Butterbird bills itself as “The Best Chicken + Bar in Wisco.” That name belies the high expectations for this fast-casual fried chicken joint, the second restaurant from Joe and Shaina Robbins Papach, the team behind Madison’s acclaimed Harvey House.
The Butterbird concept makes sense — a narrow menu focused on an American favorite, fried chicken, plus a few picnic-style appetizers and sides, a few salad options and a enormous drink menu that says fun, fun, fun. Even the wine list focuses on picnic wines. The dining room boasts board games, a photo booth and one of those prize machines. The restaurant is ready to please busy parents, their picky little ones, college students and anyone else who’s headed to a Badgers game.
Where Butterbird stumbles is somewhere between the execution of the menu and the expectations that have built up around it. In other words: all the food I’ve had at Butterbird has been good. But nothing has blown me away.
The fried chicken comes straight out of the fryer, piping sizzling and very crispy. The two-piece basket comes with either a thigh and drumstick or a breast and wing; I forgot to specify and got the breast/wing. The wing had a lot of meat, and the breast was one of those enormous pieces that makes you wonder what the chicken was like. The meat had a subtle flavor that suggests a good brine. The batter is crispy but doesn’t have the Colonel’s 11 secret herbs and spices. Instead, there’s a selection of dipping sauces for a little extra spice. I prefer dipping chicken strips over substantial chunks of chicken — honestly, I’d rather have the batter zingy. I ended up with a zingy honey sauce, which would go great with the biscuits. (The zingy honey biscuits are, in fact, served at weekend brunch.) Also available: half or whole fried bird, strips, and wings.
The chicken basket comes with nothing, but there are a few extras, all $5: fries, macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes with zingy honey, broccoli slaw, and a side dish. The fries are good (like a plumper McDonald’s), and I loved the broccoli slaw, which features al dente broccoli, plump raisins, and apple cubes, dressed with a sweet-but-not-too-sweet mayo mix. (Unfortunately, there’s no mashed potatoes or dressing.)
Nashville Hot chicken sandwiches have been all the rage for a few years now, and the trend shows no signs of slowing down. Butterbird’s version is the Badger Hot, served with “spicy chili oil, super pickles, and smoked chipotle mayo.” It doesn’t add much heat, either from the oil or the mayo. Both this and the classic chicken sandwich (dressed with a bland ranch dilly sauce) are good, but they could exploit more flavor, perhaps swapping out the dill for a sweet pickle. The Badger Hot tasted more fascinating when I ate the rest of the half-sandwich frigid the next morning; the chicken flavor came through, and the sweetness of the bun contrasted with the pickles and opulent dough. It’s also a reminder to anyone ordering takeout that this food doesn’t have to be fresh out of the fryer to be enjoyed.
Also in fashion is the smash burger, which features two patties, American cheese, fried onions, pickles and a sesame seed bun. It tastes exactly like Culver’s double ButterBurger (maybe a little cheesier). My dining companion insisted there was a difference: “There’s more meat.” And it’s true; Butterbird’s has eight ounces of burger, while Culver’s has five. Is Butterbird’s version worth its $16 price tag? Well, you won’t be able to order a Culver’s Paloma or a shot of Jell-O; consider that you’re kind of paying for the experience.
Other sandwiches include a pulled chicken (served like a grilled cheese, with Swiss cheese) and, perhaps in a nod to vegetarians, an eggplant-Parmesan sandwich. Salads include a enormous kale Caesar salad (if you order it as a side, it can be divided into three pieces) and a bowl of roasted vegetables (with broccoli, wonderfully zingy chickpeas, avocado and sweet potato cubes on a bed of mixed greens, lightly dressed with a bland lemon vinaigrette).
The biggest disappointment was the dessert. The banana split sundae, made with vanilla ice cream, tastes like vanilla ice cream — the most uninteresting dessert imaginable — with a few sliced bananas and a Nilla wafer on top. How about real banana pudding? I know the minds behind Butterbird could do it brilliantly.
Butterbird
1134 Regent St
no phone; butterbird.com
Tuesday-Thursday 16:00-21:00, Friday 11:00-21:00, Saturday 10:00-21:00, Sunday 10:00-20:00.
$8-36
