Restaurateurs Yuan and Carey Tang have actually gone far on their own in D.C. considering that 2019 with their seriously well-known American tasting room Rooster & Owl. For the couple’s breakout task throughout state lines, things are a lot more casual.
Ellie Bird hatched this month in Falls Church, Virginia with a menu loaded with New American home cooking and Asian twists. Ellie Bird is deeply personal for the couple, who both matured right down the street from its area in a mixed-use advancement (125 Founder’s Avenue, Falls Church, Virginia). Yuan’s first-ever restaurant job was at the Falls Church Red Lobster and Carey’s was at the area Applebee’s.
Unlike their prix fixe-only put on 14th Street NW, the brand-new brother or sister uses an la carte menu divided into areas like “to start” and “plates for sharing,” plus meals, sides, and desserts.
“The idea is if you get one thing from every section, you would be a happy diner,” says Carey, who acts as handling partner.
Rooster and Owl’s popular warm pineapple buns — a tasty crossway of a Parker House roll and a pineapple bun — make a look in the bread basket, in addition to focaccia and grilled scallion butter. The Vietnamese French onion soup includes spice tastes of standard pho, boosted throughout winter with oxtails, in addition to a Gruyere topping and sourdough croutons.
“It’s kind of hard to describe New American these days, but we are going for creative, chef driven dishes that are seasonal and unfussy,” says Carey. “It really is all about the flavors our kitchen team grew up with.”
Highlights off the shared plates area consist of octopus ceviche with passionfruit vinaigrette, avocado, garlic-chili crunch, red onion, and fried plantains. Ricotta gnudi, including pillowy homemade dumplings with English peas and carrots, draws motivation from standard chicken and dumplings.
Fried oyster larb gai is another innovative crossover meal, including lettuce covers with fried oysters and a larb salad with more oysters, Thai curry spices, and puffed black rice.
Familiar menu models from Rooster and Owl appear on the meals area. Yuan’s kimchi bouillabaisse, packed with grilled Hokkaido scallops, red snapper and littleneck clams; a tender braised lamb shank glazed with apricot chutney, and homemade carrot garganelli pasta with feta crema. Dry-aged ribeye with garlic confit or an entire grilled branzino with jicama slaw complete the mains.
Unique sides consist of dan dan asparagus, kale with Chinese sausage, or “fancy tater tots” with homemade hot sauce.
Prices variety from $12 to $19 for the beginners and shared meals, meals run $21 to $38, and sides are $8. The meals from the grill are at the leading end of the rate variety, with ribeye choosing $55.
The drink program includes a host of red wines by the glass or bottle, consisting of a house-labeled red wine from Virginia’s Boxwood Winery, and list of regional beers. Colorful mixed drinks with adorable names consist of a green slime-hued Kids’ Choice Awards, which mixes gin, pandan, coconut milk and mango. This is Your Brain on Pisco sets mezcal with gochujang, grapefruit, and rice red wine vinegar. The zero-proof Pineapple Under the Sea is made with blood orange shrub, hibiscus, and soda.
The restaurant, presently open just for supper service from Tuesday to Sunday, will debut breakfast this summer season with innovative spins on weekend classics like spam-and-egg sliders on pineapple buns and mochi waffles with bananas.
Ellie Bird gets its name from the Tangs’ youngest child Ellie, who was born in 2020 throughout the middle of the pandemic. “We also have a thing for birds and wanted to keep the name part of the flock,” says Carey.
The casual, 70-seat dining-room commemorates its name with cubicles under huge bird cages and restroom wallpaper covered in puns like “Toucan play that game” or “Could you please sparrow some change.” Patio seating will get in the fold this summer season.
A “Little Birdies” menu for kids consists of favorites of the Tangs’ 2 children: chicken tenders with a cornflake crust; penne pasta with butter and cheese; and a “Char-cute-rie” tasting of cheese, ham, veggies and fruit. “An elevated Lunchable,” says Carey.
“At the end of the day, we’re fun people. What we obsess about here at Ellie Bird is just having fun,” says Carey.
