Time to come clean.

Not all that long ago, I essentially gave up meat. No more pork, no more chicken, no more red meat. It was a business decision after a mean doctor stole my gall bladder. For a kid who grew up on Kansas City brisket and routinely spends significant time in Texas around their BBQ options, yeah, it’s not always easy.

It’s also not easy to find joints that pander to the fish and veggie crowd I now find myself a part of.

Whether any of that applies to you (including the mean doctor) or not, let me tell you a little bit about Tupelo Honey Cafe in Market Common.

Tupelo’s been there for years – just shy of a decade, in fact. Considered one of the Howard Avenue anchors, it’s proved it can adjust to an oft-finicky locals crowd and visitors alike. It’s re-structured its menu somewhat while providing the same flair for fine Southern cuisine.

And it continues to drop the hammer.

Let me take you through my latest chronological deep dive into the options.

Fried green tomatoes: Panko-crusted fried green tomatoes, basil, roasted red pepper sauce all served atop heirloom grits with goat cheese.

My take? Hot damn. I’ve written about fried green tomatoes at other places before. You already know I’m a junky for them. Very few have checked all the boxes as well as these.

Next up was the cast iron pimento cheese dip and tortilla chips.

Ok, seriously. I keep an oversized container of my favorite pimento cheese dip in my fridge at all times. It’s great for a quick snack and as filling as you need it to be. After eating Tupelo’s version, I was searching Amazon for a cast-iron pan. It was that good.

I was nice enough to share some of that because I knew I had a shrimp po’ boy coming, too. Talk about a bases loaded four-bagger. The remoulade sauce had the perfect amount of kick and blended well with the shrimp, lettuce and tomatoes. What brought it all home was the super soft hoagie bun cut in half for presentation purposes.

All that was left was a post-meal belt loosening.

And because I’m such a good guy, I went above and beyond for the purposes of this review and asked the waitress to give me her favorite meat options. Here’s what she shared.

The whiskey and onion smash burger has two quarter-pound patties and the namesake gravy and cheddar cheese. The Tupelo shrimp and grits (which I would have gotten had the chorizo not already been prepared into the grits) was another of her faves. And while she said she doesn’t like too much spice, she said most of her customers are all about the sriracha honey fried chicken and waffles.

From past visits (during my meat days) I can also vouch for the morning/brunch menu. And from other trips I can also vouch for the bourbon selection.

You certainly don’t need to be like me to enjoy the choices Tupelo has.

Tupelo Honey, on the quick
Location: 3042 Howard Avenue, Myrtle Beach (Market Common)
Phone: 843.315.3780
On the web: tupelohoneycafe.com

(Photos for this feature from Tupelo Honey’s Facebook Page)