Chattanooga’s Tupelo Honey Cafe in Warehouse Row,will roll out a completely new approach to its popular take on Southern cuisine beginning March 4, officials said.
While long-standing tried-and-true Southern favorites will still be on the menu, the restaurant will introduce several smaller sharable plates such as Country Ham and Cream Cheese Wontons with Shaved Honeyed Brussels Sprouts Salad; Fresh Herb Lamb Meatballs with House-Made Tomato Curry Sauce and Feta; Baked Three-Cheese Macaroni and Cheese with Cajun Blackened Shrimp; and House-Cured Atlantic Salmon with Crispy Potato Pancake and Tomato Jam. There will be a total of 16 Southern Small Plates.
In addition to small plates, several new entrees will be offered such as these examples: Roasted Duck Breast with Cherry Port Wine Sauce, Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad with Honey Vinaigrette, and Root Vegetable Pot Pie; Grilled Frenched Lamb Chops with Black-Eyed Pea and French Green Bean Salad, Mint Chimmichurri and Marinated Baby Heirloom Tomatoes; and Pan-Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops with Spring Pea Risotto.
“Southern tastes are changing as a new generation of diners is influencing the way in which we eat,” said Executive Chef Brian Sonoskus. “They want to share their food as a table, they want bold global flavors, and they want to be able to customize their meal. One of our biggest sellers is our Southern Supper Plate, I think because you can choose your protein prepared to your taste. We will have chicken, for example, offered as Southern Buttermilk Fried, Cajun Blackened or a Curried Fried Chicken Thigh with Fresh Apple Salsa and a Tupelo Honey Drizzle.”
The changes in the menu have also brought about a significant plating change for the restaurant: the yellow plates will be replaced with off-white plate ware to better show off the food and recipe ingredients.
“After looking at our research, we want the Tupelo Honey experience to remain creative, fun and relevant,” said CEO Steve Frabitore. “We’re still focused on Southern food – both traditional as well as the Southern food that’s being influenced by different cultures, ethnicities and traditions now thriving in our region.”
The restaurant has also enhanced its bar menu with 10 craft beers on tap and a variety of inventive made-from-scratch Southern cocktails, including The Holmes Wrecker (using Chattanooga whiskey and in honor of the International Towing and Recovery Museum in Chattanooga).
Tupelo Honey Chattanooga is open for dinner seven nights a week and for lunch Monday through Friday. The restaurant offers brunch as well as dinner on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
Tupelo Honey Cafe began in 2000 in downtown Asheville, NC, and now has locations in Knoxville, Johnson City and Chattanooga, Tn; Greenville, S.C.; Charlotte, Asheville and Raleigh, N.C. The restaurant will open in Myrtle Beach on Feb. 23; Arlington, VA, and Virginia Beach, Va., will open in late spring and early fall respectively in 2015.