betterBYRD
3 out of 5 stars
4447 Fourth St. N., St. Petersburg. Brunch all day: $5.50; sandwiches, wraps and bowls: $6.50-$8.50; sides: $2.50-$5; doughnuts: $1.50-$8.50; beer and wine: $4. 727-325-2973; betterbyrd.com.
Almost exactly two years ago, I was singing the praises of the latest brainchild from the Ciccio Restaurant Group. Fresh Kitchen made its mark — so much so that it made my 10 Best Bargain Restaurants in Hillsborough list in last June's Food Issue.
CRG opened an FK branch on Fourth Street in St. Petersburg, and now its new chicken- and doughnut-obsessed sibling, betterBYRD, occupies the adjacent space. (Kind of like sharing bunk beds when you were a kid.) It is with high expectations that I descend with a group of tasters to see what the myriad chicken variations deliver.
First off, since the main courses focus on a "better bird," the question hanging in the air is "how's the chicken?" The resounding answer is the chicken, regardless of what surrounds it, is terrific. It's tender and juicy and uniformly spot-on. However, the more we dig into our individual choices, the less satisfied my table is with the selections. While we're having a good time as the evening progresses, we're talking more about Fresh Kitchen than betterBYRD.
BB offers brunch all day long. There are eight offerings, but in the battle of the chicken or the egg, the egg wins for brunch — at least by the numbers. There's two with fried chicken, one with chicken sausage and lots of eggs with bacon. We settle on the BEC with buttermilk fried chicken, applewood-smoked bacon and an over-easy egg on an artisan English muffin. My taster likes it, yet laments that "it's something I could make at home." Not everything can thrill. Though it's well done, it is just egg and bacon on a muffin alongside the ubiquitous chicken. Such a combo is hard to elevate.
We try the Motherclucker sandwich (who could resist?) with buttermilk fried chicken, crispy French fries and Sriracha queso on a potato bun. It's a nice mashup, but, again, the fries and bun lack the power to impress.
Smokeybyrd is an NYC hoagie loaded with roasted chicken, BetterBBQ sauce and a pile of American slaw topped with some slivers of fried jalapeño. It's a tasty, sloppy mess on a soft bun. Would it be better with less slaw and a toasted, crisp baguette? That's a personal preference. I like it, but wonder what a contrasting texture might do.
Six bowls also give you lots of tasty options. The Brussels surrounds roasted pulled chicken with mixed greens, crispy Brussels sprouts, and pieces of sweet apple and sharp red onion with quinoa, salad or pearl couscous in a balanced bacon horseradish vinaigrette. More interesting flavors are at play in this bowl. Better Ramen, however, isn't on par with the great new places putting ramen back on the culinary map. Its ginger chicken broth is assertive and nearly overwhelms the other contents of roasted pulled chicken, mushrooms, jalapeño, cilantro and scallions. Plus, there aren't tons of noodles. Like most of what we've tasted, it's good, but suffers by comparison, which isn't true of Fresh Kitchen next door, as my tablemate reminds me.
Although some interesting sides are featured, they, too, are mostly pleasant rather than thrilling. The pesto quinoa and jalapeño-bacon mac and cheese are what you'd expect. And the fries that serve as the base for either truffle-garlic-Parmesan or bacon-Sriracha-queso aren't crisp enough for perfection. We enjoy our sides, but are not surprised — that comes from the creamy maple dip provided to kick the sweet potato tots up a notch. It's an "ooh" that makes these tots extra sweet.
The menu's other notable area is mini doughnuts made to order. You can pick from a dozen flavors, but they're sold as a pair (one flavor), six (three flavors) or 12 (six flavors). I've got a big group so we try six flavors. The base is a fresh cake doughnut that's perhaps 2 inches across, and the flavor choices cover a wide range from salted caramel (too salty) to matcha ginger and raspberry cocoa (too timid). The most intriguing ones we have are maple bacon walnut and lemon berry hibiscus; these toppings make your mouth come alive. Your opinion of the vanilla Pebbles, requested by my guests, depends on your fondness for children's cereal.
The restaurant carries an impressive beverage selection that includes homemade seasonal tea and lemonade, as well as eight artisanal Fountainhead sodas — black cherry and orange cream among them — made with real cane sugar rather than corn syrup. There are also $4 cans of craft beer, 187-milliliter bottles of wine and even J. Roget American "Champagne." After all, you can never have too many bubbles.
So what are we to conclude? CRG has its finger on the pulse of the market, producing fresh food at bargain prices. While BB's chicken alone is very good, it outshines most of what surrounds it. If you're in the chicken-and-doughnuts zone, you can't go wrong. But you're more likely to be inspired and buzzing about what you ate next door at FK. In this case of sibling rivalry, the older child triumphs.
Jon Palmer Claridge dines anonymously when reviewing. Check out the explanation of his rating system.
This article appears in Jan 12-19, 2017.