Tupelo: Where's My Pecan Pie?

On a last minute whim, on a Wednesday evening, I stopped by Tupelo for dinner. I really was interested to check out their pecan pie. Tupelo probably came to mind because the Boston Globe had reviewed the restaurant that day. I enjoyed my first visit to Tupelo and looked forward to another tasty meal.

I began by ordering a glass of their Watermelon White Sangria ($6), which is house made with fresh watermelon, white wine, and some simple syrup. It had a strong watermelon taste and had only a small bit of sweetness to it. I found it tasty and refreshing, an excellent summer drink. Unlike my first visit, I also received a bread basket with my meal, containing corn bread, biscuits and some toasted bread.

For dinner, I ordered a couple of the nightly specials plus one item off the regular menu. One of the regular Small Plates is the Southern spiced turkey meatballs ($6). You receive three decent-sized meatballs in a gravy-like broth accompanied by a thick slice of warm French bread. The meatballs were quite firm and meaty, very tasty with a nice spicy kick. I dipped the bread in the flavorful broth and very much enjoyed it.

One of the specials was the PEI mussels ($10) which were in a white wine and crawfish butter sauce with lots of garlic. It too came with a thick piece of French bread, which I dipped in the sauce. The plentiful mussels were small and tender and the sauce was buttery and flavorful. An excellent dish. I also had the Softshell crab ($12), which was chicken fried and accompanied by a corn and tomato salad. The fried crab was quite good, nicely crunchy.

I saved some room for dessert, remembering all the delectable choices I had seen previously on their menu. The Boston Globe review had also raved about the desserts, such as the coconut cream pie and pecan pie. But, the pecan pie was gone! So was the coconut cream pie, the banana pudding, and everything else I had seen before. The dessert menu had changed on the day of my visit, the same day the Globe review had come out.

The new early summer dessert menu includes items such as red velvet cake, key lime pie, mixed berry pie, stonefruit crisp, and chocolate peppermint parfait. None of those items appealed to me, maybe because my expectations had been for different items, like pecan pie. Maybe I need to stop by Petsi Pies to find that pie.

Service was very good again, and the restaurant was quite busy by the time I left. I continue to recommend Tupelo, especially as a value restaurant with tasty food. I have yet to have a dish I did not enjoy. But where is my pecan pie?

Tupelo
1193 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, MA
Phone: (617) 868-0004