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.
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)…