Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar opens in Station Square
Even in a town like Pittsburgh, where people put french fries on just about everything, it would seem a bold move to open a restaurant where featured items include heirloom grits with goat cheese and chicken and waffles stuffed with macaroni and cheese.
But that’s the approach Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar is taking, banking on its menu of traditional Southern and Appalachian food appealing to people in the Steel City, where the restaurant officially opened its 18th location on Tuesday.
A visit to the newest Station Square eatery — located in a former Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad freight holding building, across West Station Square Drive from the Grand Concourse — indicates the food is likely to win folks over.
The Tribune-Review sampled the Asheville Hot Fried Chicken and waffles stuffed with mac-n-cheese. Maple syrup poured over the top can make anything taste good, but the boneless chicken was incredibly moist and flavorful with a spicy coating from a secret recipe.
The same coating is bestowed on the bone-in fried chicken served with collard greens and bacon and, of course, mac-n-cheese as well as homemade pickles.
“Fried chicken is what we’re known for,” said Spencer Henrion, junior regional director for Tupelo Honey. “It’s an arduous process. We do 24-hour brining on our fried chicken. You just can’t get a better bone-in fried chicken anywhere.”
Other featured Southern staples include shrimp and grits, fried green tomatoes, and bourbon peppercorn glazed meatloaf, among others. Everything is homemade including the banana pudding for dessert.
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The Trib also sampled the sweet potato casserole with marshmallows and spiced pecans — a non-dessert dessert, savory cast iron pork with crispy Brussels sprouts and “Cat Head” biscuits with whipped butter and blueberry jam.
The biscuits are a story in themselves, part of a Tupelo Honey program called “Biscuits for a Cause.” All proceeds from biscuit sales go into a relief fund for employees. Any employee needing help in dealing with personal financial issues can apply for funds.
“We got money for an employee who had her credit card stolen,” said chef Aaron Worthey. “I’ve never worked for a company that cares as much about its employees.”
Among the employees, bartender Sean Richard, 44, of Carnegie knows the storied railroad history of the location and isn’t shy about sharing it with customers.
“They’re trying to boost back up the tourist population here because this is a historic district,” he said. “We want to be the best restaurant at the foot of the Smithfield Street Bridge, the oldest bridge in Pittsburgh.”
Henrion has set his sights higher.
“We want this to be the best restaurant in Pittsburgh,” he said. “We’re ready to make our mark here and have people come to Station Square and eat Southern food.”
Bartender Michael Scheer, 60, of Harrison, seems fully invested in Tupelo Honey’s Southern food concept.
“There’s nothing wrong with good Southern cooking,” he said. “It’ll pretty much fix anything that ails you.”
Tupelo Honey started in Asheville, N.C., in 2000, and is now a chain with 21 locations in 14 states.
Tupelo Honey is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.
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