If you’re a bar and grill and your name is Birdie’s, well you better be able to back that name up with some stellar fried chicken! And that’s exactly what we’re going to find out today as we begin week number seven in the MBIP 13 month chicken tour with a mini road trip to Birdie’s Bar & Grill in Bellevue, Illinois!

We’re on the road and it’s just a short trip to Birdie’s Bar & Grill in Bellevue, Illinois...if fact we’re here already! I like the signage out near the road!

This looks like my kind of place. The food is good and the beer is cold, who could ask for anything more? Let’s go in and begin the seventh week of chicken!

I love it in here and it’s got the look and feel of a classic neighborhood bar. Behind the bar is the owner of Birdie’s, Mary Ann and on the right is Cheryl who’s doing bartending duty. They’re both friendly and welcomed us to Birdie’s. And by now you may be wondering who “us” is, well that’s simple, it’s myself and...

My friends Amber and Joe who are frequent guest stars on the blog! They discovered this place a while back and told me it had all the makings of a true hidden gem and so far they’re absolutely right. There’s fried chicken on the menu and Mary Ann and Cheryl said that people come from all over to sample it, so we placed our orders!

They have two beers on tap, Miller and Bud Light. There’s lots of interesting items hanging behind the bar including a birthday list of regulars, a championship stocking and lots of photos from fun times in the bar. I love the last one, that’s Mary Ann with her husband Birdie whom the bar is named after. A beautiful couple for sure and I love their smiles!

A pool table stands directly behind the bar and gaming machines line the far wall. Check out the Red Bull table, pretty cool!

There’s a large dining area complete with a buffet table and a 4th of July wreath. Wooden booths line the wall over here.

Here’s some of the food specials and on Wednesday night it’s all the fried chicken and sides you can eat for $8.50! What a great motherclucking deal that is! Cheryl told us that people travel here from all around to take advantage of this delicious deal!

Meanwhile back at the bar...

Homemade cole slaw is served up! The cole slaw is finely chopped, crisp and very tasty, so far so good!

Amber got the fish sandwich and Joe ordered the cheeseburger and fries and Cheryl told us they’re well known for their cheeseburger in addition to the fried chicken. And then on cue, Timbo, who’s doing the cooking today came out with an In-N-Out Burger t-shirt and he said he’d challenge the famous burger chain to a burger cookoff any day of the week. Both Amber and Joe agreed that it was one of the best cheeseburgers they’ve ever had. Looks like I need to come back for a Saturday Night Cheeseburger in here!

Here’s Cheryl with the star of the day, the fried chicken dinner! It comes with two sides and in addition to the cole slaw, I got the potato salad which is also homemade from a secret recipe! The fried chicken looks fabulous!

Their claims of having top-notch fried chicken turned out to be absolutely true! The batter outside was crispy and lightly seasoned and the chicken was plump and juicy when you bite into it. Really flavorful and satisfying!

I have to come back here on a Wednesday when you can eat all the clucking chicken you want! Thanks to everyone at Birdie’s for a wonderful fried chicken dinner and thanks to Amber and Joe for driving and for discovering this hidden gem in Bellevue, Illinois. We will return!