Bluebird Restaurant Review

The 23rd stop on the Coney Quest took us on a rare visit on the east side, Bluebird Restaurant in Norwood. As we noted earlier in the quest, there aren't many non-chain chili parlors on the east side of town. Bluebird is best known for its breakfast, but we were excited to see how their chili stacked up to the competition.

When we first arrived we were a bit worried that Bluebird may not serve cheese coneys. The menu only mentions their ways (which they even have a 6 and a 7 way) but nothing about coneys. Luckily the waitress informed us they do indeed have cheese coneys and of course as soon as she walked away I saw a chalk board that said cheese coneys were on special. We didn't get a long look at the menu, but it looked like standard diner fare, with breakfast being the specialty of course.

From the outside Bluebird looks like a small hole in the wall diner, but its surprisingly big once you enter. Bluebird has the feel of an old fashioned family diner. The walls are decorated with various paintings and other family kitchen decor. And like any good old timey diner there were jukeboxes in each booth.



Clint's Review

This was one of those rare times where me and Alison had very different opinions of the chili flavor. I thought the chili was on the sweet and savory side of the spectrum while Alison thought it had some heat to it. I did not taste any heat level on my coneys. As far as the taste of the chili, I thought it was ok but could have been more flavorful.


The portion of the coney that really excelled was the hot dog. Can't say for sure if it was a Blue Grass dog, but it tasted very similar to the dogs used at Gold Star and Price Hill, which are Blue Grass dogs. The dogs were also freshly grilled. I also thought the buns were soft and fresh (another area that me and Alison disagree on). However the cheese was fairly mediocre.

Great dog, good bun, average chili and mediocre cheese = a 3.0 out of 5

Alison's Review

I've never been a huge lover of mustard or onions. In fact, cheese coneys were the first food product that I consistently ordered with both. In most cases the two condiments blend nicely into the well-spiced chili recipes. However, in the case of the Bluebird coneys, I was overwhelmed by the strength of the mustard and onions. I think the simple problem was that there was just too much of both. It's kind of a shame because I don't think I ever got a good taste of the chili after the onion vapors hit my mouth. I kept thinking I was tasting a chili with a heat level, but since Clint didn't notice that at all it's more likely that my taste buds were being inundated by the strength of the condiments.

From what I could tell the hot dog was very good. I also thought they were probably Blue Grass dogs. But the bun was mediocre and the cheese was on the dry side.

If I ever order a cheese coney from this restaurant again, I will definitely ask them to hold the onions and mustard. The product as I had it this past weekend was only a 2.5 out of 5 stars.