Dirty Birds in Pacific Beach: 350,000 Wings in Yo Face!

Dirty Birds is definitely not your average Pacific Beach bar and restaurant. Although it comes with a side of coastal breeze, a laid-back beach town crowd, and epic street-side people watching in true PB-style, Dirty Birds is all about the food. Think I’m kidding? Dirty Birds offers 22 different varieties of insane wing flavors, and dares you to come on in and try them all for yourself.

This open-air surf culture-inspired beach bar and restaurant is a go-to spot for all major sports games – especially during Chargers season – but in-the-know locals love Dirty Birds for the food first. Many of those locals are responsible for the 350,000 wings that Dirty Birds has sold in just two years. Do the math, people – that’s a whole lot of freaking wings. But in addition to the mouth-watering hand-held varieties, including Dirty Ranch, Flaming Honey, Chipotle BBQ, and even PB & J, Dirty Birds also offers lunch and dinner  favorites.

Before I explain the burgers, I must share a secret with you: all specialty burgers at Dirty Birds are stuffed with cheese and toppings. Holy bar food heaven! Popular burgers range from the BBQ Burger – stuffed with bacon, cheddar, and topped with onion strings and BBQ sauce; to Blueprint Burger – stuffed with bleu cheese crumbles, topped with sautéed mushrooms and bleu cheese dressing; and the B.R. Burgers – stuffed with jalepanos and pepperjack cheese topped with fried onion strings and BBQ sauce. On the lighter side, Dirty Birds serves up some tasty salads and sandwiches, including the Ahi Tuna Salad with field greens, red cabbage, red pepper, cucumber, sesame seeds, and Asian sesame dressing; Lemon Pepper Chicken Sandwich – chicken breast dusted in a lemon pepper coating on a warm bun; and the Veg Out Sandwich – Swiss melted over roasted red peppers and a hummus spread, topped with lettuce, avocado, cucumber, and tomato on a warm hoagie roll.

Lunch Time Alert: The Dirty Birds $5.99 lunch special is definitely one of the best deals I’ve seen in town. Available Monday – Friday from 11am to 3pm, the lunch special hooks you up with some of the most popular menu items at a super low lunch price. For just $5.99, order the Dirty Chicken Sandwich – chopped chicken sandwich tossed in dirty ranch dressing with chopped bacon and served with your choice of a side; the Thai Peanut Salad – field greens, red cabbage, carrot, tomato, cucumber, peanuts, crunchy noodles and spicy Thai dressing, topped with chicken breast; or the House Sliders – two Angus beef or turkey sliders made your way with choice of a side. More options include Fish and Chips, Crab Cake Sliders, Pulled Pork Sliders, and Crab Salad. 

To get the Insider scoop on these absolutely ridiculous wings and learn more about the completely untypical food menu at this PB hot spot, we sat down with Chef Adam Jacoby of Dirty Birds.

DiscoverSD: Chef Adam, what is your culinary background and experience?
Chef Adam: Back east I started working in pizza kitchens when I was only 14 years old. That grew into a career as a food/beverage director/executive chef as some of San Diego's premier golf courses before teaming up with Jonny and Leigh to develop the Dirty Birds menu.

DSD: How does the food at Dirty Bird’s compare to the stereotypically standard PB bar food?
A: We really put a lot of effort into our recipes and menu by putting our own touch on everything that we do. We are able to keep our inventory fresh by getting daily food deliveries.

DSD: If it’s someone’s first time dining at Dirty Bird’s, what do they have to order? Why?
A: You got to start with an order of Dirty Ranch Wings and then move on to our Stuffed BBQ Burger. This is the most orderd combo on our menu – after you try ‘em both you will know why.

DSD: How in the world did you guys come up with 22 different flavors of wings?
A: One at time!

DSD: If you had to create five more crazy flavors of wings, what would they be?
A: We have a Peanut Butter & Jelly Wing that isn’t on the menu, but we still make it by special request. Right now we are working on a bacon wing, a blueberry wing and believe it or not a chocolate wing!

DSD: You have sold over 350,000 wings in 2 years! That’s insane! What is the most popular flavor sold?
A: Yeah, we were all shocked when we saw the numbers. The Lemon Pepper and the Dirty Ranch are our best sellers and the Maple Chipotle BBQ is close behind. 

DSD: OK, we hear your burgers are stuffed with cheese!? Please explain the recipe and vision for this menu item.
A: It's a 12 step process that takes about 3 hours per patty to prep. We can go into detail but it would take too long. 

DSD: Dirty Bird’s is a favorite hang-out spot for many NFL stars. Who may we see during an average evening at Dirty Bird’s?
A: We would rather not drop any names but some of our friends/guests signed jerseys are hanging on our walls.

DSD: What else would you like to share about the Dirty Bird’s dining experience?
A: We have a very casual restaurant filled with a lot a really good people that are going to ensure you enjoy your visit to Dirty Birds.

Dirty Birds is located at 4656 Mission Blvd. in north Pacific Beach, just a block from the sandy boardwalk. For more information and up-to-date game time details this Chargers season, please call 866.231.1489 or visit Dirty Birds.

See for Yourself: Check out our new gallery of Dirty Birds Anniversary Party photos!

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