Last night, I met up with my dear friend Nancy for dinner. We had been trying to meet up for about a month, but our schedules have been crazy. So, we finally put a date on the calendar and stuck with it.
Since, we both are foodies and work in the food industry, we always want to go to a new and trendy restaurant around the Twin Cities. Yesterday, we were at The Third Bird, located near The Basilica of St. Mary and Loring Park. If you are familiar with where Joe’s Garage use to be by Cafe Lurcat… it’s right there.
We parked our car, paid for parking, and headed to the door… as I opened the door, we read a decoy saying (not exact wording) “we would like you to please use our door in the alley”. I thought to myself, really, it’s cold, I am hungry and halfway into the restaurant and you want me to walk back outside and around the building just to go in another door… I don’t think so, in we went. Maybe when it’s not cold and the sun is shining I would be more willing to walk through the alley, because I am sure there is an aesthetic piece to it.
We were nicely greeted by the hostess, and she showed us to our table for two by the window. Nancy and I stopped for a second, looked at eachother with the same thought, you want us to sit here? The table was cramped. On one side a couple was eating and the other side a pillar. So, I walked back to the hostess politely asking for the table two down, where there was clearly more room, she happy obliged.
(please forgive the picture quality, the restaurant was really dark and the lighting was making bad shadowing in all my pictures, so I did what I could)
Once seated, we took in the atmosphere and after a while were greeted by a cheerful waiter. The decor was industrial, with modern classic touches. And, we thought it was cool to see there was an upstairs.
On to the food…
We wanted to order a few items off the menu to get a good perspective of the menu, so we decided on an appetizer, two vegetable sides and an entree.
The bacon and cheddar popcorn came out first. I was disappointed by the presentation, but it was popcorn- which I am a huge fan of, so naturally I was excited!
My first bite, I was overwhelmed with smoked bacon fat flavor, which I didn’t care for, but as I kept eating the smoke flavor mellowed and the cheddar started to come through. The flavors built nicely together and I ended up being happy with the dish. The portions size was just the right amount too.
After a long while, our two vegetable sides and entree arrived.
I was excited about the beets a)because I have gotten into beets this year, and looking for any excuses to try them b) the flavors sounded good to me- more on the sweet side which I thought would be nice with the bitterness beets can have sometimes.
We both were slightly disappointed. The menu described the dish as having burnt cinnamon, which was a little overwhelming, with the other flavors being underwhelming. The beets were nice and tender and beautifully presented.
This was the dish Nancy was excited about, me not so much because I wasn’t sure what to expect with the coffee glaze, but I am always open to try. I have to tell you, this was my favorite of the three! The carrots were tender, with a light sweetness and a hint of coffee flavor. The glaze wasn’t to thick, just a nice coating. The hazelnuts were a perfect texture crunch with the carrots. I would definitely order this dish again!
And, our entree… when the dish was place on our table, I couldn’t believe how small the portion was for a $12 entree. There were only 6 tortellini pieces. I took a tortellini piece and instantly was overwhelmed by salt. My second piece was better. The tortellini was tender and perfect bite size. When we got to the bottom of the plate the beautiful hibiscus color peeked through, which I would have loved to seen drizzled on the plate or on the tortellini themselves. Overall, I didn’t find this dish flavorful.
Yes, Nancy and I were excited about trying a new restaurant with trendy foods and we left slightly disappointed, but the main purpose for our night out, was to catch up and that’s exactly what we got to do.
I would give The Third Bird 3 out of 5 tables. The atmosphere was cozy and inviting, company and conversation were great, but the food was ok and service was friendly, but slow.
Have you been to The Third Bird? Comment below and let me know what you thought.
The Revolving Table 