There’s too many fried chicken sandwich or hot chicken restaurants across LA. Most are just trying to capitalize off a popular food trend, but the new Daybird in Silver Lake is actually serving up a unique and delicious take. Daybird was started by Chef Mei Lin, who was a former Top Chef winner and founder of Nightshade. Chef Mei has gained well deserved recognition for being a top-tier chef, with Nightshade being a finalist for the 2020 James Beard Foundation award for “Best New Restaurant”.
She had to temporarily closed Nightshade during the pandemic, so Chef Mei shifted her attention to opening a more fast casual eatery compared to the high-end Nightshade. She and her partner Francis Miranda decided on a fried chicken focused restaurant inspired by Nightshade’s Szechuan hot quail dish.
My boyfriend and I went to check out Daybird during it’s opening weekend. I’m not the biggest fan of fried chicken sandwiches, but I liked Nightshade and we wanted to support a new Asian owned business. Daybird was located in a small strip mall on the border of Silver Lake and East Hollywood. When we arrived the parking lot was packed and there was a line of hungry guests. Daybird was initially supposed to open in August 2020, but was the date was pushed back due to COVID-19 protocols. The delays only built up the anticipation.
The line was 10 people long and moved pretty quick. Having a small and simple menu helped the restaurant’s staff take orders and get food out the kitchen quickly. There are three items: a fried chicken sandwich, chicken tenders, and fries. Guests can choose their level of spiciness for the sandwich and tenders, ranging from mild all the way to extreme. I love spicy foods and can tolerate a lot of heat, but unfortunately my boyfriend can’t. We wanted to try everything on the menu, so we opted for mild spice just so he can enjoy it too.
Since it was pretty busy, the food took about 15-20 minutes. We ordered the fried chicken sandwich, two tenders, fries, and a milk tea. The star of the meal was the sandwich. The fried chicken thigh was much huge and much bigger than the potato bun that tried to contain it.
My first bite was delicious as the breading was very crunchy and the chicken meat was perfectly cooked. The breading had some familiar Sichuan spices, so I felt a little numbing ting on my tongue. Even at a mild spice lever, the chicken did have a kick. The cabbage slaw and pickled jalapeños that topped the fried chicken were good compliments. The tenders were on the smaller end and weren’t as crispy as the sandwich, but it they were pretty good. They came with an house made Daybird sauce, which was really tasty. We also used it to dip our fries, which was well cooked. Overall, the meal did not disappoint and I was happy to see a new Asian spin on the played our hot chicken or fried chicken sandwich. I definitely can see myself coming back to Daybird.
Currently, Daybird is open from Thursday to Sunday from 12 to 8 PM, or whenever they sell our of food for the day.
DAYBIRD
INFO
Address: 240 N Virgil Ave Suite 5, Los Angeles, CA 90004
Hours of Operation: Thurs-Sun 12PM-5PM
Parking: Parking lot
Website
Deeelizious TIPS
- There’s a small above ground parking lot in front of the restaurant, but there’s a much bigger underground lot that you can park in
- You will eventually be able to place orders online at the restaurant’s website
- During it’s opening weekend, Daybird started selling out of food by 2PM, so get there early!
