Bird Dog — Restaurant in New York

3 1/2 stars

There's a lot to like here, and I think under different circumstances this would have been a significantly better experience. I stopped by with the Millennial Chum for dinner this past Wednesday; we were looking for a spot on the western side of the island close to the NJ public transportation options (this is literally a block from the Christopher St Path, so if you play your cards/timing right, less than 10 minutes from the restaurant door to Hoboken Terminal.). Of course after eating pasta, the Millennial Chum decided to be dramatic and walk the carbs off all the way down to the WTC Path but that was a personal decision. Anyway.

This area is as West Village as it gets, and that for sure extends to the proprietors here. An absolute delight - a mixture of Sgt. Pepper's and a circus ringmaster. This for sure was one of the big selling points for me - everyone we interacted with was beyond nice and very communicative. The decor in here is really something as well, with pooch portraits as far as the eye can see (with a smattering of birds as well). We had the honor of sitting under a picture of a canine wearing, I believe, an Elizabethan ruff, which is just begging for a pun.

We got over here around a little before 6pm, but the place was empty or close to it initially (it filled it up a bit during a time in there). This was a quintessential gift versus curse situation - we showed up inadvertently for Bird Dog's Pasta Happy Hour, which on its face is a great deal, half off the listed/selected entrees. Initially, we were pretty pleased by the timing there; a significantly more affordable meal, and the everything bagel topped biscuits I'd been hankering for were still available on the abbreviated menu. We of course ordered those, and enjoyed them - they were warm, easy to break into halves, and the accompanying honey butter was great. Honestly, I didn't really taste the everything bagel aspect so I'm not sure what the point is beyond the optics of it, but it was still really good.

The main dinner menu had a gnocchi Bolognese on it, which is one of my faves, but the Happy Hour menu's version had the gnocchi in a green, pesto-ish sauce, which I was perfectly fine with ordering as well. Honestly? Really good. The flavors are very distinct, if that makes sense. I have a chum who preemptively orders salt with everything (believing that the vast majority of food is bland and desperately in need of a pick-me-up) but she wouldn't need to do that here. Nothing was flavorless in the slightest. This ended up being a bit of an issue for the Millennial Chum, who ordered a garlicky bucatini dish that she was pretty overwhelmed by, and not in a good way. She gave me about half of it to bring home. And she was right - it's REALLY garlicky. I felt like it was oozing out of my pores.

Here's the biggest issue for me, and it's definitely a debatable point. The Pasta Happy Hour is half-off, but you're also paying for what you get - the serving sizes we received were arguably less than half of what you'd typically get with a normal pasta entree, which I think should be disclosed. (Maybe it's a given to some people?) But I was pretty hungry and this was flat out not enough food. I don't even know if it was an option in hindsight, but I would have considered getting full price if I'd known you're getting a fraction of the food. Also, is it even a "deal" if you're not getting the equivalent portion of pasta that you'd be getting at other times? What are you actually saving in that equation? I imagine there are plenty of people who would vehemently disagree with me here and squeal about the money you're saving, but I'd be more than willing to spring for the extra $10 to $15 just to not be hungry on my way out.

The food itself was a cut above for me, notwithstanding my Happy Hour gripes, so I'd actually want to come back when the portions are legit because from what I sampled, it's worth it. And the intangible service aspect cancels out a lot of the...

I want to love this place. This was my second time dining here. I will start with the positives.

Service was stellar, everyone involved with our experience was attentive, friendly and ready to answer any questions we could’ve had. The space is beautiful, a really cozy spot.

We ate on a Friday and if I’m being honest it didn’t taste like they had a Friday night kitchen staff in. Whoever co-signed the home made dorito needs a talking to. Six cold, hard as rocks chips with cheese dust is not the move. The “smoked” wings didn’t taste smoked and tasted as if they’d been held for quite some time. The majority of our dishes lacked a certain freshness to them. The portion sizes are indeed large but I had no desire to finish most of the dishes. The burnt ends were most definitely not burnt ends, although they were good. The fish was charred to all hell (past the point of being acceptable) and had absolutely no seasoning. No seasoning on the broccoli for the meatballs either, nary a flake of salt. The “baby back ribs” were lacking flavor outside of the very meatloaf esque sauce that was laid on top. The linguine was really good although way spicy, it overpowered the crab intensely. The pasta was good, though. The portion size of the actual blue crab was very sparse.

I like the idea of the pri-fixe but the random five dollar surcharges on dishes that is really unclear on the menu (it read as it would be a charge to make it gluten free) is absolutely insane considering you can’t order things al a carte when already paying for a meal. It makes things more confusing than necessary.

I didn’t bring this up at the time because I’ve worked in restaurants and I knew bringing this up would illicit offering a replacement and I didn’t want that and I also really didn’t want to go through the fuss of figuring out how to justify what if anything would be taken off since everything is a flat fee. I just hope this gets read and things get fine tuned.

I think Bird Dog can be great but you guys need to really bring it in and focus on the quality and consistency of the food coming out of the kitchen. I should not love something so much I want to bring family and then feel embarrassed after bringing them there.

Again I cannot speak highly enough about the service, they’re killing it and if I ever came back which I don’t know that I will it would be...

Welcome to the West Village, Bird Dog.

It’s one of the newest additions to the neighborhood. A charming place that does pasta and southern. There is a pre fixe menu of 3 or 4 choices or chef’s tasting. Go with a group and you can try a little of everything.

The pasta is all made in house and cooked very well. Some were seasoned better than others. The bucatini with the chicken skin on top was the favorite pasta. There is a little crunch from the chicken skin and the chicken au jus adds a little creaminess to it. Love the pancetta and mushrooms in it as well. It’s all kinds of umami in one plate. The other pastas were cooked well but we needed to add some salt. The malfadine had a butternut squash which added some sweetness and with a touch of salt on top; it was a perfect balance. The ravioli had a potato filling, def share this one because it’s a little heavy but who’s really going to say no to a baked potato in pasta form. Mac and cheese needed black pepper and salt to add some oomph.

We also got the ribs, fried chicken and the bronzino. Bronzino did have the crispy skin but the purée that it came with needed salt and it was a little firmer. The ribs were more on dry rub side and a sprinkle of salt brighten the whole thing.

Now, the fried chicken. It’s Nashville hot chicken but don’t worry it’s on the mild side. However, its one of the best I have had. The breading was crunchy with the slight kick. The chicken itself was brined to perfection and so tender and juicy. I wish I had ordered more. Sweet pickles on the side which was a nice balance to the chicken.

Save room for dessert and everyone should just order their own sticky toffee pudding. It’s served with butter pecan ice cream on the side. This dessert is the bees knees. It’s comfort and will just warm your soul. It’s sweet and not heavy at all. Each bite is a warm hug telling you everything will be ok. If you are lucky, yours will have some crunchy bits on the bottom.

Currently, it’s BYOB. Reach out to them on Instagram to make a reservations. They brought the southern charm...