Birdies, Grandma’s Chicken for the people

Fast and convenient. One of the few places in the city I can find vegetarian «fried chicken.» A serving of nuggets is practically a meal, and is very satisyfing.

I love chicken. It’s versatile, and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Oh and who doesn’t love eggs. That’s right, eggs are part of a chicken.
With all digressions aside, in my search for all that’s hot, messy, and tasty in this eclectic city, I found out about the chicken from Birdies — Grandma’s Chicken for the people, and the rest is history.
I went for the Crunchy Fried Chicken, the Country Baked Chicken, and the Smoked Jerk BBQ Chicken. The Smoked Jerk BBQ chicken was my favorite. I love chicken, especially when it’s smothered in bbq sauce. The flavor was good, and the sauce was messy in a good way.
My second favorite type of chicken was the Country Baked Chicken. It’s baked with seasoned breadcrumbs. As another reviewer mentioned, the breadcrumbs do not flake off. They remain on the chicken as you’re biting through, very nice.
And, finally, we have the Crunchy Fried Chicken. The chicken was indeed crunchy. However, it was standard fare fried chicken. There’s nothing wrong with that, but also not unique and/​or memorable.
If I’m in the neighborhood, I’d go for their smothered bbq chicken, and their country baked chicken, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to revisit this place.

Oh, grandma Birdy! I wanted to love you so bad, but your namesake chicken pales in comparison to other fried chickens in the area. Sniffle.
In other news: the best mashed potatoes in New York City. Seriously. I fucking love mashed potatoes, and these are amaaaazing.
I just need g-​ma Birdy to get those potatoes over to Mama’s Food Shop. Dear lord. Why aren’t these ladies related?

It’s fitting that this place is called BIRDIE’S because that’s ONE UNDER PAR fried chicken they’re serving up… oofa!
This chicken place has a homey feel and the fried chicken is certainly edible. But the breading is kinda sparse and, while I’m not sure how many herbs and spices they use, I can assure you that salt is the most prominent. Salty! The chicken meat was dry — perhaps from overcooking. So edible, yes. Incredible, no. Say two stars.
Third star goes to:
1) tasty, peppery mashed potatoes
2) really good banana pudding w/​‘Nilla wafers
3) decent value on the combo (2 pieces + side + drink for around $ 9)
4) the people here are nice
They’ve got a variety of other chicken offerings like lemon pepper, jerked BBQ, baked chicken, etc. I might try those if I returned but no-​go on the fried chicken…

Sadly, this place is quite a disappointment. The chicken was dry and bland, and not crispy or fried enough. The macaroni was awful, I thought perhaps it was a lean cuisine heated in the microwave? The only silver lining to this sad little rain cloud came with the take-​away desert of banana crème pudding, complete with yummy Nilla wafers. Another cool little feature was the lovely waitress who went above and beyond making me feel at home.
I’ll be back for puddin’ but that’s about it.

Birdies vegetarian marinated chicken sandwich and some mashed potatoes make for a tasty, tasty gutbomb. Mmmm, I mean ooohhhh. I’d happily do it again, but not late at night.

Had a quick bite at Grandma Birdie’s small, eclectic joint when I got a hankering for some vegetarian junk food. I waited only a few minutes for some vegetarian chicken tenders and a side of mac and cheese. When I tucked into it, I was pleasantly surprised! The vegetarian chicken had a nice crispy, seasoned batter on the outside and Grandma Birdie’s served it with some kind of creamy dressing with real herbs in it that was fresh and tasty. And when I bit into the vegetarian chicken, it was a close approximation to what a real chicken tender would taste like! Unlike Kate’s Joint on Avenue B, which just places a lousy batter on the outside of a totally unflavored block of tofu and calls it vegetarian chicken. So if you want to see how mock meat can be done at the same prices Kate’s charges and twice as good, go to Grandma Birdie’s. Ditto if you just want a simple mock meat meal and don’t want to wait for a table at Red Bamboo! In addition to their vegetarian chicken tenders, Grandma Birdie’s also offers vegetarian chicken tacos, vegetarian jerk chicken and a vegetarian chicken sandwich.
Chicken isn’t the only star at Grandma Birdie’s. They have a very long list of soul food sides like fried okra, mashed potatoes and collard greens, as well as tempting desserts like sweet potato pie and red velvet cake. The only thing that worries me about the place is the liberal amounts of butter they use in their cooking — this place is not for those on a diet or for the faint of heart! But it does offer tasty southern comfort food (for vegetarians AND meat eaters) at a nice price. If you eat in, bring just yourself and a friend, as the place is small but cute and homey. Otherwise, I think they deliver too — mmm!

I like this place to go sit down at, eat, and read on my own or take a friend. Not super-​fast, so I’d have an issue standing around waiting for my order.
Coleslaw is great (has pickles) and fried greed tomatoes are very good as well. I like the lemon pepper and BBQ chicken. The combo deals are the best and pretty darn good — 2 breasts, drink, side, $ 8.50 Not bad, lots of protein — good meal! The sweet potato pie was good, not amazing… but overall great inexpensive meal. The southern iced tea is a little much but if you like Arnold Palmers it’s good.
The place is decorated nicely for a small space. The tables are interesting to look at and lots of random things are placed all over giving it a homey feel.
The staff are great — they co-​own the place — if not a little chatty during your meal. But kind of cool to eat a good meal and give them encouragement. I hope this place sticks around. It’s got the potential to be a weekly standard for me.

Oh Grandma Birdie, I wanted to love you. But instead, with each mouthful I take, I think about what I would do to improve your recipes. Are you my alcoholic grandma who always forgets my birthday and flashed my friends at Thanksgiving?
We ordered lunch via seamless web…
I had baked chicken and three sides. Biscuits, Collard Greens and Mac& Cheese.
PROS: Huge portions. (this is gonna be lunch and supper)
Fast, nice delivery person.
CONS: The chicken was juicy — but bland. Really and truly bland, (and I NEVER add salt to anything) — good thing I had hot sauce in my desk drawer.
The biscuits are more like muffins. (baked in muffin tins, and taste like deflated popovers.)
Finally, with a sigh… the mac and cheese. It was more like glue and Velveeta. What happened? Comeon, grandma, you can do mac & cheese better than that. I know you can. Put down the whiskey sour and try harder.
In summation, you could have hit this menu out of the park. But instead, Grandma Birdie gives you a lot of food, but her recipes won’t be passed down through the generations.

I had been there around 3 times. Every time the staff was different and every time it was great. What you’ll find there is straight forward comfort food. You can feel that these people care about what they’re doing.
I really enjoy the ambient of the place, almost like a living room, relaxed and cozy.
Humble food made with care, that’s what Birdie’s is and that’s why I love it so much.

My name is Arthur and I love me some jerk chicken.
I tried the Jerk BBQ chicken thinking it would be JERK bbq, but it turned out to be jerk BBQ. Kind of misleading, don’t you think? Maybe even ironic? Like a fly in a…
No, seriously, when Warrior Princess is absolutely more of a warrior than a princess, shouldn’t Jerk BBQ chicken be more jerk than BBQ?
Or is it kind of like Deputy Major, where you’re just a deputy version of a major? No, even in this case, you’re more of a deputy than a major, right?
So, there you go, that’s my problem with the Jerk BBQ chicken at Birdie’s. Actually, I pretty much went with the Jerk BBQ because all I saw was the word, «Jerk.» Something positively magnetic about that word.
On the positive side, the BYO policy is beautiful and it’s a cozy little (more cozy or more little?!) spot to have a little meal on the cheap. I only got to try the collard greens, but I have a feeling the rest of the sides are pretty tasty, too.
Don’t worry about the melted-​plastic look of some of their dishes. Your food didn’t do it. Chris H. was compelled to ask our server about it despite my eye witness account that the dish came that way.
Forget the Jerk BBQ and go straight for the Country Baked, and ask for a bunch of hot sauce.

My friends and I were looking for a cheap place to eat and found Birdies on Time Out. Visions of cheap, plentiful, greasy home-​cooked goodness immediately engulfed our minds, and we were instantly salivating.
Subsequently, we organized a mass gathering (party of 8) to converge on this soul food joint for some serious gluttonous misdeeds, only to find out that Birdies was a smallish take-​out type place, with a few stools and one table.
Fortune’s light shone upon us that day, and we were the only ones inside. The friendly proprietors quickly greeted us and asked us how we were, pointed out choice menu items, and asked if we needed a bottle opener (which we did). I’m surprised they actually served us, considering it was a take-​out place, but they seemed pleased that we were sitting down for a good meal.
What followed was exactly what we were looking for — southern comfort food cooked as if it were straight from grandma’s kitchen, served in grandma’s dining room with all the hospitality one would expect from genteel folk.
We ordered a variety of sauces for the fried chicken — all the them very flavorful (can’t pack more flavor in than the jerk smoke bbq sauce!), though the chicken itself could use a bit more meat. We also ordered a bunch of sides. I recommend the collard greens liberally stir-​fried in garlic and oil, the creamy mashed potatoes, and the syurpy candied yams. Actually, they were all pretty good, except for the macaroni, which could use some more cheese.
Of course, we were full in the end, too full for the assorted sweets. Which was too bad, because I was really looking forward to the peach cobbler. We were chided (in a motherly southernly lovingly way) about not having dessert. Alas, it was not to be this time.

I have a lot of mixed feelings when it comes to Birdies. As a Southern transplant, I’m always on the prowl for good soul food. So I was drawn in by the chicken and biscuits.
On my first visit, I got a chicken meal with a side of biscuits. It was ok, but I’m not big on chicken that’s on the bone (I misread the menu, so that was definitely my bad). I went back recently and got the veggie chicken nuggets, and I have to say, they are amazing! I love them. I eat morning star farm fake chicken nuggets all the time (yummy), but these were way better. The downside is — they’re also pretty pricey. I think it’s $ 8.50, if I recall correctly, for 8 nuggets.
But my real annoyance is the biscuits. They’re always either burnt or overcooked. And the last time I ordered delivery, I asked for a large side of biscuits ($ 5+ for 6 biscuits, which is also, in my opinion, really pricey — especially for what you get). I opened the package and was so annoyed to find one burnt biscuit, two decent biscuits, and three pieces of cornbread. Maybe they ran out of biscuits, but I didn’t pay $ 5 for half of my order to not even be what I ordered. It’s ridiculous.
And as far as the cornbread goes… pass on it. I love cornbread, but it’s always really dry. I want to love this place, but they’re making it very hard.

American comfort food. The place is tiny, but the portions are huge. My boyfriend and I ordered the «Big Boy» chicken box sampler to share: they brought us two large platters of chicken prepared in various ways… enough food for four people. Seriously… it was just insane. The sides are pretty good too: the mashed potatoes were great, and the collard greens were okay. Get a milkshake: they’re very tasty. Not the greatest food but it certainly hit the spot, and our waitress was really nice too.

It seems like that whenever someone tries to upstage the Colonel through their own «homemade» recipes they fail. Birdie’s is no different.
Though their menu claims that their fried chicken is made with Grandma’s «secret recipe» I have to wonder if Grandma grew up in WhiteBread, USA. It’s the same olé bland skinned and dry meat chicken I’ve had at other chicken boasting restaurants. Quite frankly it looked like they dropped uncoated pieces into the french fryer for a few minutes and put it on a plate. To top it off they only give your fried legs and thighs. No breasts or wings. I also had string beans, buttermilk biscuits and cole slaw. The beans were practically raw and coated with mashed garlic you get from a jar, the buttermilks tasted more like corn muffins, which they might have been i.e. mistakenly put in, and the cole slaw while chunky and fresh and a weird sweet and spicy sauce. The young lady behind the counter was nice enough though.
Saying all of the above let me state that I have had great home made fried chicken, homemade and from restaurants. My best friend’s mom is from South Carolina, she makes fried chicken with the egg and milk wash and spicy batter or hand made crumbs. Lord knows how great the fried chicken was in New Orleans eateries. NYC though, except for a few places from what I understand and Korean restaurants, has a serious lack of good fried chicken.
Put the Colonel down if you must. Say he is uncaring and just a bearded weirdo drawn on a bucket. Say his chicken is greasy, caustic with salt and served impersonally. Say all that and still very few places will have you lick your fingers good like the bearded wonder.
Disappointed but not surprised.

Chicken for the people! Alright!
Power to the people! Alright!
I’m getting pumped up for this chicken as I diligently walk my takeout order down the street to my friend’s apartment.
I had just happen to stumble upon this little restaurant in my quest for something new to eat. To my surprise the inside looked nice, a little cozy spot that sits about 10 to 15 people with a menu that looked awesome.
BBQ Jerk Chicken Sandwich, ummm! Alright let me get that!
It didn’t take long until I was out the door and arriving at my friends house. So I eagerly begin my feast when I start to lose all sensation in my mouth. Suddenly I feel like my taste buds are ablaze.
Jesus man, the Jerk Chicken’s got some serious Jerk!
I mean, I can eat spicy food but this was just retarded. I couldn’t even finish it. The fries and slaw were the only means I had to fulfill my hunger. So I pick up the menu and look for some kind of warning about the high levels of heat in this here sammy. Nothing. Maybe they gave me the wrong thing I thought. I did, however, start to look a little more in depth into the menu. I started seeing things that looked so delicious, I started getting annoyed.
I had to walk 10 blocks, in the cold, and through the set of some stupid movie called «The Infinite Playlist» just to get this shit. There’s no way I’m going back. So I sucked it up and bit the bullet. Looking back now, I still want to try some other things out on the menu, I have a feeling I just struck out on my order. So we’ll see. I may give them another try.

In the former location of the original «Flor’s Kitchen», Birdies has big shoes to fill in this minute space.
With no more than 15 seats Birdies Chicken is very good. In fact, some of what I’ve had there is excellent. The Mac and Cheese and Collard Greens are both delectable sides. The Fried and Baked Chicken are tasty, great interpretations of classics.
They lose two stars because of the way the place is run. The owner, a former bodybuilder and trainer, is a very nice guy. Unfortunately, he is not always there running things.
One evening I ordered fried chicken and a side to be delivered to my home four blocks a way. It was a week night and it took 45 minutes. When I opened my chicken the drumstick was a shriveled sad thing. The thigh was not only missing the breading, but the actual skin too. I asked for the white meat option, which I had assumed meant a breast piece on the bone. What I got was a deep fried bread-​less cutlet that looked more like a removed tumor than chicken.
I called them because I wasn’t about to pay for this garbage. They seemed quite uncaring, but agreed to replace the order, this time all dark meat, because they don’t have breast on the bone.
Over an hour and several angry calls later I finally got my dinner. The order was perfect, the way it should have been to begin with. The pieces were large and plump.
I’ve though to order from them after, but the memory of this experience has always stopped me.
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Ahh, if only we had ½ sizes on Unilocal,I would give Birdie’s 2.5 stars.
I had high hopes for this place because once upon passing they handed out bite sized (popcorn style) fried chicken that was quite tasty — yummy batter and lots of it, coating moist white meat.
Today I ordered a bunch of stuff for lunch with a friend — white meat fried chicken, buttermik biscuits, large side salad, and burnin’ hot wings. The delivery was very fast and the food was hot and fresh, and VERY plentiful, so props on all that.
Birdie’s claims to use organic chicken, which I doubt considering the price of their food vs the price of organic chicken breasts, but I must say that the actual chicken is good. But sadly, my 4 ginormous chicken breasts had almost NO coating. It was more like, baked chicken with small, scattered sections of skimpy breading. I was provided with tiny vials of sauce, one each of bbq and gravy. The sauces were tasty, but nowhere near adequate for the massive portion of mostly unseasoned chicken.
The buttermilk biscuits were not flaky but crumbly, and they were a tad dry and small, but the flavour was good. Shredded romaine, sliced cucumber, and a weird mushy concoction of chopped tomatoes, red onion, and cilantro comprised the salad. I cannot tolerate cilantro to any degree, and I don’t usually expect it on a salad. The dressing provided was not the poppyseed (which they discontinued, as I was told on the phone when ordering) — but a watery and mediocre ranch.
My friend’s wings had an acceptably flavourful sauce, but were far from burnin’ hot, and more fat and bone than anything else. I realize that’s sort of just how wings are generally, but these were absurdly fatty, and also, some of the bones were broken, nearly injuring my friend’s mouth.
In summary: good service, very generous portions, and decent prices — but extremely mediocre food. I certainly won’t be a repeat customer.

That’s some damn good chicken.
I liked the fried chicken very much. Really felt like I was eating home made. It had a spice mix sprinkled on it that I liked but didn’t think it was too salty like Peter H did.
Small place so I would order for take out or delivery next time, especially good for a hangover. Yeah, good southern comfort food on the soon to come «best food for a hangover» list.

«BIRDIES, Grandma’s Chicken for the people» is the official name of this soul food restaurant on 1^st Ave. It is run by a mysterious figure named Pharoah Masters, who elucidates the ideology of B, GCFTP clearly on the take away menu: «Birdies is named after my grandmother… Her secret recipes live on under this roof where great tasting chicken is made for all people.» Makes more sense now: BIRDIE is the grandma, Grandma’s refers to the inspiration for the chicken, and Chicken for the people is what I’m devouring with my hands. Chickens are also called birdies, if you want to complete the referential circle (BIRDIES, Grandma’s Grandma for the people?). While we’re at it, shouldn’t it be «BIRDIES’ Chicken for the people,» or «Grandma’s Chicken for the people,» or even «BIRDIES’ (Grandma’s) Chicken for the people?» The whole name thing occupied me for quite some time.
I had the three piece crunchy fried chicken along with a side of potato salad and a ginger lemonade. The chicken was a bit dry, but the exterior made up for it in flavor. In addition to the flour coating, salt and spices (could have been just Lawry’s) were employed. The potato salad did the trick. I didn’t really like the lemonade, but that’s only cause I’m averse to ginger.