What’s Everybody Clucking About?
Whether the chicken or the egg came first, no matter. You can enjoy both all day at fast-casual eatery Freebird. Located next to Whole Foods with plenty of parking in back, Freebird is the brainchild of culinary couple Heather and Scott Fratangelo, who met while working together at Union Square Café. After years at top restaurants in Manhattan and co-owning award-winning Spigolo, the pair opened an Italian restaurant called Linizio in Westchester. They recently decided to expand into the gourmet grab-and-go category.
“Scott loves chicken sandwiches,” Heather says, recalling what inspired them to hatch Freebird. His signature chicken sandwich with lettuce, house pickles and horseradish is a top-seller along with breakfast sandwiches and wraps—served all day. And there’s a terrific menu of salads and healthy sides like air-fried brussels sprouts and cauliflower and “dippers,” an air-fried version of fries.
All sandwiches are served on fresh baked bread from The Kneaded Bread with a choice of grilled or crispy chicken. Some customer favorites include The Hot Bird with cabbage slaw and sriracha honey sauce and the Barbecue bird with Monterey jack cheese, pickled onions and barbecue sauce. Vegetarians will appreciate the Gluten-Free Crispy Butternut Squash Cutlet sandwich. Among the salads and wraps, most popular are The Crudite (a mix of veggies with a yogurt raita), Squash It (blend of kale with pumpkin seeds, cranberry, squash and crispy chickpeas for crunch) and The Southwest with sweet potato, Romaine, black beans and other veggies in a creamy chipotle avocado dressing.
This is also a great spot to grab coffee and homemade baked goods, all made in-house by Heather, who is a pastry chef. Some recent hits include banana Nutella muffins and pumpkin cheesecake swirl muffins.
Freebird has a following with high school kids and local businesses who call on the shop for lunch catering. They are also happy to put together breakfast platters. Need thirty bacon-egg-and-cheeses for a team tailgate? Freebird is on it.
116 East Putnam Avenue,
203-599-9100; freebirdfood.com
Photographs: Kate Schlientz