Louisiana comforts in Cambridge

June 24, 2009|Devra First, Globe Staff

There are infinite ways to describe food eloquently, evocatively, lovingly. But sometimes you just want to say “yum.’’

This is the case at Tupelo, a new restaurant serving “comfort food with a Southern drawl’’ in the old Magnolias space in Cambridge. The term “comfort food’’ has become an old saw, nearly meaningless. It can cover everything from meatloaf to wonton soup. Here, though, it seems the most apt label: These dishes are truly comfortable and comforting, offering layers of taste and texture you can’t easily pick apart, and don’t really want to. The braised, the fried, the stewed, and the roasted share the stage, an easy ensemble. There is delicious synthesis on your plate - no need to overthink it.

The person turning out etouffee and gumbo, daube of beef and BBQ chicken, is Rembs Layman. Formerly of Matt Murphy’s, Chez Henri, and Pomodoro, here he cooks like Julia Child on the skids, a French chef in a trailer park kitchen. He has family in Louisiana and has spent time eating there since he was a child. He clearly understands this food, but he’s not married to by-the-letter iterations of it. (For one thing, his dishes go lighter on the butter.)

The restaurant is co-owned by Mike Walker and Renee McLeod of Petsi Pies. It’s a relaxed little space with tile floors, dark red and cream paint on the walls, copper-topped tables, and murals of New Orleans left over from Magnolias. Specials are written on the windows in red. There’s a small staff; the tattooed guy behind the bar who serves you a beer while you wait for a table may well be the same person who takes your order once you’re seated. There’s a bust of Elvis in the kitchen and a portrait of the King over the pickup window; Tupelo, Miss., was his birthplace, and the man did like to eat.