Birdcage, the new restaurant from Firepit Pizza Tavern chefs Leslie Cohen and Shaun Whitmer, is now open at the Larkin on Memorial in Grant Park.
Located across from Firepit Pizza Tavern, Birdcage serves Latin-inspired dishes, like sweet potato bravas, chicken tinga tacos, and croquettes filled with black beans and queso fresco. The menu also features grilled meat dishes, including whole and half portions of citrus adobo chicken and agave lime ribs.
Cohen and Whitmer tapped Nikki Bachrach of Bachrach Creative to handle the design for Birdcage. Lush botanical colors and bold tropical wallpaper patterns mingle with bright neons, warm wood tones, and flamingo-pink feathers draped from chandeliers in the dining room. Garage doors open onto a covered patio overlooking Memorial Drive.
Birdcage channels the vibe of Miami in its design and includes a few nods to the 1996 comedy movie of the same name starring Nathan Lane, Robin Williams, and Hank Azaria.
But the cocktail menu is where fans of “The Birdcage” will find the most obvious references to the movie.
“Pirin tablets” – aspirin with the “a” and “s” scratched off – are a placebo given to Lane’s character, Albert, to calm his nerves before drag performances. The Aspirin Tablet served at Birdcage in Grant Park packs a considerable punch with navy-proof rum, pineapple juice, orange juice, and cream of coconut. A coffee-laced take on the Dark and Stormy called the Shining Starina sees spiced rum mixed with ginger beer, coffee liqueur, espresso, and tiki bitters. The name references Albert’s on-stage persona.
The zero-proof cocktail Goldman? Coleman? blends nonalcoholic tequila, elderberry tonic, lime juice, and agave nectar as a natural sweetener. Remember, like Albert says: “The ‘d’ is silent in America.”
Birdcage is open daily for lunch and dinner. Take a look at the food and drink menus below.
