There’s a moment in many of our lives when we try something made by our grandmothers that is just so remarkable, we know it’d be worthy of its own restaurant. (For my grandmother, it was her blackberry cobbler with berries picked straight from the brambles.) You can’t beat the sheer excellence coming out of a Southern matriarch’s kitchen, which often inspires generations of recipes and traditions.
For Nashville TV chef and author Carla Hall, that torch has been passed down from her granny, Freddie Mai Price Glover, who made smothered pork chops that cooked all day ‘til tender. (Hall shared some heartfelt food memories of her Southern grandmother in an interview with the Alzheimer’s Association back in 2022.) And now, with the announcement of her latest restaurant venture in the Capitol Hill area of Washington, D.C., Hall is honoring her granny in a new way.
Bumblebirds is a new fast-casual eatery focused on fried chicken and cocktails, opening on March 14. It’s a love letter to the region, with joyful components that embody Hall’s soul-food roots and Southern vivacity: pimiento cheese; crispy fried chicken; country ham; crispy chicken skins; sweet pickles; a choose-your-own-adventure tea and lemonade bar; fresh slaws; flavorful sauces, like hot honey butter; and nostalgic desserts, like golden-fried doughnuts…