen offers food all day, certain items are only available during certain times. Lunch specials run from 11-3 while dinner entrees are offered from 5-11. My wife and I came in toward the end of the lunch shift and found several possibilities from among the admittedly limited (about six items) lunch menu. I opted for a smoked brisket melt, she took on the fried chicken sandwich, and we both did side salads instead of potato wedges to assuage our guilt.

Our food came out relatively quickly, and it did not disappoint. The brisket was neither too dry nor too greasy, the sweet sauce balanced the smoky flavor, and the crispy bread held the sandwich together well. The chicken had a buttermilk and sweet tea batter, a quirky combination that was thankfully not overwhelming, and the meat was moist and delicious. Considering the quality of the food and the downtown Raleigh location, the $10 apiece charged for each sandwich+side was confusingly affordable (the chicken sandwich goes up to a less impressive $13 if ordered past lunch hours).

All told, we had a great lunch at the Whiskey Kitchen, but we also visited during an off-hour (2:30 p.m. on a Saturday). During peak times, I can imagine the acoustics being somewhat unforgiving. Time it right, however, and you won’t regret stopping by.

8.5/10