Best of Boston

2015 Best Southern Restaurant

Tupelo

The reserved atmosphere may be more Cambridge than New Orleans, but Tupelo’s southern flavors are right on. Owners Mike Walker and Renee McLeod serve authentic comfort-food classics like creamy pimiento cheese (the caviar of the South), hearty gumbo, and crunchy fried crawfish tails. The crown jewel? Alligator prepped the way God intended: coated in buttermilk batter, hot sauce, and Cajun spices, and piled on a bed of creamy cheddar grits.

1193 Cambridge St., Cambridge, 617-868-0004, tupelo02139.com