Surely I am not the only one that finds deep, almost unsettling irony in Byrd and Barrel's location. It's in an old Popeye's Fried Chicken building. Years ago I, not once but twice, knew the neighborhood well – it was close to several hospitals. They've even kept the drive-through, but the inside is far more stylish than anything the orange-coated chicken folks have offered us through the years.
There's a liquor license and a wide variety of beers, plus mixed drinks. To give you an accurate picture of the experience, understand that the bloody Mary arrives with a mini-chicken slider on a skewer which rests on a rim dipped in crushed Red Hot Riplets. (Non-locals: That's a kind of local potato chip sometimes tricky to locate.) But it's all deeply casual, counters and (stylish) stools for much of the seating.To start things off, there are some interesting things, and I admit to being lured by chicken skins. But the idea of chicken andouille burnt ends was even more seductive. To call the dish burnt ends is a stretch. But fat slices of sausage are grilled until charred here and there, arriving in a sweet-hot barbecue sauce with a few pieces of grilled bun and some excellent pickles – not the "Kool Aid pickles" seen on the menu, apparently, but tasting like homemade. The sausage isn't as fiery as most andouille, but it's also considerably leaner without seeming dry and mealy.
While there are sandwiches on the menu (with names like mother plucker), it was the fried chicken that was the object of this visit. While there are nugz – their spelling – pieces of chicken is available only as an order of half a chicken, four pieces. And, warns the menu, when it's gone, it's gone for the day. Sides come separately. The chicken, a reddish mahogany color, is battered and then the nubbly pieces sprinkled with seasoning. It's assertively seasoned, not spicy-hot but clearly using onion, garlic and their kin, as well as other, more mysterious herbs and spices. It's quite crisp and relatively greaseless, seriously good bird. Our pieces were fairly large, compared to some we've run into in the past year.
Mashed potatoes are real potatoes, not instant, with a choice of chicken or smoked mushroom gravy. The mushroom version was quite tasty despite a lack of any discernible smokiness. Greens were described on the menu as being a little sweet, and they were, an interesting variation I hadn't run into before. But they were extremely tender. The greens might be a good place to try the three sauces on the table. Sriracha is no surprise in a place like this. But jalapeno malt vinegar? That's a new idea. And speaking of new, they've just started putting out their fermented jalapeno sauce, which was excellent. Described as the hottest of the three, I didn't find it the sort of thing that causes brain explosions. In fact, it's easy to taste other things than just hotness – it's got a lovely sort of vegetableness to it that's quite endearing.
There's a lot more on this menu – tater tot poutine, chicken liver banh mi, beignets both garlic-buttered and dessertish, cauliflower poorboys – but I wanted to finish off the Year of Fried Chicken. More at another time.
Byrd and Barrel
3422 S. Jefferson
314-875-9998
Lunch and Dinner daily
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: Good
Smoking: No