Birdie’s popular beef tartare is mixed with sonora grain and pecans. PHOTO BY MACKENZIE SMITH KELLEY

The buzz was deafening. First my hairstylist mentioned Birdie’s, then a popular local hotelier before my foodie friends insisted it was on their regular rotation. Yet I resisted. Somehow I missed that it was named Restaurant of the Year by Food & Wine in 2023 and recently recognized by Michelin. Bon Appetit, Esquire and The New York Times had bestowed love. Plus its married owners are seasoned, and co-owner and Chef Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel was a 2024 James Beard Foundation Award finalist. Still I knew it would take a supernatural intervention to convince me to wait in a line (outdoors, nonetheless), then order from an ever-changing menu at a counter only to hope I could sit on a plastic chair and dine.

Co-owner Arjav Ezekiel created a thoughtful wine list and nonalcoholic program. PHOTO BY EVA KOLENKO

But then the 2025 James Beard Award nominations list hit, and I saw Birdie’s other owner, Arjav Ezekiel, was a semi-finalist for Outstanding Individual in Beverage Service. Resistance was futile.

Bottles chill for by-the-glass pours. PHOTO BY CARTER HIYAMA

“It’s an incredible honor and even more thrilling that our dining room team’s exceptional hospitality is being acknowledged at the highest level.” –Arjav Ezekiel, 2025 James Beard Award finalist

My husband and I arrived around 5:30 p.m. on a Tuesday to find a line of two dozen noticeably well-dressed people had already formed. No one griped—they were too busy enjoying glasses of wine and discussing the menu taped to a glass door. After 15 minutes, we walked inside to order, glancing sideways at a bar and five wooden tables, all of which had a view of where the dishes emerged. Chef Malechek-Ezekiel worked the end of the line methodically, balancing giant curved homemade crackers on signature beef tartare plates and doling out sauces.

This seafood dish is intended for sharing. PHOTO:BY JOHN DAVIDSON

We perused the list of 25 “non-boozy” drinks, placed our order, and sat in the enclosed patio, setting a downright silly-looking marker atop a metal table. I wondered where to put my prized Chanel handbag, knowing its chain strap would inevitably slide down the seat back. But once our drinks and plates appeared, all was forgiven. Four logs of polenta, perfectly crisp on the outside and soft inside, went down quickly, as did a small bowl of roasted beets with charred blackberries, mascarpone and hazelnuts. Next came a bowl of silky sweet potato and brown butter soup dotted with Aleppo pepper and chives, before our shared plate with expertly prepared snapper and leeks in a creamy mushroom sauce arrived.

Chef Malechek-Ezekiel is often spotted putting the finishing touches on her creations. PHOTO BY JOHN DAVIDSON

Weeks later, Ezekiel was named Austin’s only James Beard finalist. “It’s an incredible honor,” he says, “and even more thrilling that our dining room team’s exceptional hospitality is being acknowledged at the highest level.” Trust me and the experts—get in line, pronto.

The
Dssert might include soft serve ice cream and a glass of Cardamaro on the rocks. COURTESY OF STARCHEFS