Review: Bird & Bao in Patchogue
The Nashville hot bun, with crispy chicken, spicy tagarashi oil, chili mayo and black vinegar pickle at Bird & Bao in Patchogue. Credit: Yvonne Albinowski
Bird & Bao has been a favorite since it opened it in 2019, but the bao creations have only gotten more extraordinary over the years. Kimchi smashburgers, golden falafel patties and a chicken Caesar salad all fit into the neat little confines of these puffy white Asian buns.
Bird & Bao
Range of entrees: Buns are $6.50, sides are $5-$11
Handicapped accessible: No steps; there's a front corridor that slants like a ramp to get to the counter.
Attributes: Family-friendly
Reservations: No
58b S. Ocean Ave., Patchogue
Looking at them altogether in their silver tray, they look like whiter, puffier Mexican tacos. But the bao has a separate history. Not to be confused with a cha siu bao stuffed pork bun that you'll find at a dim sum restaurant, the gua bao is an open-faced bun that hails from the Fujian province of China. It was later introduced to Taiwan by immigrants, and became an iconic street food that also goes by the name Taiwanese hamburger. But it was little-known in the United States until the early 2000s, when David Chang started playing with the dish at Momofuku in Manhattan.
Sesame Noodz with soba noodles with vegetables, chili oil and peanuts at Bird & Bao in Patchogue. Credit: Yvonne Albinowski
Everyone may be jumping on the bao bandwagon, but nobody is doing it better here than Conor Swanson, a Long Island native who previously worked at Momofuku's sister restaurant, Má Pêche (now closed). The chef takes an exacting approach to these little presents of proteins at his order-at-the-counter spot in Patchogue.
Credit: Yvonne Albinowski
Notable dishes
The Nashville hot chicken bao is the G.O.A.T., followed by the blackbird chicken bao with a black vinegar glaze and pickled red onion. The side dishes are also choice here. Make sure to get the sesame noodz and the crushed cucumber.
Tip:
Plan to order 2-3 bao per person and a couple of side dishes. But if you're still hungry, the bao come out quick, so you can go back for more.
They're all fun, but none reach the same glorious heights as the fried chicken bao, which requires a painstaking process to create that shattering crust with the soft, voluptuous meat. Chicken thighs are marinated for 24 hours in a soy sauce spice mix, dredged in potato starch to silken them up and fried twice. The hot chicken bao is also dunked in a togarashi pepper oil and finished with chile mayo and black vinegar pickles. The spice makes it sing.
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Andi Berlin is from Arizona and does not know where she is going. But when she gets there, she’ll find something beautiful and delicious that the world needs to taste.
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