Little Bird Cornbread in Fairhope Named Among October’s Best Dishes on National List
Mom’s Sweet Cornbread at Fairhope’s Little Bird is one of 11 dishes on a national list of October’s best food, and one of two from Alabama. It is the restaurant’s second national honor this fall.
FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Little Bird cornbread, a sweet skillet recipe that chef Bill Briand credits to his late mother, has earned the Fairhope restaurant another round of national attention. Mom’s Sweet Cornbread was one of 11 dishes from across the country chosen for a national list of the best food of October.
Only two Alabama dishes made the cut. The other was the Sea Bar Spoon, a single bite served at SeaBar by Little Betty in Birmingham.
The list’s authors said they ate at more than 100 restaurants around the world during the month, visiting both buzzed-about dining destinations and familiar favorites, before narrowing their picks to the 11 dishes that stayed with them.
What the reviewer said about the cornbread
The cornbread entry opens with the family story behind the menu. The reviewer wrote of ordering the dish after learning that Briand’s menu pays tribute to his mother, Virginia, known as Ginny.
“I’m so glad I did,” the reviewer wrote.
According to the review, the batter is made with milk, honey and a little Creole seasoning. The cornbread arrives whole and piping hot in a mini cast-iron skillet, finished with a light sprinkle of Maldon salt and served with whipped chive butter.
The reviewer praised its “crackling, crispy brown crust and barely sweet, tender crumb” and offered one tip for anyone who saves a piece for later in the meal: it was “even better with a scoop of the restaurant’s housemade brown butter ice cream.”
A restaurant built around one family
The dish fits the story Briand has told about the restaurant since it opened on Oak Avenue in the summer of 2025. Little Bird is a tribute to Virginia Eileen Briand, a Navy nurse and devoted host, and takes its name from her middle name, which shares roots with the Gaelic word for “little bird,” South AL News reported in September.
Family photographs and old recipes hang on the walls of the renovated Craftsman-style cottage, and its dining rooms are named for chapters of her life. Family-style cornbread made from her recipe was already among the dishes regulars point to most often.
Briand, a James Beard-nominated chef and five-time semifinalist for the foundation’s Best Chef: South award, came up through New Orleans kitchens including Emeril’s and Donald Link’s restaurant group before moving to the Alabama coast and leading the kitchen at Fisher’s at Orange Beach Marina.
He has described the cooking at Little Bird in personal terms. “You can tell if food has a soul or not,” he has said. “You can’t fake that.”
Second national honor this fall
The October mention follows a larger recognition. In September, Little Bird was named to The New York Times’ list of America’s Best Restaurants for 2026, a group of 50 restaurants chosen after the newspaper’s reporters and editors visited 538. It was one of two Alabama restaurants on that list, along with Perennial in Montgomery.
That list singled out other dishes, including West Indies crab salad with preserved lemon, boudin-stuffed quail with candied jalapeños and buttermilk pie.
When the staff celebrated that news, Briand said the attention reached beyond his own dining room. “It’s such a great thing for Fairhope and Baldwin County to get some acknowledgment down here,” he said. “There’s people doing good things. We’ve got great seafood. We’ve got great products here. Come and eat it.”
Briand is also among the chefs scheduled to take part in Experience the Oyster, a festival set for Saturday, Nov. 7, at The Hangout in Gulf Shores.
How to try the cornbread at Little Bird
Little Bird is at 404 Oak Ave. in downtown Fairhope. Its published hours are listed below, though diners may want to confirm times with the restaurant before making plans, particularly for Friday and Saturday dinner.
- Lunch: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Saturday
- Sunday brunch: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Cocktail hour: 3 to 5 p.m. daily
- Dinner: 5 to 9 p.m., Sunday through Wednesday; 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday; until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Alabama’s other pick: SeaBar in Birmingham
SeaBar is the newest venture from the team behind Little Betty in Mountain Brook, which recently had a big night at a major restaurant awards ceremony in Nashville. The seafood restaurant has quickly developed a following in Birmingham.
Its Sea Bar Spoon comes from the raw bar. The review describes a one-bite dish of toro and ikura dressed in truffle oil, with ponzu to cut the richness, sesame oil for depth and puffed rice for crunch. The reviewer called it a “wonderful, thoughtfully composed amuse-bouche.”
SeaBar is at 1011 Jemison Lane in Birmingham and is open 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
