Restaurant Week is here in Virginia Beach, with irresistible prix fixe breakfast, lunch and dinner specials creatively curated by chefs at excellent eateries. Our Director of Marketing Lisa Davenport and I were delighted to dine out for a lavish lunch at Tupelo Honey at Town Center, a sophisticated southern-inspired restaurant with a refined taste for indulgent comfort food.
We started with the glamorous biscuits, they’re plump, soft and fluffy and served with the eponymous tupelo honey, harvested from the tupelo trees and bees in the deep south for a rich spread, and sweet blueberry jam. We also shared a platter of fried green tomatoes, served over goat cheese grits and a roasted red pepper coulis and decoratively spruced with basil.
Following this was an appetizing bowl of zesty mixed green salad, with a medley of leafy reds and greens, bright tangos and carrots, embellished with watermelon radish and a splash of dressing—a choice of ranch, white balsamic, pecan vinaigrette and blue cheese. A counterpart to this lite course was the Chicken Gumbo Ya-Ya, a sumptuous take on the stew from Louisiana with shredded chicken and sausage, slow-cooked and locally sourced vegetables and topped with a decadent deviled egg.
Moving on to our invigorating entrees, we each had cravings for burgers for lunch. The Tupelo Cheeseburger Burger with pasture-raised beef was dripping with melted cheddar cheese. I chose the vivacious vegetarian version, the Grateful ‘Veg’ Burger. Tupelo Honey’s Executive Chef Brian Sonoskus, a deadhead, first crafted the black bean burger covered in arugula and Myers lemon aioli while touring around with the Grateful Dead. A plate of buttermilk fried chicken also made its way to our table, smothered in creamy milk gravy alongside baked macaroni and cheese. Each were complemented by the smooth Lavender-Limeade Fizz and refreshing Rosemary-Peach Lemonade.
Our taste buds were serenaded with sweet endings with a spoonful of the Heavenly Banana Pudding, a classic dessert with crumbles of vanilla wafer and whipped cream. We chased this with another treat, the Tupelo Krush, a frozen orange whip with orange rum, vanilla vodka, orange juice, lime juice, coconut, bitters and whipped cream. It’s a fancy play on the orange crush, which almost could be considered the official cocktail of Virginia Beach.
Tupelo Honey will be offering a $15 two-course lunch and $35 three-course dinner during Virginia Beach Restaurant Week through Feb. 25. On March 1, Tupelo Honey will be hosting an exclusive three-course dinner paired with cocktails from Copper & Oak Craft Spirits. Visit here to learn more and purchase tickets.
Ryan Miller
