Boston - April 27, 2009

NoLa Di Da

Tupelo Restaurant Opens

Your gift for Southern graces goes only so far. That Blanche DuBois-on-a-bender accent isn’t fooling anybody. And you’ve long since given up writing actual thank-you notes.

Rekindle your love for the country’s lower half with a stop at recently opened Tupelo. Named for Elvis’s birthplace, the sophisticated burgundy- and cream-colored space (formerly Magnolia’s) is as charming as the King himself.

Chef Rembrandt Layman shows off his N’awlins heritage with his meemaw’s 100-year-old gumbo recipe, daily etouffee dishes, shrimp remoulade, and pan-roasted pork chops saddled up with Mom’s red beans and rice.

There are portion sizes for every appetite (try the mid-size jambalaya) with prices hovering just below a Jackson.

Maybe that’ll get you to pick up a pen and say thanks.

Tupelo, 1193 Cambridge Street, Inman Square, Cambridge (617-868-0004).