The Dirty Bird
140 W. Michigan AvenueJackson isn’t a place I’ve spent a lot of time. I drive by it a lot but rarely get off the highway.
I’ve picked up a job assignment in the area the last couple of years so I’ve gotten to explore a little bit more. A co-worker and I had a couple of great meals last year at Grand River Brewery and Rocky Top Beer BBQ & Grill. On my own, I’ve found Schlenker’s Sandwich Shop and Kibby Cobb Deli.
We finished up a long work day in Lenawee County then headed back to our hotel in Jackson. Along the way, I asked my co-worker if he wanted to go to dinner or go back to the hotel. It didn’t matter to me. I was going out to eat with or without him. I was just being nice and offering dinner so he wouldn’t have to find something on his own.
I already had a place picked out so that wasn’t up for discussion.
The Dirty Bird is in downtown Jackson on Michigan Avenue to the west of Mechanic Street. It was a Thursday evening so parking wasn’t really an issue. We found a pull in street space just to the west of the restaurant which sits right next to a pedestrian alley between the row of buildings.
The restaurant is kind of one big long skinny room. The bar is in the middle of the space on the west wall and most of the sitting is pub tables along the east wall which has garage doors that open up to that pedestrian mall I just mentioned where there is a patio.
We were taken to a pub table pretty close to the front of the space. The waitress came over right away and asked about drinks. I was still trying to read the tap list off the monitors hanging above the bar. They have a pretty large list so the screens rotate. She was waiting on me to make a decision and I could see the Jai Alai tap so I just ordered a large one of those.
The menu at The Dirty Bird is mostly fried chicken. I was leaning towards the chicken wings but right as I was about to order, I changed my mind and ordered the five tender basket which comes with choice of fries and two sauces. I picked the Siracha Bourbon and Parmesan Garlic.
I absolutely made the right choice picking the tenders. They’re large, juicy, crispy pieces of chicken breast. I really could have gotten by with just the three pieces basket based on how big these tenders were. The two sauces came is small cups so I just dipped the tenders instead of trying to cover them. They really didn’t even need the sauces. These are the types of tenders that are amazingly delicious on their own.
You actually get a choice of side and there are three fries to choose from if you’re picking fries. I went with the Wedges. These are typical potato wedge/steak fry type of fries. They were really crispy on the outside but light and airy in the middle. I used quite a bit of the Siracha Bourbon sauce to dip these in saving most of the Parmesan Garlic for the tenders. Again, there was just so much food on the plate. I had a hard time finishing but I powered through because it was all so delicious and I didn’t want anything to go to waste.
The cost of my meal, with a large beer was just $24. I’m actually surprised at how cheap it was considering the amount of food and beer I got.
The Dirty Bird has been around Jackson for a while now but since I’m not super in tune with the dining scene there, it’s not one I had heard of. Like I do with most things, I found it on a Google search and it just sounded good to pass up. We made a great choice stopping here for dinner. It was quick, delicious, and fairly cheap for pub food.
SW Michigan Dining 