I have been obsessed with Bird Bakery since they opened in 2012 on Broadway. They satisfy my love of cupcakes and, on top of that, they offer tasty sandwiches. They are down the street from UIW, which makes it convenient for me. But I have gone out of my way on the weekend just to get a vanilla cupcake and glass of milk.
When you walk into Bird Bakery, you know you are walking into something special. They decorate with pastel colors and everything has that beautiful, worn look to it. You spy light blue and gold everywhere, little bird trinkets, twinkle lights and chalk on the walls. They have fun sayings around the bakery, such as a quote from Oscar Wilde, “everything in moderation, including moderation.” So true—now pass me a cupcake please!
I went to pick up lunch on Monday with my friend, Brianne. We shared the tarragon chicken salad sandwich and the seasonal sandwich, the Thanksgiving turkey. We each got a vanilla cupcake and another few seasonal items, the sweet potato cupcake and the pumpkin cookie. We may have overdone it on the sweets, but I am blaming it on the fact that I wanted to make sure I could share a lot with you in this post!
The chicken salad sandwich is my favorite from their menu, although the California turkey is a very close second. The chicken salad is tasty with pecans, cranberries and delicately shredded chicken. They don’t go overboard with the mayo, so it isn’t dripping and stays well on the seeded bread. The most interesting part of the sandwich is that it isn’t just chicken salad. They add Havarti cheese, arugula, tomato and mustard. I would have never thought to put cheese and mustard on a chicken salad sandwich, but it definitely makes the sandwich different and delicious.
I was excited to try the Thanksgiving turkey sandwich. It had a ton of sliced turkey, cornbread dressing, arugula, mayo, cheese and cranberry sauce. It comes on the same seeded bread as the chicken salad. You really can’t go wrong with Thanksgiving dinner on a sandwich, unless you mess up the dressing and cranberry sauce. But do not fear, Bird Bakery does it well. I don’t know how they do it, but their sandwiches are never soggy, even with the cranberry sauce added and after taking it to-go.
The sandwiches come with Zapp’s chips, which I often save for later so that I can go straight for dessert. I don’t know how to describe the vanilla cupcake. It is just perfect in my eyes. The cake is thick, but not dry. The icing, which comes in “soft peach” or “bird blue” is sweet, but they don’t overdo it. Talking about it makes my mouth water…just go try it!
The November seasonal cupcake is sweet potato. I am a huge fan of sweet potato pie, so I was eager to try this out. The cake was thick and moist, like the vanilla, with little chunks of sweet potato. The icing has crushed pecans in it and the cupcake is topped with a mini marshmallow. It was sweet and good. It satisfied my sweet potato pie craving, although it was more like sweet potato casserole. Order the Thanksgiving turkey sandwich and this together to make Thanksgiving dinner a reality on a random Monday.
Finally, we tried the pumpkin cookie. I had already tried this particular cookie a few weeks ago, but yes, I had to have it again. The cookie is really fluffy, not crunchy at all, and has maple icing drizzled on top. The flavors go really well together and I love that it is airy.
I can honestly tell you I have tried every cupcake they have at Bird Bakery and many of the sandwiches. I follow the bakery on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, which they use regularly so the customers stay updated on the fun, seasonal items. The people who work there are always friendly and happy, the food and desserts are exceptionally good and it puts me in a good mood every time I walk in. But in case you needed a cool-factor, the couple who own Bird Bakery, Elizabeth Chambers and Armie Hammer, are both actors with Hammer recently starring in “The Lone Ranger” movie. Also, they donate all leftover cupcakes and goodies to the San Antonio Food Bank at the end of each day; this makes me like them more!
Bird Bakery, 5912 Broadway, San Antonio, TX 78209
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