FAT BIRD NYC

180 Seventh Ave. (btw. W. 20th & 21st Sts., closer to 21st)

Daily Hours: 11am to Approx. 10pm

Soon Switching to 11am to 11pm, Daily

(with an eye toward staying open until midnight or beyond, Fridays and Saturdays)

Phone: 914-231-5259

BY SCOTT STIFFLER | The Seventh Ave. storefront space with a half-decade-plus history of playing host to classic comfort food cuisine (the burgers and shakes of Creamline; the thin-crust pizzas of Pasta by Hudson) has become the nesting place of Fat Bird.

A fried chicken joint whose melt-in-your-mouth menu includes gloriously crispy-not-greasy Waffle Fries and blue ribbon-worthy potato salad, Seventh Avenue’s Fat Bird (that’s two-words) is not to be confused with Fatbird, the one-word, ill-fated Meatpacking District endeavor from celeb chef Cat Cora closed in 2017 after only seven months. While that bird-brained project suffered from its kitchy, gaudy takes on the “Southern restaurant,” Chelsea’s Fat Bird has managed to harmoniously fuse classic Southern cuisine with globally inspired ingredients that open the menu up to a larger world of tastes that work because they’re so, well, tastefully done.

It didn’t happen by accident. “My whole life, from fast casual to fine dining, I’ve done it all,” said owner Ariel Strizower, who told Chelsea Community News Fat Bird has been “something I have wanted to do for a long time. A lot of the recipes were actually tested on friends and family in my old studio apartment!” Strizower’s patience has been rewarded, as we can attest from our first spin or two through the menu. This past week was all about swooning over their Waffle Fries, admiring the alchemy resposible for the dense-but somehow-light potato salad, and marveling at the swirling world of tastes found in every mouthful of banana pudding (unapoligetically consumed via several admittedly overloaded spoonfuls). Next week, we’ll dive deeper into the menu’s take on chicken tenders and burgers. But for now, we kept the focus on Fat Bird’s deceptively complex basics via the below Q&A with Strizower.

Scott Stiffler, for Chelsea Community News (CCNews): Welcome to the neighborhood. Why Chelsea, and why this location?

Ariel Strizower (Ariel): I love Chelsea. It’s fun, diverse, and a key NYC neighborhood. I thought between everyone living in Chelsea, and the huge crowd that comes to have fun in Chelsea, well, they all need a great bite to eat.

CCNews: The menu is pretty basic, but it covers a lot of ground. How would you describe the taste/cuisine, and what’s unique to Fat Bird, in terms of how the food is prepared and served? Is everything made on-site?

Ariel: We wanted to keep it simple, easily approachable and more than anything, delicious. We have all the classic flavors of a good fried chicken joint, as well as more globally inspired options. We’re putting a spin on the basics and pulling from other cuisines to do so. As an example, we have classic dill pickles that everyone knows and loves, but we also have kimchi mayo for our Korean-inspired sandwich, the Seoul Bird. All the food is prepared on-site, from the sauces to the lemonades to our chicken, which we marinade in a mix of buttermilk and spices for 24 hours. Our banana pudding, which comes in three flavors (Classic, Oreo, and Red Velvet), is brought in fresh from Avenue Bakery on the Upper East Side [1477 Second Ave.].

CCNews: You seem poised to go through a tremendous amount of chicken. Where does your supply come from, and what’s notable about it?

Ariel: We’ve only been open for a few days [the soft opening of August 17-19], but we are already going through loads of chicken. We source premium jumbo tenders, as well as boneless skinless chicken thighs.

CCNews: Walk us through a few of the five “anchor” items, the chicken sandwiches, starting with The O.B. (The Original Bird). What makes this one the classic?

Ariel: The O.B is definitely the star right now. Its’ a good starting off point, as it really is the classic fried chicken sandwich. Our other sandwiches pull inspiration from other cuisines. For example, our Sweet Tony gets loaded with our insanely delicious basil aioli, hot cherry peppers, and hot honey for an insane Italian-American flavor combo. Also, our Seoul bird combines fermented pickles, kimchi mayo, and gochugaru slaw as a salute to the amazing flavors of Korean food.

CCNews: Every upstanding Chelsea citizen knows what Waffle Fries are, and loves them—but what are Truffle Parm Fries?

Ariel: I think Waffle Fries are the king of fries, so there was never any doubt about serving them. Truffle Parm Fries are an upgraded fry, really. They come loaded with parmesan cheese and get hit with savory umami filled-truffle oil. I think we are the only place to be doing Truffle Parm Waffle Fries. Don’t quote me on that! Ha, ha…

CCNews: What’s your website/social media info?

Ariel: Our website is fatbirdnyc.com but it is currently being set up. Our Instagram is fatbirdnyc.

CCNews: Thanks for your time and good luck.

Ariel: Hope to see you back in the shop soon.

—END—

ChelseaCommunityNews.com (CCNews) is an independent, single-owner online newspaper providing news, arts, events, and opinion content to Manhattan’s Chelsea community and its adjacent areas (Flatiron/NoMad and Meatpacking Districts, Hudson Yards, Hell’s Kitchen, Broadway/Times Square, and the Penn Station area).  Our editorial content is made possible by advertising revenue, grants, quarterly pledges of support, and voluntary reader donations (click here for our GoFundMe campaign). To join our subscriber list, click here to receive ENewsletters containing links to recently published content–as well as an occasional “Dedicated EBlast” featuring an advertiser’s exclusive message. 

ChelseaCommunityNews.com is a member of the New York Press Association (NYPA) and the Empire State Local News Coalition. Our content is collected for placement in the United States Library of Congress’ LGBTQ+ Studies Web Archive. (“We consider your website to be an important part of  the historical record,” read a July 26, 2019 email.) Our freelance reporters have been recognized by NYPA’s annual Better Newspaper Contest, with Honorable Mention wins for Environmental Reporting (2021) and Best News or Feature Series  (2023). CCNews is a three-time winner in the Coverage of the Arts category (First Place and Honorable Mention, 2022 and Third Place, 2023).

PLEASE  SUPPORT  LOCAL  JOURNALISM: HELP CHELSEA COMMUNITY NEWS THRIVE BY  FREQUENTLY  VISITING  THIS  WEBSITE TO READ OUR ARTICLES AND CLICK ON THE ADVERTISEMENTS.

Questions? Comments? Want to Place an Advertisement or Make a Donation? Email Founder/Editor Scott Stiffler at scott@chelseacommunitynews.com.