Birdie's

By Leo Sipowicz

While the out-of-towner may be intimidated by the counter ordering of Birdie’s, the Austin local is well familiar with the combination of dropping a pretty penny and eating good from counter service. See Nixta Taqueria or any BBQ restaurant in town if you're questioning the structure.

The line intimidates some. It can be scary to spend a few hundred dollars on a dinner ordered on a Toast tablet, but the line is part of what makes Birdie’s special. Some of the best parts of Birdie’s come in the line: cold beer, chilled wine and friendly patrons chatting and patiently waiting for the powerful transition from Birdie’s-line-waiter to Birdie’s-pre-fixe-fine-diner.

Once your transition is complete you are greeted with thoughtful courses that share a Birdie’s specific structure but play in their execution. You can expect arancini, soup, pasta and protein courses, but with a thematic transformation applied to each one depending on the season. Maybe the arinchini is made of sweet potato on the fall menu, or the pasta contains heirloom tomatoes in April.

I’m no professional chef, but you can tell that Birdie’s would be a pretty great work environment. There is room to experiment with an everchanging menu but permission to keep the things that work. That love for the menu and excitement from the kitchen translates to a pretty damn good dining experience. One that leaves you excited to see what twists and turns the chefs will take on their next menu.