We’ve been intending to get to Yardbird since, well, we first heard it was in the planning stages. It was worth the wait. Occupying what was three prior business spaces, Yardbird has two main dining areas, a side room for private dining, a downstairs “speakeasy” for private events and such, and a spacious outdoor area (complete with a big smoker) that wraps around to covered al fresco dining. That’s all fine and good but let’s talk chicken. Yardbird chicken, specifically. And talk we do – listen to our bonus In Good Taste Podcast with the “player” below.
What’s special about Yardbird chicken?
They make a brine that includes seasonings and some sugar and let it soak in it for 27 hours. Not 26, not 28. They’ve figured out the perfect time. The point of brine is to flavor and tenderize the poultry which also keeps it juicy. They then dredge the chicken pieces in a proprietary blend of flour and spices, using a specific breading technique that creates a crispy coating. Fried chicken has much more flavor when it’s both brined and dredged with seasonings! We were told they have specially-made fryers that are stacked so that they can make a lot of batches at one time – they fry the chicken to order, per guest. And with lots of people ordering their fried chicken, they need to be able to keep up!
What we ate and drank at Yardbird
Yardbird, which also has locations in Las Vegas, Dallas, Washington DC, Chicago and Singapore, serves brunch, happy hour and dinner.
During Happy Hour, served daily from 4-6pm, we had the Chef’s Tasting Plate ($18) which has two each of several of the items from that menu: Deviled Eggs, Fried Green Tomato BLT Stack and Crispy Chicken Biscuit Sliders. Let’s go into a little detail about these items:
Deviled Egg choices are the Yardbird Classic (what you’d expect), Jalapeno and Bacon Jam (a great combo), and Colossal Crab (an over-the-top mountain of deliciousness with big chunks of crab). The eggs are plentifully-filled making them look like blond bouffant hairdos.
Fried Green Tomato BLT Stack takes a typical BLT up a notch or five with house-smoked pork belly, pimento cheese, frisee, tomato jam and lemon vinaigrette. The flavors are complex but don’t compete with each other.
Crispy Biscuit Sliders with pepper jelly have it all going on – savory chicken with sweet heat from the jelly and very flavorful biscuits (as opposed to tasteless pasty things). Slightly too tall to be bite-sized, try to get all three together for max flavor impact.
Getting the Chef’s Tasting Plate is a great way to try multiple options on one, tiered and twirling shot.
We went for brunch and started with a “Spirit Free” Watermelon Splash ($8) which was the only disappointment of our meal. I was hoping for an agua fresca kind of thing that tasted of watermelon in a glass – like sips of summertime. I don’t think it was the lemon that took away from it – maybe it just wasn’t a very flavorful watermelon to begin with. They have a variety of non-alcoholic drinks that I’d try next time including Pineapple Frizz and Passion Fruit Breeze plus boozy Yardbird Bloody Mary, Mimosa, Tangerine Sky and Chipotle Sour Margarita. Bottomless Mimosas are an option too.
Starters for brunch included the items we had from the Chef’s Tasting Plate, but there’s also Smoked Salmon Avocado Toast ($22) to which you can add eggs, a Honey Almond Granola Bowl ($14) with fresh fruit and Acai Greek yogurt. I appreciated that they also had Chopped Cobb Salad ($16) and Little Gem Caesar Salad ($17) because sometimes you want something fresh and healthy to balance out your doughy things.
Speaking of doughy things, don’t miss Grandma’s Cinnamon Roll ($18) which is monstrous but light and fluffy. The candied pecans and cream cheese frosting make it even more decadent and unique. Other options from the Fresh From Our Bakery section of the menu include Biscuit Donut Bites ($14), Skillet Cornbread ($15), and Pancakes ($16).
Under the Cracked & Scrambled section, there was an omelet, Southern Skillet ($19), Crab Benedict ($24), and Pit-Smoked-Brisket Huevos Rancheros ($22) with sunny side up eggs, avocado, pico and tortilla chips. Funny story about this one – when we first arrived, I went to the ladies room which was huge and so pretty. I commented to the woman at the next sink that this was a surprisingly nice bathroom. She said that the food is surprisingly good too and that I should try those Huevos, adding that she eats there all the time and that they’re her favorite. You don’t often get menu recommendations in the ladies room…
Did I take her recommendation? I did not but will next time, for sure, especially because they smoke their own brisket out back. I was after Yardbird’s signature dish, the chicken. We asked our server which was the best showcase for the fried chicken: Chicken & Waffles ($34) or Lewellyn’s Fine Fried Chicken ($29), with Nashville Style for $3 more.
He said that, while both are served with the Honey Hot Sauce, the Chicken & Waffles is also served with Bourbon Maple Syrup, a Sharp Cheddar Waffle (which doesn’t taste cheesy, just better) and chunks of chilled, spiced watermelon. So, fried chicken with more goodies? That sealed it. Chicken & Waffles it would be!
I really love fried chicken and get pretty judgy about it. I can honestly say Yardbird knows what the cluck they are doing – the meat inside was, indeed, tender and juicy and the coating good and crackling-crispy. The flavor was through and through thanks to the dual seasoning from the brine and the seasoned flour coating. They passed my fried chicken muster!
Other entrée items included the Louisiana Jumbo Shrimp & Grits ($26) with Virginia Ham, the Great American Burger ($24) with a short rib/brisket/shaved onion blend that sounds intriguing, which you can add House-Smoked Pork Belly to be completely over the top. And then there’s the Lobster Mac & Cheese which is Market Priced. Why MP? Because it’s a whole friggin’ lobster and five-cheese mornay sauce, people! When I saw it come up in the kitchen, I literally crossed the room to go ask what it was and if I could take a picture of it. Thank you, person, who didn’t know their fancy pants dish was delayed getting to them by 3 seconds because I HAD to take its picture! Your sacrifice was worth it to share the picture below.
I find it hard to believe anyone makes it to the Dessert menu unless they’ve planned ahead and packed up half of their meal to go. It’d be worth saving room for though, to get Strawberry Shortcake ($12), a Fried Oreo Sundae ($13), Key Lime Pie ($14) or, the Bourbon Bacon Chocolate Cake ($16) with Nutella frosting, bourbon salted caramel and vanilla ice cream that’s meant to serve 4-6 guests!
Other ways to enjoy Yardbird includes nightly dinner, a Bourbon Dinner Series, Bottomless Mimosas, Sunday Supper ($35/person with multiple courses that include, but aren’t limited to, biscuits to salad to fried chicken, Brussels Sprouts, and dessert. They even have Thanksgiving To-Go dinner!
Yardbird is located at 2743 Blake Street in Denver. Visit them on their website, here.
-Story and photos by Courtney Drake-McDonough, publisher and managing editor of InGoodTasteDenver.com
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