Birdies offers wide selection of donuts

Birdies is Chef Jason Harley’s newest creation — a restaurant that unites two favorite comfort foods: donuts and fried chicken. Like many trendy DTLA eats, Birdies is small and inconspicuous, nestled on the intersection of Midway Place and Olympic Boulevard.

Walking into Birdies however, is a completely different experience. The site of multicolored, artisanal donuts behind glass casing captures the eyes of customers immediately, and the stylish, old-school menus along with a cluster of filament light bulbs create a simplistic, tasteful backdrop for the show-stealing desserts. But what really shines, literally and figuratively, is a single 24-karat gold leaf donut sitting in its own glass dome.

Luckily Birdies’ Instagram-worthy donuts are not all $100 and plated in gold. They include flavors such as Strawberry Shortcake, Lemon Thyme Pistachio, Candied Maple Bacon and Cinnamon Nut Crunch. It’s difficult choosing just one donut, since each flavor looks equally as indulgent and decadent as the next. What makes Birdies unique is that its staff allows customers to sample each flavor before making a decision.

Among the donuts sampled, the Strawberry Shortcake donut wins with its classic flavor and charming presentation. This yeast-raised donut is glazed with white frosting and dark chocolate zebra stripes, topped with a single red strawberry. Sandwiched between the two halves is a decadent layer of buttercream mixed with sliced strawberries. Though this donut’s appearance screams “glutton,” the buttercream’s lightness complemented the strawberries well, which makes it the overall winner of Birdies’ donut selections.

For any Oreo lovers, the Cookies and Cream donut is highly recommended. Similar to the Strawberry Shortcake donut, it too contains a light, fluffy layer of cream. Decorating the top is a thick layer of white glaze and chunks of Oreo cookie that add a crunchy texture and the signature Oreo taste to the donut.

Also sampled was the Candied Bacon Maple, which was a bit more on the sweet side than savory. Nonetheless, it did not disappoint. The bacon bits sprinkled on top of a cream-colored glaze added a much-needed savoriness that is unique to bacon maple donuts.

Perhaps the most eye-catching dessert on the rack, however, is the Lemon Thyme Pistachio, a cake donut, which boasts a vibrant green glaze sprinkled with pieces of pistachio. Despite the unusual color and zesty name, the donut turned out to be quite underwhelming. The flavor was too subtle; aside from the pistachios and a hint of lemon, this donut may have just been your average Joe.

Beyond its wide array of donut selections, Birdies offers three types of fried chicken sandwiches as well as an assortment of chicken wings, breasts, legs and thighs. The sandwiches are a bit expensive for their compact size, ranging between $8-$10, but the slab of fried chicken breast stuck between two brioche buns is definitely no snack. The Birdies Spicy sandwich contains, in addition to the fried chicken breast, coleslaw, ghost pepper mayo, Tillamook pepper jack and cured pickles. The ghost pepper mayo added a kick to the sandwich, making the Birdies Original a more viable option for those who are sensitive to spice, but is otherwise very similar to the original. The only criticism for the sandwich is the ratio between the thick chicken breast to the leafy cole slaw, which was barely there, and made the sandwich slightly dry.

Surprisingly, the cheapest sandwich on the menu, the Birdies Breakfast Sandwich, was one of the best items. The sandwich contains an over easy or scrambled egg combined with fried chicken tender, apple wood smoked bacon and Tillamook cheddar accompanied with Birdies special sauce on the side. The caramelized onions added sweet, savory and umami flavors in the sandwich and ultimately made it a truly mouth-watering dish.

Though the menu at Birdies may seem artery-clogging, people will be glad to know that the restaurant capitalizes on using fresh and natural ingredients. The chickens used are antibiotic-free free range, and the donuts are made fresh every hour with “locally sourced ingredients.” Finally, Birdies’ helpful staff created a pleasant and friendly atmosphere, welcoming customers from the moment they walked in until the moment they walked out. Birdies is a must-try for any donut and breakfast food lovers in L.A.