Yardbird Southern Table & Bar
Cornmeal Chess Pie – Sorghum Chantilly, Caramel Sauce, Caramel Pretzel, Popcorn
Deep Fried Oreos – Rice Crispy Doughnut Dough Fried Oreos, Oreo Ice Cream, Chocolate Sauce
Bacon Butterscotch Cake – Pecan Filling, Bourbon Ice Cream, Butterscotch Sauce
Bonuts – Yardbird Biscuits, Apple Butter, Slice Apples, Bourbon Ice Cream, Caramel
Having tweeted a picture of Biscuit Love Brunch’s famous ‘bonuts’ while dining in Nashville just two weeks prior it really wasn’t surprising when Yardbird Chef Todd Harrington tagged me in a post showing their own ‘take one’ of fried balls of buttermilk, and essentially inviting myself over to the restaurant after lunch at Delmonico the creativity and generosity Pastry Chef Vivian Chang and the restaurant itself were once again on display; a quartet of desserts arriving after a bit of chat during late-brunch hours that still saw the room more filled than all of its “Restaurant Row” neighbors combined.
Having already experienced the other three options, but always happy to indulge in what I personally believe to be the best Chess Pie in America even after recent trips to Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and the Carolinas, it should go without saying that Fried Oreos and the restaurant’s signature cake were also well received, and turning finally to the true piece de resistance each of the four golden orbs showed quite well for a rough draft – the greaseless exterior giving way to a center that was significantly more dense and buttery than those served down South while housemade apple filling and ice cream both working in expected harmony beneath thinly sliced fruit and a drizzle of caramel that reminisced of autumn, the perfected item hopefully ready to roll out far sooner with just a few small tweaks.
