Winter may still cling to the Tufts campus, but Tupelo is serving up delicious food with a Southern flare just ten−minutes outside of Central Square. Located in Inman Square, Tupelo prides itself on serving Southern comfort food and adds nuance by pairing its main dishes with sides that bring out a more complex take on these classics.
Tupelo packs customers in on a Saturday night, but the friendly service and lighthearted food and drink make squishing into a seat more than worth it. The interior's warm decor is a fun mix of kitschy odes to classic, genteel Americana: a bust of Elvis sits like a mascot on the bar counter and mason jars humbly replace the typical glassware.
The menu is small but packed with Southern classics: ribs, fried seafood, chicken and waffles, as well as some spins on old dishes like beer battered crepes. The appetizers on the menu are tempting — including fried oysters, Cajun gumbo and mussels served with a massive pile of French Fries — but it is worth waiting to hear the specials before you latch on to an appetizer, as Tupelo excels in this area. After our waitress proposed a gourmet corn dog as a starter, we quickly reneged on our decision to go with a boring salad.
As soon as the corn dog came out of the kitchen, it was apparent that this was not your run−of−the−mill version of a Coney Island staple. It was a pork belly corn dog, covered in slightly sweet, deep fried dough. The pork belly was much smokier than a normal hot dog, and its flavor didn't get lost in all the greasy goodness covering it. Although the deep−fried masterpiece would have been more than enough on its own, the spicy pickled onions and honey mustard sauce helped balance the heaviness of the dog.
The main entrees were just as stellar as the appetizers. We went with two dishes that incorporated the southern classic grits: shrimp and grits and blackened catfish. Both dishes were expertly balanced — the grits were amazingly creamy, while the shrimp on top was covered with a mildly spicy sauce, better than any store−bought BBQ. It had more tomato and just as much smokiness as your standard sauce without being overwhelming. These flavors complemented each other elegantly, producing a dish that balanced many different elements in a wonderful variation on this southern classic.
Although I am not a fish lover, the blackened catfish was the star of the night. Draped over another bed of creamy grits, the fish was perfectly crisp on the outside and drizzled with a green tobacco aioli. The collard greens that come on the side were full of flavor; ginger and lemon were somewhere in the mix and provided a nice contrast to the main dish.
For those over 21, Tupelo has some creative and refreshing drinks to wash down your food. The ‘Mama Roux' is basically a Dwight Schrute Sangria, made with beet syrup, brut rosé, creole bitters and grapefruit zest. If you don't love beets, watch out — the beet−y−ness can get a little intense. For those who aren't allowed to drink in public, Tupelo's homemade nonalcoholic ginger beer looked pretty tempting.
Dessert was a daunting prospect after a meal that began with a corn−dog, but Tupelo's dessert menu included a host of homemade cakes and pies — red velvet and brown butter pecan pie looked particularly good — almost capable of tempting a person out of their comfort−food stupor. Ultimately, getting dessert was a choice between buying a new, more forgiving wardrobe or admitting defeat. Besides, skipping the dessert is just another excuse to go back.
