New Wood Fire Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Restaurant by Chef Gabriel Pascuzzi Delivers Wellness through Food
Portland, Ore. (September 30, 2019) — Chef Gabriel Pascuzzi opens Mama Bird, his second Portland, Oregon restaurant, in the Slabtown neighborhood at 2145 NW Raleigh Street. Centered around a large custom-built wood fire grill, Mama Bird serves simply prepared chicken,seasonal vegetable sides and wholesome salads. The 90-seat, indoor-outdoor, counter service restaurant is a healthy and accessible addition to Slabtown’s blossoming culinary scene.
Known for his seasonally meticulous approach at his first restaurant, Stacked Sandwich Shop, Chef Pascuzzi’s career has included stints at Colicchio & Sons and Daniel Boulud Bistro Moderne in New York City, Paulée Restaurant in Oregon wine country, Noma in Copenhagen and Multnomah Whiskey Library in his native Portland. The years he spent in the fine dining world taught him technique, discipline and enormous respect for ingredients. That same philosophy, coupled with his belief in wellness through food, has guided the menu at Mama Bird.
The concept for Mama Bird was largely developed when Chef Pascuzzi and his staff at Stacked Sandwich Shop were on the Whole30 diet in early 2018. They quickly found themselves wishing for a local restaurant that served wholesome food for diners with dietary restrictions. Seeing an unmet need,Chef Pascuzzi resolved to open a restaurant that serves simple, healthy-but-deliciousfood that aligns with Keto, Whole30, gluten-free, dairy-free, and nut-free diets with vegan and vegetarian options.
The menu at Mama Bird features wood fire grilled chicken offered by the quarter, half or whole bird, along with a rotating selection of seasonal vegetables and six to eight house-made sauces. Menu highlights include coal-roasted sweet potatoes, a grain bowl salad, bone broth with fresh ginger and aromatics, DIY tableside s’mores, a gluten-free grilled fruit crisp and a draft root beer float. Seasonal produce is sourced from local farms and farmers markets, as well as Chef Pascuzzi’s family garden. The chicken is free range, pasture-raised, air-chilled and non-GMO from Mary’s Free Range Chicken.
In addition to the food menu, Mama Bird opens with an extensive beverage list featuring more than a dozen taps, including 0% ABV Pelican Root Beer, an exclusive Mama Bird x Pono Brewing collaboration called the Pono Patio Pounder Lager and a Basque-style cider made by the Columbia Gorge cidery Son of Man, among others. The restaurant also has a diverse wine list featuring producers from the Willamette Valley to Beaujolais, with ten wines available by the glass and ten more by the bottle. A variety of kombuchas, sodas and beers are available by the can as well.
Mama Bird offers a bright, warm and inviting upscale counter-service atmosphere with industrial modern-meets-farmhouse décor. The restaurant seats 90 guests in total, with 46 indoor seats in the dining room and around the central wood fire grill, and 44 outdoor seats on an all-season patio furnished with a fire pit and heat lamps. Thoughtful design details include custom wood grain tables and plush banquettes built by Chef Pascuzzi and his father, custom lighting, chicken print wallpaper and lush plants from local Pomarius Nursery.
Mama Bird is open for lunch and dinner service Monday through Sunday from 11 am to 10 pm, with happy hour and delivery to come. The restaurant accepts credit and debit cards only.
