Tupelo Honey

The motto here is “Creative Southern Food That’s Good For The Soul,” which is a perfect representation of what you’ll find at this Market Common eatery. Rooted in traditional Southern staples, the menu reaches into various American and international cuisines to bring an interesting twist to the table.

As a small chain that started in Asheville, Tupelo Honey (also an actual type of honey and the name of a Van Morrison album) prides itself on using fresh ingredients from independent, regional farms to produce the scratch-made culinary delights that they’ve become known for.

Tupelo Honey Food

The seasonal menus are packed with options, and it seems likely that most people would have no trouble finding something that suits them.

The dinner menu features an array of Southern Small Plates, Salads, Sandwiches, Seasonal Specialties, and Supper Plates with Sides. But first, the biscuits – scratch-made, hot, and brought to the table with jam and honey.
Variety is the theme on the Small Plates menu, with options varying from Herbed Lamb Meatballs with house-made tomato curry and feta, to Appalachian Egg Rolls stuffed with pulled pork, smoked jalapeno BBQ sauce, braised greens, and pickled onions, and Baked Macaroni & Cheese with Cajun blackened shrimp. But three highlights don’t do the list justice. Other options for starters include Chorizo & Goat Cheese Grits, Honey Chipotle Wings, Southern Fried Okra, Fried Green Tomatoes, and more.

Sandwich selections include the Tupelo Farm Fresh Burger, made up of pasture-raised USDA Black Angus Choice beef with lettuce, onions, house-made pickles, and the chef’s secret sauce. There’s also a Charleston Chicken Sandwich (Havarti, cranberry mayo, sourdough wheat) and a Southern Fried Chicken BLT, and any of the sandwiches can be enhanced with Cheddar, Goat, Havarti, Pimento cheese, blackening spice, jalapenos, sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, maple-peppered bacon, fried green tomatoes, or fried egg.

Seasonal Specialties is where you’ll find fully-formed entrees, and standouts include a Bone-In Porterhouse Pork Chop with braised figs in a red wine reduction, smashed sweet potatoes, and asparagus; Shoo Mercy Shrimp & Grits, with caramelized onions, mushrooms, spinach, and bacon; and Pan-Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops with brown butter French green beans and spring green pea risotto.

The menu also provides the option to build your own dinner with the Supper Plates with Sides section. This is at once simple (pick a main protein, choose two sides) and hard (the options are incredible and numerous!). Choices include things like Southern Buttermilk Fried Chicken, Curried Fried Chicken Thigh, Carolina Mountain Trout, Hickory Nut Gap Farm beef and bacon meatloaf, and Grilled Atlantic Salmon, and the list of sides (too long to list) is full of plates like Cheesy Smashed Cauliflower, Sauteed Southern Greens, Shoestring Fries with Parmesan and BBQ spice, and Fried Okra.

Tupelo Honey Atmosphere

The former Tommy Bahama restaurant space is spacious – very high ceilings, multiple seating areas – and able to accommodate groups of all sizes. It can get a little noisy inside, but there’s also outdoor seating for when the weather is right.

Original artwork hangs on several of the walls, which is a theme at all Tupelo Honey locations, and the walls are painted in what might be described as happy, friendly, pastel-ish hues.

Looking around the dining room at other tables, you might notice that everyone seems to be in a great mood. But hey, it’s hard not to be when you have a good, home-cooked meal sitting in front of you.