New H St. Restaurant Farmbird Elevates DC’s Food Scene

Last month Farmbird, a counter service grilled chicken restaurant, opened on H Street NE. We sat down with co-founders Dan Koslow and Andrew Harris to understand Farmbird’s backstory and how they landed in the District. As two young professionals living in New York City, Dan and Andrew shared the frustration of having to choose between satisfying but unhealthy food (like burgers and fries) and healthy food that wasn’t satisfying or delicious. They began gravitating toward grilled chicken, a sustainable, filling protein but despite its prevalence on restaurant menus, they found that it was seldom cooked thoughtfully. Putting their heads together, they thought they could do better.

Despite living in a tiny NYC apartment, Dan borrowed a commercial oven, and each night after work he and Andrew would try to cook the perfect chicken. This quickly became routine. They spent countless hours researching the science behind cooking the perfect bird. They tested everything from temperature to chicken upbringing in the pursuit of their mission. This testing and research led them to the decision to use vegetarian-fed, humanely raised chickens. After sharing their chicken success with friends and family through blind taste tests, they landed on the perfect recipe. Andrew and Dan started thinking about how they could share their chicken on a larger scale.

The founders soon relocated to DC and launched a new kind of chicken concept. They chose this city because they were excited about the welcoming and adventurous nature of the DC food scene. Like many other thriving food businesses, Farmbird got its start as a Union Kitchen member. “It’s a pretty amazing resource for the city, and this wouldn’t have been made possible without them,” Andrew shared “they paved the way for the restaurant and got us well connected with resources in DC.”

With the DC food world encouraging them along, it wasn’t long before they opened their doors on H street. The next time you need a quick lunch between meetings, stop by Farmbird and experience chicken like never before – perfectly roasted and paired with healthy, bold sides (we’re still talking about the sweet potatoes!). We are excited to see what the future holds for this restaurant!