This Old House – and Museum

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During a recent week in Destin, I dined in an old house-turned-restaurant where the comfort food tasted like mom whipped it up – or in this case, dad. Tom Rice owns and runs the Magnolia Grill (magnoliagrillfwb.com) tucked behind massive oak trees in the slightly shabby historic district of Fort Walton Beach. At the end of the lunch hour he'll poke his head out of the kitchen and that's your chance to ask him about this charming wooden house with original bead-board walls and ceilings, creaking staircases and a collection of memorabilia that's scattered throughout and in the upstairs "museum." He'll proudly talk your ear off giving you the history of how he saved this to-be-demolished house, moving it to its present location so waterfront condos could be built. Along the way he added treasures like a jukebox, rotary dial telephones, WWII collectibles (many donated by neighbors who don't want to throw out these old treasures) and the mail-order catalog from which the 1910 house was purchased. It was delivered in pieces with instructions for assembling. Although the menu has yummy items like chicken and dumplings and meatloaf, ask for the daily specials. The pot roast served the day I dined was a filling dish with chunks of pork, a not-at-all-gooey gravy and tons of veggies.