The Third Bird

Decent food and overall a good experience. The beet salad was the best thing. The sunflower risotto had way too many sunflowers in it. It tasted a little bit like bird seed. And yes I’ve eaten bird seed. I would have given this place 3 stars but th e cheese plate at the end of the meal was worth a star in a in and of itself.

I was not impressed but learned after my visit it’s a new restaurant. So I’ll likely wait a while and give it a try again. I had sunflower risotto with asparagus and peas. The sunflower overwhelmed the dish to any other flavors. For dessert I had carrot cake, which was had a texture as though it had been sitting in the refrigerator.

Not really impressed to be honest I got the chicken breast and it was extremely salty don’t get me wrong I want my food seasoned but it was excessively salty, the Carmel carrots had no seasoning in them at all and where very bland the pork belly was ok nothing to call home about over all I think it’s very over priced for the food quality I will never go there again

Stopped in for dinner before going to see a play at the Orpheum Theatre. Our waitress was excellent, helpful and polite without being intrusive. Started with the grilled bread and ricotta. The citrus flavor with the ricotta was a really nice addition. For dinner, I had the gnocchi & carrots. Carrots were great, excellent flavor. BF had the ribeye which he ordered medium rare. Unfortunately, it came out very close to well done. Disappointing for a pricy ribeye. He did like his asparagus and pea salad. We think they do veggies right ! The meat… not so much

As a first timer I am happy to say I will come back!
The Kim Chi fried rice was my favorite although my brother in law had the ham and pea scramble which looked very good as well. I also tried the asparagus tartine with truffle mascarpone. A little heavy on the truffle for me but overall a solid brunch dish the addition of mint was nice.
We were there in Mother’s Day at around 11 to 1 and found it to be not seriously busy and a welcome change from chain restaurants that are so crowded.
Thanks for a great meal and wonderful service.

This place is so cute. For some reason when I walked in I thought: library meets coffeeshop. Don’t ask why. Sometimes my brain is weird.
Anyways, I popped in for lunch in between work meetings. I had the BLT. It was goooood. It was like a BLT but made with care. Seriously is there any sandwhich more simple and delicious. The marinated tomato was awesome. Might need to teach myself how to do that. I think the best part was that the cibatta was not super chewy. I’m usually not a fan of that particular bread because by the time I’m done chewing the bread the flavors from the rest of the ingredients are gone. It holds up a little too well. Not here. It was perfect. I would be back! Nice little lunch spot.
Also, they had a juice on the menu that sounded wonderful. I think it was a blackberry lime something or other. Anyway, I had a serious need for a touch of alcohol. The bartender did it for me despite the fact that it had never been done there before. It was perfect. Bonus points to the Third Bird for having staff on site that can punt when a customer (i.e. me) is being a pain in the bum!

Exquisite spring meal. The definition of «Flavors of the season»! Stone fruit salad, pea & asparagus salad with a beautiful poppyseed dressing started the meal, followed by individual pieces of sesame chicken and a shared portion of gnocchi with fava beans and mint. The 2 drunk girls at the bar yelling were a bit distracting, but maybe only cuz I’m over 50.

I came here with some friends on a Sunday night, and the restaurant was pretty empty. This worked out in our favor, though, because our service was awesome. We decided to share a bunch of different plates, and we ordered the charred carrots, fingerling potatoes, linguini, the bison, and chocolate torte. First off, I hate cooked carrots, but these carrots changed my life. They came with goat cheese and hazelnuts and were perfectly charred. Amazing! I also had never tried bison, and have now become a believer. The bison was like steak but better. It melted in your mouth. The service, the food, and the overall experience was perfect, and I will definitely be coming back to Third Bird.

Heard Joes Garage was gone, accidently took almost 2 years to stop in. With the boyfriend at 6 on a Saturday we walk in, get a table no prob. (we heeded the sign stating use the alley entrance). He had the chicken breast, I the scallops and mussels whilst splitting the rice pilaf. Friendly, attentive and ‘out of the box thinking’ employees. Eclectic crowd, comfortable chairs and no nonsense makes me want to come back with friends and a reservation.

I sat at the bar and got amazing service! The bartender was very knowledgable and poured an excellent mimosa (just a drop of orange juice).
She recommended the French toast and it was phenomenal! It wasn’t overly sweet and very light with luscious bread and topped with fruit.
Go here for brunch

Was really excited to try this based on other reviews and friends’ recommendations.
But I was disappointed.
We got some flatbread with pesto and green beans for a group of 6 gals to start while waiting for the last to join.
The green beans were awesome.
The flatbread fell flat. The bread itself was tasteless and the pesto was really bad — it’s not hard to make good pesto — I’ve made it and it’s quite easy. There was no taste, no cheese since it was seriously lacking on salt — and I’m not even really a salt person! It was just not good and pesto is one of my favorite food groups!
Had a couple of good mocktails — so that was on point.
Ordered the scallops for din — was pretty disappointed in those — the scallops themselves were nice, but the mussel weren’t very good and the sauce was weird with it. It was a strange dish that didn’t really come together very well.
Had the carrots, which were great, friends were raving about the ravioli and the caesar salad was decent, but not a standout for the price.
For dessert, we tried the chocolate cake — which was awesome.
And the roasted pear — which was not so awesome.
The sauces did nothing and there was a weird sauce /​filling inside the pear that was really bitter and not good on it’s own and I didn’t find it did much to enhance the good flavors in it.

At the suggestion of friends, we dined at The Third Bird last night. First time for all of us — and we were not disappointed.
When I checked the menu out online before making our reservation, I thought it seemed pretty weak. Obviously I was wrong. It seems to me that by limiting their menu, they are able to perfect each item.
We started the evening with drinks — expertly made– delicious. Then we moved on to our first course. For me that was baby lettuces. They were just as tasty as they were pretty (see picture). My husband, Erick, and my friend Anne had chilled pea soup. I wish I had taken a picture because it was so lovely. It came out with an edible violet in the center. Unfortunately, both felt it lacked complexity and basically tasted like puréed peas-​ala Gerber. My friend, Russ, ordered chicken wings –you can order chicken by the cut; wing, leg, thigh or breast… which is pretty cool. Russ said the sauce was tasty but the chicken was unremarkable.
Our main courses were a home run. Russ and I ordered trout. The seasoning was salty and tasty. The skin was crispy but the flesh was tender and flaky. I devoured it and only found one bone. A+ in my book… can’t stand to find those sharp little bones in my food! Erick ordered the bison and he loved it. I had a taste and it was incredible. The only negative is that the serving was small. He could have easily eaten twice as much (5 oz). Anne ordered the cheeseburger. Normally she is a little more selective but you know when the mood strikes for a burger you just gotta do it!
We passed on desert. Not because they didn’t have good options, but it was 10pm, we were seated on the sidewalk and we were getting cold.
I was able to check out the dining room when I went in to use the facilities. Very nice, comfortable and chic. The last time I was there it was Nick and Eddie’s and it was pretty much the same.
They are located across from Loring Park– I love this area. Parking was easy in a nearby lot (maybe 50 feet away) and cost $ 5. They also have valet if the lot is full.
Last but not least, we had a fantastic server. She was attentive but not obnoxious, and she was able to answer every question we fired at her. Wish I could recall her name to give her a proper shout out — hipster waitress girl… you rock!

Saturday morning, 11am. I couldn’t find the entrance to this cute looking Bistro. A passer-​by on the street saw my befuddlement and directed me down a side alley.
Brunch as prompt and delicious. Most of the clientele looked wealthy, well healed, groups of women. Hushed conversations. I sat at the substantial breakfast bar. The couple next to me discussed photography. They frequently said «you know» and prefaced many statements with the word «Like». I hope these tics never emigrate to my speech.
On the other side of the breakfast bar people were dressed like wedding guests, mingling in gender defined roles. They looked uncomfortable and fabulous.
The bar staff smiled naturally when I spoke but refrained from the more common exultant reaction of «I love your accent».
A very comfortable, pleasant place for a single lady to hang out. I’ll be back on another weekend

I had high expectations going into this since it’s a restaurant owned by Kim Bartmann.
I came here with a friend to check it out since it was on my list of restaurants to check out. Since it was a beautiful day, we opted for the outdoor seating and I brought my dog along.
Overall, the lunch menu has a decent selection and I love that they source from local & organic farmers, BUT there were a couple of reasonable requests I made that didn’t seem to fit based on the following sentence written at the bottom of the menu:
«Please alert your server to any dietary needs or desire you might have.»
1. Okay, there are plenty of sandwiches to choose from, but no gluten-​free bread available (this surprised me considering how many people don’t eat gluten). And again, this is a Kim Bartmann restaurant… I love everything she has produced up until this recent experience.
2. When I opted for the omelette, it said that there was only parmesan added. I asked if I could have vegetables added to it and the server said that this was something they didn’t do. The omelette does come with a small side salad though.
In either of these cases, I was surprised. Both requests are easy fixes. The food we ate was good enough, regardless. And interestingly, even though my friend ordered a BUN-​LESS bacon cheeseburger, they still served it with that durn gluten-​filled bun.
I wouldn’t be opposed to eating here again, but it’s definitely not on my favorites list and I wouldn’t recommend it based on their current options.

A beautiful space with average food.
My sister managed to get us a reservation here even though the website said they didn’t have any openings. Parking wasn’t an issue and there are two entrances– one on the alley and another facing Loring Park.
The space is beautiful but it’s also not well insulated so it’s quite hard to hear each other even at a fairy small table.
For the appetizers, we ordered a fair number to share. We got the caesar salad, the beef tartare, fries, asparagus and the spring onions. The flax and spring onions was the surprisingly good dish. The flax tasted a lot like quinoa and had good flavors. The caesar salad was fine, although it was dominated by the lettuce. My husband was a fan of the asparagus, but I didn’t particularly prefer it. I heard the fries were good as was the tartare.
The main course was an issue. We ordered the two person ribeye as well as two orders of the bison. It took about 40 minutes after our appetizers came out to get the ribeye. To be fair, they did offer us a complementary appetizer while we waited, but they did not make us aware that the ribeye would take so long when we ordered it. Once we got the ribeye, my dad really enjoyed it, but we had to wait a very long time to enjoy it. Also, the beef was not cooked as I would prefer it, but it was a nice piece of bison and the accompanying veggies were good, but nothing amazing.
Overall, it’s a trendy place with many hipsters that has inventive and sometimes tasty food.

@FancyDinnerClub is on a roll
The drinks were delicious. Making drinks that are boozy without being overpowering is a subtle art, and the Third Bird’s bar staff nailed it. The favorite of the bunch was a wacky gin/​citrus/​basil/​pepper drink, which had a general flavor profile I had never tasted before. DRINK GOOD. IT MAKE MOUTH HAPPY.
Next came a round of soups. 3 of us got the roasted cauliflower (hard to pass up given FDC’s history with cauliflower) and Brad went for some French soup, which was very suspicious for a restaurant self-​described as «New American». Either way, both soups were tasty. Nothing spectacular, but a really nice start to the meal.
For course 1, we had a beef tartare, «pearls before swine», and asparagus. Our server mentioned that the beef tartare was the best in the city, which is strange because every place we’ve been so far where we’ve ordered tartare has claimed the same thing. There must be some sort of weird Minneapolis culinary inside joke that I am not a part of. It was very similar to other tartares we had, so I guess if they’re all tied for first it wasn’t necessarily an untrue statement. And now I think I get the joke!
I was excited to try the pearls before swine, which is basically liverwurst spread with caviar on top of some toast (luckily it tastes much better than it sounds). It had salty, crunchy, savory, sweet, and yummy components all in one bite. The cranberry spread and whole wheat toast were dynamite. A+.
Finally we have the unexpected star of round one: the asparagus. Hands down the best ever. It was grilled perfectly and covered in this ridiculous goat cheese sauce. I can’t even put to words why it was so good. It just was, and I’m not going to question it.
For the next round, we had a polenta, carrots, and broccolini. The polenta came with poached egg marbled with beet juice. I’m not a scientist, and that’s exactly why I was perplexed and amazed by it. The dish itself was tasty, if not a little unbalanced. There were crispy bits of ham buried at the bottom of the dish; the bites where you got some of that were delicious, but the bites without (i.e. most of them) needed a little something extra.
The broccolini provided an interesting contrast to the carrots. Both were very simply done and cooked well. But for some reason I found myself wanting a whole lot more broccolini.
For our final round, we got the pork jowl, bison, and roasted chicken. We were all excited about the pork jowl, because our previous jowl experiences had been pretty stellar.
Boy were we disappointed.
Maybe it was just the build-​up in our heads, but this one missed the mark. The issue was the pork itself. It was a little tough, and lacked basic seasoning. The sauces were fine, but couldn’t make up for the underwhelming protein.
Next we have the bison. The meat itself couldn’t have been cooked better. I thought the whole dish, including the onions and shrooms that came with, were pretty tasty, too. The one issue, which everyone at the table had varying degrees of gripes about, was that the sauce kind of overwhelmed everything a little too much. The sauce, which was really vinegary (though not in a bad way), was used pretty heavy-​handedly. The bison was cooked and seasoned well enough to stand on its own, so I think if the sauce was just on the veggies of that entrée, we wouldn’t have had any problem with it. Like I said though, still really delicious.
Last we had the roasted chicken, which was far and away the strongest entrée. The chicken was tender and juicy. The skin was crisped to perfection. The kale on the side added a nice spicy contrast. The gravy was creamy and complimented everything well. The only thing I wasn’t a fan of was the stuffing french toast things on the side, but everyone else seemed to enjoy those well enough.
To cap off the meal we ordered a few desserts — a PB&J chocolate cake and a napoleon. The PB&J cake was awesome — I was a huge fan of the peanut brittle component. ¹⁰⁄₁₀ would nom again
On the whole, our meal at Third Bird was really solid. We did remark at the end of the meal that it would have been nice to have some of our veggie courses mixed in with the entrees (the items we ordered basically came out in the order they were listed on the menu), but that’s a very minor complaint as we were happy with basically everything, especially the stellar appetizer round.
We all agreed that we’d come back for the soup, asparagus and chicken.
I’ll also note here that when I took a peek inside to see what an indoor meal would have been like, I would have been just as happy sitting in Third Bird’s inside dining area. Similar to their plating, everything was arranged in a really pleasant way, and I’m always a sucker for high ceilings. There was also a «DJ», by which I mean a wild-​haired woman fumbling with an iPod, that I very much enjoyed.

At first I was like, «Why the hell would they not put their front door facing Loring Park?» And then I was like, «This is the dankest alley ever, in a good way.»
At first I was like, «Oh my god, it’s 10am on a Sunday, why the hell is there a DJ?» And then I was like, «This guy is flipping fantastically brunch-​y records.»
Man, this place is cute. Modern, trendy, lounge-​like, industrial-​esque, with lots of natural light and pop art.
The biscuits and gravy and the bison and eggs were really tasty, although the eggs looked like that made-​from-​powder type stuff you find at buffets. But tasty. The french toast was on the dry side but the crème fraiche + tart berries helped make up for it.
My bloody was good, and apparently each bartender uses their own recipe. Upon inquiry, ours wrote down his recipe for us! I’ll be back for cocktails for sure.

Good for a quick lunch and a very casual atmosphere. They’re not too busy at lunch but dinner is a different story.
It’s a good short walk to Loring Park if there’s still light out. Try to be seated by the window if you want to people watch.
Entrance is by the alley.

2.17.15
Admittedly this experience was a while ago, and while the company was memorable, the food certainly wasn’t.
I remember LOVING the cream of mushroom soup, HATING the beef tartare, and being fairly «meh» about the poutine, polenta, bison, desserts, drinks, and service … As one of my friends commented «the food is yummy … But none of it is particularly … hot …»
Don’t get me wrong — I’ll be coming back to try it again, but probably for brunch or lunch. Monday night just wasn’t where the A-​team was at.

Shared the burrata (house made mozzarella) salad with pickled peaches and fresh strawberries. I could live off this salad alone. I loooooooooove cheese (who cares if I am lactose intolerant?!). This was amazing. It could have come without all the greens and fruits and I would have happily eaten the roasted burrata alone. I would not have shared it with ANYONE if I had known it was so good!!! Don’t judge me. Haha.
We also had the buffalo fries with bleu cheese, roasted half chicken with truffle gravy and liver & bread stuffing, and I had the rabbit pasta with chicken liver. It was ALL good.
We also had four or maybe ten of the special cocktails… So delicious.
Perhaps we have found our new favorite lazy night dinner spot!!!
And I may live off the burrata salad alone now. Cheese, fruits, and greens (and booze!). What more could a girl ask for???
Well, I’m going to go die happy now.