Tupelo Honey in Arlington is an experience thats far from sweet
"Tupelo Honey" is the title of a 1971 album by Van Morrison and the catchy part of the name of a new dining development in Arlington, Tupelo Honey Cafe. An import from Asheville, N.C., and a shout-out to liquid gold from the Southeast, the restaurant is No. 10 in a collection and the first Tupelo in Virginia.
The theme flows throughout the expansive yellow-and-blue interior. A chandelier in the foyer is shaped like a beehive, and the shelves of a rear wall fairly glow with jars of the signature honey, which diners can drizzle on warm biscuits. Our server, sweet as (guess what), thinks everything on the menu is delicious, but she’s especially keen on having us try some of her favorites.
Three-to-a-plate tacos? They sound better suited to a Mexican menu, at least until I try them. No Mexican kitchen worth its cilantro would serve such lame flour tortillas piled with sweet crumbled meatloaf (you read that right) and a somewhat redeeming slaw ignited with sliced jalapeño. Another hybrid starter, goat cheese grits poppers, brings crisp golden nuggets and an apple salsa that tastes better than it reads.
Nothing else would compel me to return or suggests I'm eating below the Mason-Dixon line. What the menu calls "classic" shrimp and grits would go unrecognized in Charleston, S.C., where I ate the real deal — often — earlier this year. Tupelo's bowl is a bog overwhelmed with limp red peppers. Buttermilk fried chicken is a yawn, not to mention a waste of calories, and the sides come with baggage: a hailstorm of sesame seeds for the asparagus and zero flavor for the mac and cheese.
Recipes are whipped up by a company chef and repeated by local cooks: in the case of Arlington, Dylyn Coolidge, formerly of the Beacon Hotel in the District.
The chain, poised to open another branch in Virginia Beach, promises “scratch-made fun.” Sweet as honey? Scratch that.
1616 N. Troy St., Arlington. 703-253-8140. tupelohoneycafe.com/location/arlington. Dinner sandwiches and entrees, $13.50 to $30.
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