McCutchen's Magnolia House

"This restaurant is inside a cute bright blue house in downtown Scottsboro. It's quaint outside and I think the dining experience is supposed to be evocative of dining at grandma's house, but the rather dirty, dim, and run-down looking interior doesn't convey that message. The majority of the gravel parking lot is behind the house. I entered through a side door and immediately saw a hot bar. I'd later figure out this wasn't the "main" entrance, but it's clearly a common one given its proximity to the parking lot. I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting a hot bar / cafeteria set up here. I did later figure out they do have a menu you can order from, but I was never offered one. Instead, the lady working behind the hot bar just looked at me like I'd grown three heads as I stared at the bar in befuddlement. I was committed to trying the place, though, so I buckled down and tried to quickly figure out what to order. It's not at all clear what's available to you in what portion and for what cost -- is it a meat and two? Three? Can I have a vegetable plate? What about multiple meats? Is there bread? Dessert? Who knows! I would later see a blackboard at the actual front of the house that had the offerings for the day written on it...but once again, doesn't help if you enter on the side from the parking lot. They were out of a lot of items at around 1:15 on a Friday. I don't hold this against them *too* much as they do close at 2, but it was still a little disappointing. They were out of chicken tenders and fried fish and the hamburger steaks looked unappetizing, to say the least...so I asked if they could do a vegetable plate to which they agreed. I wound up selecting mashed potatoes, buttered carrots, macaroni and cheese, and savory rice from the dishes that remained on the hot bar. I was informed that rolls would be out of the oven in a few minutes. I asked for a sweet tea to drink but was told a waitress would come take my drink order...even though the drink cups and the machine were right next to the hot bar. Just seems weird to have cafeteria style food service but then a waitress for drinks. But off I went to find a table to seat myself. They were doing a decent business despite being near to closing but I found a two-top that wouldn't lead to me taking up too much space. The waitress who was supposed to get my drink order took several minutes to do so, which presented yet another problem as I wanted to start eating my food before it cooled. She did eventually come by and get me a glass of sweet tea, which wound up being far and away the best thing I had. It was really good sweet tea and I gulped it down...but no refill was forthcoming until I was taking my last bite, at which point she reappeared too late. Sadly, the food was largely...not good. The buttered carrots were the worst offenders. They tasted like hospital cafeteria carrots. The macaroni and cheese was very watery and had a suspiciously Kraft cheese-like flavor. I got up after a few minutes to get my roll, which was fresh and warm. Definitely a Sister Schubert baked-from-frozen, but those are honestly fairly tasty, so whatever. The hot bar lady was abruptly a lot nicer when I came to get my roll and she offered me some of their homemade flavored butter, which I accepted, but upon examining it back at my seat I was put off by the texture and so just ate the roll plain. The savory rice had some extra veggies in it, which was nice, but it was oddly on the fairly-spicy side, which was...fine, but unexpected. Still, it was the most flavorful dish, so that was something. The mashed potatoes were the best food item. They were creamy and buttery and a pleasant texture. That's probably the only thing I'd eat again if for some reason I ever find myself here again. On the bright side, it was cheap, at only $11 for lunch. But I didn't enjoy any aspect of my experience, and the sweet tea and mashed potatoes were pretty much the only saving graces. I'm glad to cross another establishment off my list "to-try" list, but that's about it for here."

"Lunch at this cool spot. Excellent southern cooking in a beautiful house. Gets busy at opening"

"This place was awesome. Everything about it was wholesome, the staff are lovely, the food is delicious and I personally wish I could have had a plate of fried okra and greens."

"The magnolia House is in a beautiful part of town Great big trees all around atmosphere is awesome. The food is fantastic The Mexican cornbread is a must I eat here every chance I get an have for years now. I highly recommend this restaurant"

"Great staff and delicious food, has a quick walk up food counter "buffet" and a full menu for sit down options. Really cool old 1890 house with historic photos and decor. Really nice spot for a comfortable sit down"