(Editor's Note: Though our CL Food contributor Gretchen has left us for the deep south, a.k.a.: Miami, she's still keeping us abreast of the latest food news and reporting on the fantastic dining scene that's just a few hours south of us here in Tampa Bay.)
Yardbird Southern Table & Bar officially opened Monday October 3rd, in South Beach, bringing traditional southern fare with an elevated elegant twist to South Beach.
McInnis, former chef at Miami's Ritz Carlon DiLido Beach Club and Gigi, rose to celebri-chef status as a contestant on Bravo's Top Chef reality show competitionin 2008. His new adventure with John Kunkel (of 50 Eggs and Lime) is said to be a,"down-to-earth joint that preaches the gospel of good food and good company." And, that it is. My grandparents would absolutely love McInnis' fried chicken — which takes 27 hours to make and with 150 year-old recipe.
The menu has a made-from-scratch ethic that uses humanely treated meats and seasonal ingredients that helps support southern farmers such as Paradise Farms, The Green Railroad Organic Workshop, Worden Farm, Lake Meadow Naturals and White Oak Pastures — all suppliers of the restaurant. Everything is made in-house, even the alligator sausage.
