I had some extra guests along with me this week for new food Tuesday. After attending the Home and Garden show my husband, my parents and myself made our way to Tupelo Honey right next to Union Station I’d Denver. It was awesome to have more people there because it meant I could try more of the menu in one outing.

I had made a lunch reservation because I was unsure of how busy a place so close to local transit would be. There was no one waiting so we probably would have been fine. First impression was welcoming, the host and server were very smiley and friendly. We sat at a booth that felt a little small, they really packed a lot of tables and booths into the narrow restaurant.

The music was loud, not too loud to talk to each other across the table, but a little to loud to comfortably hear the server. There were TVs on too, competing for attention.

As I looked around I was puzzled by some of the design choices. There was a strangle mural above the kitchen window that was a nature scene of some kind but all in silhouette. The restaurant is southern food and I could see other things that had more connection to that theme, but this mural didn’t. The wall coverings and fabric were fine, just very traditional and unmemorable.

I do remember the fun floor tile they had on the way to the bathroom and the checked floor tile in the bathroom. The bathroom also had a little design flair with a collection of mirrors. I am biased because my powder room has a mirror collection in it but I like it more then just a piece of mirror screwed to the wall. The bathroom had a code to get in. You had to ask someone for the code to get in. I understand they do this because of the part of town they are in. They are at a higher risk for people off the street wanting to use the bathroom and even though they have posted o it front no public restrooms, people still try I’m sure.

Onto the the meal! My mock tail was a lavender homemade lemonade. I was excited but sadly it was way to sour and seemed like they forgot to put the lavender in it at all. My mom did enjoy her Tupeloma though, she had two. Hers was very pretty, that is it in the picture below.

We ordered their biscuits for charity. The charity is a fund that helps their employees. The biscuits were large, we shared two between the four of us and it was plenty. They were pretty dense and not special. We also got the fried green tomatoes. The tomatoes were a great thickness and lightly breaded, served over grits with a red pepper sauce. We all really enjoyed it.

My dad orders the Tupelo Shrimp & Grits. He enjoyed the chorizo addition to a classic. It was good enough for him to finish the whole thing. I enjoyed my bite of his dish the best.

My mom ordered the Mac-N-Cheese Waffles with Asheville Hot Fried Chicken She was glad to see it wasn’t a dinner sized portion. It was just two small waffles and two boneless chicken thighs. I thought the heat and the cheese and they syrup on top all went together well. She agreed and liked that it wasn’t too sweet but she said the Mac and cheese in the waffle was nothing but finding a noodle now and then. The homemade pickles ontology were our favorite part.

My husband got the Southern Shakshuka he said he enjoyed it. The egg was nice with he grits but again nothing that had me begging for another bite. The way he described this thoughts on the food was that he wasn’t upset about it but if he was in the area again he would want to try something else more then go back.

I ordered the Rainbow Avocado bowl and added fried shrimp. For 2.50 I got 5 small shrimp tossed on top of my bowl, which I was not impressed by. The bowl lacked a sauce. I had a beet hummus that was a beautiful color but it wasn’t creamy enough to enrich the dish. I wish there had just been chopped beets in the bowl and a sauce on top. The cauliflower rice was cooked well though and the avocado was perfectly ripe. It was very filling and made me feel healthy. I think I can make just as good of a bowl at home though.

We did not get anything for dessert. We just decided it was time to get back on the light rail to head home. We were able to pay the tab through a QR code which is getting more popular in some places. It was easy to use unlike their Wi-Fi.

So would I return to this restaurant? No, I think there are so many places doing brunch/lunch in Denver that I would rather try somewhere else. The food was just not a wow and the atmosphere isn’t one I’ll miss.

Would I recommend it to someone? Probably not. I think even though Snooze is super over hyped I would recommend Snooze that is just on the other side of Union Station before I would recommend Tupelo Honey.

Finally, for those of you who read last weeks post and have been wondering how the olive oil cake from Basta was... It was pretty, but not big enough and nothing to write home about. Was it better then a frozen waffle for breakfast? For sure. But I have a friend who gave me an olive oil cake recipe that I think is way better. Send me an email at newfoodtuesday@gmail.com if you want to check out that recipe. 

Have a great week, make sure to go outside tonight and look at the full moon and I’ll be back next week with another food adventure!