BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — You’ll find high ceilings, a long marble bar and large glass doors that open onto an inviting patio at OvenBird, the convivial restaurant that chef Chris Hastings and his wife, Idie, opened in Birmingham’s Lakeview neighborhood last October. What you won’t find is a gas line.
“Are you crazy? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” Hastings said, summarizing the reactions of his fellow chefs to the news that all the cooking at OvenBird would be done in a wood-burning hearth. “That inspired me to crush it. Like, you think I’m crazy? I’ll show you crazy.”
Fortunately, Hastings had both experience and public good will on his side when he decided his second restaurant would be inspired by the live-fire cooking traditions of Spain, Uruguay, Portugal and Argentina: His first, Hot and Hot Fish Club, has been a pillar of Birmingham’s dining scene since 1995 and earned Hastings a James Beard Award.
If a recent visit to OvenBird was any indication, lighting a fire has yielded ample rewards. Chief among them was a plate of shishito peppers, silky from their sojourn over the flames. Sprinkled with espelette pepper and benne seeds (the sesame seed’s heirloom counterpart), they came piled over a slow-cooked egg yolk with the consistency of marmalade.
Much of the seafood on the menu comes from the Gulf: A by-catch tartare (the offerings vary) got a happy kick from Meyer lemon, Thai basil and aji amarillo, while braised monkfish sat in a shallow pool of saffron broth that demanded dredging by the grilled bread served with it.
Servers delivered everything with easygoing bonhomie: A neighboring table’s order of the beef fat candle (shaped like a tea light, it melts into a sofrito-topped broth) was served with the cheerful direction that “the only thing you don’t eat is the wick.”
If OvenBird’s seasonal menu, with its big but nuanced flavors and locally procured ingredients, illustrates how far Birmingham has come as a dining town, it also nods to the city’s past. The restaurant’s cast-iron hearth, which Hastings designed with a local metallurgist, is a homage to Birmingham’s long history as a center of iron and steel production.
It has also given Hastings the freedom to blend other cultures “in a logical way with the American South,” he said. “Building a fire every day puts you in a little box, but it allows you to expand your thinking.”
Additional Information:
OvenBird, 2810 Third Avenue South; ovenbirdrestaurant.com. Dinner for two, without drinks or tip, about $90.
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