Butterbird
When chef Jason Santos wanted to make his mark in the chicken sandwich game, he took things seriously.
“Let’s be honest, there's a million fried chicken places. And how can I stand out? We put a lot of thought into it. We've tested it to get what I think is the best chicken sandwich around.”
And all of that time, love, and care is slapped between a tasty bun and available at Butterbird.
Set in this fun spot in Watertown’s Arsenal Yards, Butterbird is one of those places you’ll want to eat at every day, because they serve outstanding chicken sandwiches for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
“To me, a great chicken sandwich is obviously texture, crunchy, juicy, delicious, lots of flavor. So we brine our chicken, then we marinate our chicken, then we fry our chicken. So it's a three stage process.”
So the sandwiches are the top attraction. But Butterbird’s fun vibe and friendly hospitality is what keeps customers coming back.
“Let’s be honest, there's a million fried chicken places. And how can I stand out? So I like to do little nuances that are unique, one being the handles of the doors. We have cool neon. There's signs painted so a little bit different than your standard chicken place. Butterbird is a fast casual concept. However, we do make everything from scratch. We put a lot of effort into it. And I think it's the best chicken sandwich around.”
Since they serve the best meal of the day, there’s no better way to start your day than with Butterbird’s “Click Bait” breakfast sandwich- a delicious treat made even better with an unlikely ingredient.
“So Click Bait is a little bit different. Instead of ham and eggs, we do spam and eggs. I have personally been introduced to spam just shy of a year ago, and I fell in love with that salty, fatty, delicious pork product. I mean, look, fat is flavor, and spam is loaded with salt and fat. So let's be honest, like it is what it is, and it's delicious on a sandwich. We griddle it with a toasted hash brown, and we do bird sauce, which is our version of comeback sauce on a griddled potato roll with an over medium egg.”
A sandwich so good it's available at both breakfast and lunch is the signature Butterbird. It’s stacked with Applewood Smoked Bacon, Miso Honey Butter, and an over medium egg- so you can get all of that deliciousness on the go without making a mess.
“We do our eggs over medium, because they're mobile and you're walking down the street. If they're over easy, they'll yoke all over the floor. Nobody likes that, so we do over medium, so you get a little bit of both, and it's not nearly as messy.”
There’s the Incredible Hawk, Butterbird’s take on a Buffalo Fried Chicken sandwich slathered with Cool Ranch ‘Ranch’…..
And a sandwich so special, Jason named it after his wife.
“The Thuy Bird is after my wife. My wife's name is Thuy. She's Vietnamese. It’s got Vietnamese flavors, brown sugar, lemongrass, lime leaf, a spicy honey. We do a nice slaw with pickled chilies and shallots and our version of comeback sauce. My favorite thing about the Thuy Bird is the texture. So it's a crunchy fried chicken, the cooling comeback sauce, the crunchy slaw you get sweet, sour, savory, all in one bite. If I opened a restaurant, my wife would kill me if I didn't name her sandwich after her.”
Since man cannot live on chicken sandwiches alone, Butterbird has other options like their crispy, juicy tenders that are brined in fish sauce and soaked in Cajun spices so they’re way better than your typical Tendies..And if you want to fill up before heading into the office, try their satisfying Breakfast Burrito.
“My favorite thing is breakfast burritos, which you find in LA and on the West Coast so I wanted to bring that to Boston. So we start with the amazing, chewy, delicious flour tortilla, scrambled eggs with chives. You pick your protein from turkey sausage to chorizo, wrap it up with little poblano queso and some melted cheese, griddled on the plancha, nice and crispy, delicious. You get the crunch from the hash brown, the creamy from the eggs, the sauce, and it sort of all melts together.”
And you would be missing out if you didn't order some of Jason’s Signature Everything Spice Biscuits for the table.
“I built a career out of making buttermilk biscuits. And they are so good, I had to put them in this restaurant as well. When you order our biscuits, they're everything spiced, garlic, poppy seeds, toasted onion. You get it with a smoked strawberry butter or a white cheddar pimento cheese, which is delicious. So you can go sweet or savory. Today, I happen to prefer the smoked strawberry, but tomorrow is another day.”
Butterbird also offers some tasty side and veggies, like their golden tater tots and crispy Brussels sprouts.
“We have a lot of fried food here, so we have to spike in a little bit of health. So we take our Brussels sprouts and we fry them, then we toss them in a beautiful maple vinaigrette with some pickled peppers. Yes, they're fried, but they're very light, crunchy, creamy, salty, delicious.”
And for a sweet treat before you fly the coop, you absolutely need to try one of their pillowy beignets topped with powdered sugar- or a Southern Fried Butterscotch Apple Pie.
“When you bite into these pies, you have to be careful, because they're like molten lava. You have the melted butterscotch, the beautiful crisp apples toasted on the outside, kind of crunchy, and then the cinnamon sugar on top.”
And whether you go for sweet, heat, or something in between, you’re going to be glad you flew into Butterbird.
