SL 519 Palate - FINAL_Layout 1 5 / 14 / 19 2 : 49 PM Page 1 p P A L A T E something tender , juicy , delicious , and from a responsible , sustainable , humane farm . ” This research led the Lovebird team to Gerber’s Amish Farm Chicken . “ We wanted chicken that was humanely raised , on a proper diet , ” Ordway says . “ While it's double the price of regular chicken , one can really taste and see the difference . ” “ The flavor really sets the meat apart , ” Gadbois adds . “ People usually expect , when they talk about fried chicken , something that leans heavily on the breading , not the meat . Here , the meat is the star of our dishes . And our gluten - free breading is just the icing on the cake . ” Indeed , all Lovebird’s fried chicken fea - tures gluten - free rice flour - based breading . The mac and cheese is gluten - free , too , though the same cannot be said of all menu items , as prepared . “ We can modify , ” she says . “ We work with a great gluten - free bakery that provides us with the rice flour . Along with our own seasonings and spices , it really enhances crispness and flavor . ” While the Lovebird team didn’t start out with the goal of creating a wholly gluten - free dining experience , Gadbois shares that the team found “ the flavor great and the quality second to none . ” “ We did lots of tastings and dredge en - Made with Love hancement , ” Ordway says . “ This is how we happened upon the gluten - free offering . Lovebird puts a lavish spin on a The dredge and ultimately the taste came out of this . ” comfort - food favorite . Gadbois had the good fortune to attend BY LEIGH STUART | PHOTOGRAPH BY JODY ROBINSON some of these early tastings . The focus of each one : to hone the flavorings . A new addition to the suburban restaurant scene has made quite a name for “ John [ Ordway ] saw specifically that itself in a year’s time , simply by offering some of the crispiest , juiciest fried chicken quality fried chicken was not available in around . Lovebird ( LovebirdPa.com ) opened its flagship location in Doylestown last May . the suburbs , ” Gadbois says . “ He just felt A second location , in Bryn Mawr , opened just last month . If all goes according to plan , like it was not something being done around suburban Philadelphia is likely to see much more of Lovebird in the not too distant future . where we live . A high - quality , carefully The Lovebird concept is the brainchild of John Ordway , the owner of Jules Thin crafted product of this type was not really Crust , which has locations throughout the Greater Philadelphia Area , and Oakland , Calif . available . Now , people can dine quickly on inspiration , according to Ordway : “ a lack of any high - quality fried chicken Lovebird’s our products and feel that love was put options , primarily in the suburbs . ” into them . ” The concept was a year in the making , and featured copious recipe testing and The restaurant’s offerings include chicken quality assurance . From the meat to the breading , no detail went overlooked . legs , thighs , breasts , wings , popcorn chicken , As Carolyn Gadbois , general manager of both Lovebird locations , shares , “ There sandwiches , salads , bowls and sides . Bowls , was a lot of research with different varieties and qualities of meats in trying to find sandwiches , and salads can be customized SUBURBANLIFEMAGAZINE.COM MAY 2019 14 |