I’ve followed Jailbird on Instagram for a while since they opened the bar near campus a while back, knowing it was somewhere I wanted to visit eventually. After talking to people and hearing all good things, I decided to grab a few of my friends and try it out for myself. Jailbird is a little building on Shelby Street by the train tracks, but it is not hard to miss with their name painted in bright yellow on the outside.
My friends and I walked in, hungry and ready for a drink after the long week we had. We sat ourselves at a high top table in the middle of the bar, sitting down on stools. Decor covered the walls from top to bottom and although it was all very different, somehow it all worked together. Our server greeted us almost immediately, handed us menus and said he would be back for our drink and food order. As I looked at the menu, I noticed it was pretty casual. There were items as simple as hot dogs and curly fries, but something not as simple was a hamburger with peanut butter and jelly, which isn’t a menu item seen too often.
The drinks were similar to a typical bar. So, for those non-beer drinkers, like myself, they had a list of mixed drinks. Something unique was that two of them were named based off of Jailbird’s location, like the Southside Fizz and the Greyhound. I ended up ordering the Greyhound, which was just vodka and grapefruit. As soon as I took a sip, I liked it. As for food, I ordered the snack size buffalo wings.
As my friends and I were sitting there enjoying each other’s company, our food came out and we were able to eat. I was excited because chicken wings are my favorite and I can say that these definitely did not disappoint. Since I’m from the Midwest, I can eat ranch with almost anything, but with wings, it’s a must. I didn’t even have to ask for ranch, they just brought it out. The ranch surprised me because it was a spicy-jalapeno flavored ranch, but I really liked it.
I’m glad that I was finally able to make it to Jailbird. Although $7 for four wings is a little pricey for me, it will not stop me from going back and trying out their other menu items. Jailbird is a really good idea for anyone who wants to eat and hang out and not have to go too far from campus.
