Fit for a King

Tupelo beckons with great bites and beverages, plus plenty of Elvis lore

- DARIA SMITH

just off the Natchez Trace Parkway, Tupelo, Mississippi, is situated between Memphis, Tennessee, and Birmingham, Alabama, and is an easy drive from Oxford or Starkville. Tupelo is best known as Elvis' birthplace but this charming city is also a culinary treasure trove. To kick off a weekend here, check into Hotel Tupelo downtown-the 79-room lone boutique hotel, newly opened in 2021, pays homage to the King with midcentury modern flair.

EAT

Start your morning at Connie's Fried Chicken. Opened by Constantine Asters in 1979, this fast-casual Tupelo spot is renowned throughout town for its blueberry donuts and chicken biscuits slathered in homemade gravy. Or you can caffeinate at Strange Brew Coffeehouse inside a converted service station, or Lost + Found Coffee Co. If it's the weekend, the upscale sports bar Fairpark Grill is adjacent to Hotel Tupelo and serves brunch until midafternoon, complete with a bloody mary bar.

For the middle of the day, get to know Mitch McCamey, a protagonist in Tupelo's food scene who is behind Jobos, Neon Pig, and King Chicken Fillin' Station (the town's best gas station fried chicken). Home to Tupelo's most notable smash burger, Neon Pig presents a patty of aged filet, ribeye, sirloin, New York strip, and Benton's bacon ground together. Inspired by a surfing trip to Playa Jobos in Puerto Rico, Jobos serves coastal cuisine with a Southern twist inside Hotel Tupelo.

Order the ginger scallion noodles with pork belly and pork bao buns.