Tupelo Honey, found just under the bridge from the Milwaukee Public Market, opened late July of this year in the new Huron Building building. A scratch-made kitchen offering Southern food in a Northern climate, Tupelo Honey is a great spot to get your taste of fare inspired by the traditions rooted in the Carolina Mountains. Although new to the Milwaukee area, Tupelo Honey has been around for over 20 years and serves 12 different states.
The newly built Huron Building (or known to locals as the Husch Blackwell building) designed with black and tan hues perfectly complements Tupelo Honey’s planter boxes, string lights and dark gray tables with yellow seating. When you first walk up to the building, there’s an adorable “Kiss My Grits” neon sign attractively placed over gorgeous green faux foliage. As you enter the building, the clean and airy white walls with high ceilings creates an open and welcoming environment. The restaurant has a very natural, outdoorsy feel, as the lush greenery matches perfectly with the modern tan-colored tables, light fixtures and warm yellow lighting. The arched back bar, complete with brick-like tiling and wooden shelves, invite you to grab a seat and stay awhile.
Whether visiting for breakfast, lunch or dinner, there’s a plate of comfort food ready to soothe your soul. If you visit on a Friday, you can choose from the main menu or enjoy Tupelo Honey’s Southern-crafted Friday Fish Fry, specifically designed at this location to honor the Wisconsin tradition. We highly recommend Tupelo Honey for Saturday or Sunday brunch, to enjoy its bottomless mimosa special with friends from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you’re dropping by for happy hour (weekdays from 3 to 6 p.m.), you can’t go wrong with one of the signature cocktails. Our personal favorite is the Peach Don’t Kill My Vibe sangria.
During our visit, we grabbed a variety of options, starting with signature cocktails, of course. Although the cocktails are almost too pretty to drink, our favorites in addition to the sangria include The Debutante, a mixture of Dixie Southern vodka with house-made lavender lemonade, and the Tupelo Honey Margarita, which has a house-made honey liqueur twist and complete with a chili-salt rim.
For appetizers, we enjoyed the crispy Brussels and famous fried green tomatoes. The roasted red pepper sauce was the perfect kick to the heirloom grits with goat cheese that surrounded the plate of tomatoes. For dinner, we indulged in mac-n-cheese waffles with Asheville Hot Fried Chicken, a must have. We also ordered smothered chicken off of the Chef Specialties section; the honey-dusted chicken thighs and milk gravy are the definition of soul food. Each plate comes with two sides; we encourage the mac-n-cheese along with the green beans, which had a welcome crunch. Lastly, we rounded out dinner with Heavenly Banana Pudding and brown butter pecan pie, both a delight, but the famous 20-year-old recipe of the creamiest banana pudding is a treat you cannot miss while dining at Tupelo Honey.
For more information about Tupelo Honey, visit www.tupelohoneycafe.com.