CREATIVE LOAFING (June 22, 2005)
Bill Addison

Magnolia Grill does not look the way I imagined it would. For a nationally recognized bastion of New Southern Cuisine the restaurant seems positively . . . spare. In fact, it most closely resembles an immaculate meat-n-three. Not that it doesn’t radiate welcome. Art depicting women carrying food on their heads enlivens a neutral wall and a swath of dark African cloth overlays the banquette underneath.

The dining room is packed. And from the well-grooved rhythm in the open kitchen and the hustling tenor of the servers, you sense that packed is status quo in this place. Consider a few mouth-watering descriptions from the menu: cornmeal crusted Carolina catfish or lump crab and green tomato slaw; pan seared foie gras on Vidalia onion marmalade with marinated gold beets, mache and pomegranate glaze; slow cooked pork osso bucco in cider mustard just with Creole red beans and mustard greens . . . Barker’s gift is knowing how to soulfully harmonize his creations . . . Now for dessert. It’s the middle of spring and offerings teeter between wintery comfort and summer effervescence . . . Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate Cake with cocoa fudge sauce, tart pudding-like lemon custard cake with strawberries and whipped cream and sherry crème caramel paired with crispy vanilla bean shortbread and honeyed almonds. A white chocolate ice cream float fizzes with raspberry soda. . . I love the old fashioned whimsy of her sweets.