Photo courtesy of Little Birdie
The Nugz: Two fried "nuggies," ossetra caviar, biddie sauce and chive.
Del Ray's newest chicken spot is nearly here. Little Birdie, the sister concept from the team behind Matt & Tony's All Day Kitchen + Bar, opens Tuesday, June 23 at 1504B Mount Vernon Ave., taking over the former Benny DiForza's space. And the debut menu makes it clear this is no ordinary chicken joint.
Little Birdie has a menu with a real sense of humor and an even better sense of flavor. The foundation is "The Birds," a lineup of sandwiches on locally baked Japanese milk bread (a feathery light bread), where the standouts are the Got' Chu (fried thigh, gochujang glaze, pickled daikon and scallion slaw, kimchi mayo) and the Charleston, layered with jalapeño-green tomato chow chow and pimento spread.
The Birdie's Classic even invites you to "make it HOT chili dipped." On the "Not the Birds" side, the names alone are worth the trip: The Bourdain swaps chicken for fried mortadella (a cured pork sausage), aged provolone and dijonnaise; the Filet 'O Fish is a knowing blackened-mahi nod; and the Sma"smroom turns charred crispy wild mushrooms and goat cheese spread into a legitimate vegetarian contender.
Photo courtesy of of Little Birdie
Little Birdie chicken sandwich
The shareable plates are where Little Birdie really shows off. The headliner is The Nugz, an unapologetically extravagant plate of two fried chicken nuggies crowned with ossetra caviar and chive (add a glass of bubbles for the full effect).
There's also the Tendie Tower built to feed two, a Low Country Butcher Board, miso-and-smoked-cheddar Stuffed Oysters and a kombu-cured Tuna Tartare with crispy rice and tobiko.
Even the honey cornbread comes with a trio of butters, including furikake and orange miso. Don't overlook the "Get Sauced" roster either, with house hot sauce, hot honey, comeback sauce and furikake ranch all on offer.
The drinks lean fully into the bird theme. The "Birdtails & Punches," all crafted and bottled in-house, include the Red Hen (blanco tequila, rosemary, strawberry, lime, Cointreau), the Lavender Kick (earl grey gin, lavender honey, bubbles) and the Sparrow (vodka, peach brandy, grapefruit, cinnamon agave).
The mocktail list, cheekily billed as "spirit free… but not soulless," is genuinely thoughtful, with the tamarind-forward Baby Bird, the strawberry-shrub Cardinal, and the Partridge made with pear, verjus and green tea. Save room for the Sweeties, where the snickerdoodle ice cream sandwich and old-school oatmeal cream pies are the ones to beat.
When it opens June 23, hours will be:
- Mondays: Closed
- Tuesday - Friday: 11 am. - 9 p.m.
- Saturday - Sunday: 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.
