Date night at a Southern restaurant with vegetarian options
It’s date night. You and the significant other are heading to a play, concert, maybe a movie, and you need a place to eat ahead of time. But as vegetarians, where do you go?
How about a Southern restaurant?
Yes, I am suggesting a Southern restaurant to veggos. But Tupelo Honey isn’t typical; it’s a mythical creature: a Southern restaurant with vegetarian options.
Walking into a Southern restaurant can at times be disappointing. You may be offered a small side salad or end the night with a stomach mad at you for trying the collard greens — which apparently everyone but me knows includes meat.
But that’s not the case at Tupelo Honey, a self-described revival on Southern food that recently opened its first location at Union Station on Wewatta and 17th streets.
A group of co-workers and I headed over on a recent Thursday because, well, why not? I hadn’t expected much, so I sighed as I picked up the menu — only to gasp. There were ... options. Granted, there was only one vegetarian entree, but there were shared and small plates!
There are enough so that you could go to Tupelo Honey for a vegetarian date night — as long as you’re OK with getting the same main plate as your partner.
(There are different vegetarian options for lunch and brunch. But we’re doing date night here, so I’m sticking with the dinner menu.)
Shared plates
Cathead Biscuits: These big puppies are named cathead because they’re as large as, you know, a cat’s head. As my colleague Jon Murray eloquently put it, “These biscuits are, like, serious.” The two Southerners in our company also gave their nod of approval. They were soft, easily falling in half to gracefully accept a slathering of house-made blueberry compote mixed with whipped butter or honey, presented in adorably small honey bear bottles. Price: two for $8; four for $10.
Fried Green Tomatoes: These came out to a series of “oohs and aahs,” served sitting on some goat cheese grits that will warm up anyone’s heart. The tomatoes are topped with basil, roast- ed red pepper coulis and a dollop of grits. Price: $12.
Golden Beet Carpaccio: I’m not normally a beet girl. But these beets were great. Our digital video editor and common beet eater Amy Brothers also approved of the dish, saying it wasn’t too earthy. The root was topped with goat cheese, beech mushrooms, sherry vinaigrette and shallots. Price: $12.
Entree
Cauliflower Steak: Ah, yes, the trusted cauliflower, always there for a vegetarian in need. The chefs cut the cauliflower in half, grilling the bottom until it’s slightly charred. It sits on a cloud of mashed potatoes topped with parsnip purée, quinoa and beech mushrooms. And it’s filling. Price: $22.
Now, say your partner is one of those meat-eating folks. As a vegetarian, you don’t have to be concerned because Tupelo Honey prides itself on using ethically raised meats (as well as fruits and vegetables). There are also plenty of fish options, too. A list of purveyors is on its website in case you want to make sure they’re up to your standards.