Treebird Restaurant

Let’s get one thing straight: this is not a fine dining establishment. It’s like Luby’s. Cafeteria style, with the trays and the rotating specials. But it’s much better than Luby’s because the food is not salted within an inch of its life and, aside from some weird pricing practices (50 cents for shredded cheese?), it’s a very reasonable lunch. I usually get out for under $ 10, and the food is far better than most of the options within walking distance of my office.
I love the red beans and rice — always a good choice. You can get it with cheese and/​or onions on top, but I recommend you skip that and just go with the sausage link. It’s all the flavor you need.
I’m also a big fan of the vegetable plate, which allows you to choose three vegetables (which vary depending on what day you go). I like the broccoli with shallots and the squash casserole best. You can also get dirty rice, mac n cheese, green beans or mashed potatoes, depending on what day you go.
They offer jalapeño cornbread as one of the vegetable selections (only in Texas, right?), and it’s a huge slab and very tasty. However, they also have free white and wheat bread just beyond the cash register on a self-​serve bar. It’s basic, but good for dipping into the soups and etoufee.
If you have a bigger appetite, they have specials like meatloaf, chicken, tilapia each day. If I ate all that for lunch, I’d be asleep by 2pm. But that’s just me.

Let’s lower the expectations for this place.
It is not a «awesome, let’s come here to eat» place.
It one of the best lunch options if you work in downtown Dallas close to this food court and you don’t want to eat junk food.
They offer a good selection of real food (protein, vegetables, carb and salads), and are reasonably priced (lunch less than $ 10)

Not sure why this is so low a rating. I really like this place. I get the 3 item meal for lunch. usually vegetarian red beans and rice, a veggie and jalapeño corn bread.
They also give free bread.
And have good customer service.
And reasonable prices.
I like it here.

I love the food here. It’s always tasty and delicious but the one thing that I will gripe about is the 40 cent upcharge they charge when you request cheese sprinkled on your bowl of chili! That wasn’t always the case at this restaurant but it is now. It really chaps my a$$ that they charge for cheese. This is twice now that I’ve been charged for this when I’ve ordered chili. It’s always spur of the moment when I decide to eat there so maybe I’ll just bring a bag of shredded cheese and keep it in the fridge at work so that I will be prepared the next time I’m in the mood for chili on a cold day! Other than that, I have no qualms about the food.

The tall asian man that runs the register daily that owns the place is very rude. Was treated like the Soup Nazi for coming to the register to make a to-​go order which was the preferred way for as long as I’ve been going there for a few years. If there is a change in the way to-​go orders should be handled, the owner should be able to communicate that in a much more polite and respectful way. Won’t be back.

Good solid restaurant that we affectionately call «slop» at my office. It may not always look pretty, but this place serves up a mean seafood gumbo and shrimp etoufee (my favorite dishes here!). I always get the large bowl with rice, and add green onions on top. What really makes it special is the in-​house hot sauce, which has a nice kick without being too watered down like some store brands. The gumbos are pretty regular (available daily), but the restaurant also provides daily specials such as baked chicken, pork loin, etc.
All the recipes and hot sauce are the same as the original restaurant in Houston called Treebeard’s. Being a somewhat recent transplant from Houston, I was so happy to see this place and the dishes were exactly the same as I had remembered them. On Tuesdays and Fridays, you get a free cookie with the meat special.
This is a delicious, fast, and homey restaurant nestled in the Plaza of Americas and it is a staple in the downtown area.

Decent option for lunch downtown. I had the blackened tilapia and it was well done. Very flavorful and moist. Sides of veggies were fine, but nothing crazy.
Go here if you want something home cooked for lunch that is also healthy. I dig.

I had the buffet lunch here today. I asked for a cup of Shrimp Étouffée and a cup of Macaroni and Cheese. Yes, I know that étouffée doesn’t go with mac and cheese; however, once I saw the Mac down the line after ordering my étouffée, I knew I had to have it. The étouffée was seasoned pretty good compared to most «cajun» restaurants in the metroplex. The consistency was just about right and it wasn’t too spicy… so, I can’t complain. I would order it again. The Mac and Cheese tasted like it had been out all day, so I am curious to see how a fresh cup of this would taste. It definitely was really cheesy.
My friend ordered the red beans and rice, and the red beans, and it didn’t look like red beans. The sausage that came with her dish looked good.
They have complimentary white and wheat bread for self serve for everyone.

This place used to be part of the «Treebeards» group out of Houston. When it was part of that group, the food was pretty damned good.
Since it became «TreeBird’s» the quality has really dropped off. It has most of the same menu items (except duck gumbo on Fridays… which is sad, one of the best dishes they had), but the food overall has dropped in quality. It’s just bland now. Also, some of the staples of the menu, like hoppin John are not offered every day. Plus, they raised the prices.
Pretty much a «ho hum» experience.

Someone needs to correct the name because «Treebeard’s» is in Houston and «Treebirds» is in Dallas. I met a few friends there for lunch a couple weeks ago and had the gumbo. It was decent, but nothing spectacular. I really liked Treebeard’s red beans and rice, so I’ll give Treebirds a try the next time I feel like breaking out of my usual food-​court options.

Nice restaurant underwhelmed by the options outside of gumbo. If I were the manager I would rethink the strategy-​the entire hot bar was gumbo or fixings for a potato and soup. It may be a happening place for Cajun foodies but it is not on my radar.

I agree with Deno, the best red beans and rice since Crescent City Café in Deep Ellum. It’s amazing, and if you get the large portion with the sausage (they serve in a whole link), you will not be leaving hungry. I would say it’s mild with a faint hint of spice on the finish. For good measure, I had a cup of cream of mushroom soup (whole mushrooms) and a generous piece of some standard, run-​of-​the-​mill Italian cream cake that came in a plastic to-​go box, really rich, lots of icing.
Great lunch spot, don’t know if their open for dinner.

Holy Hair Nets batman… this place is so gumbo cafeteria I can’t think straight. I bunch of us went for lunch and I was mortally underwhelmed by the food. I was the only one at the table of six to get «regular» food. Stuffed pork loin with green beans and carrots.
Everyone else arrived at the table with a bowl of goop, thank goodness it wasn’t green or anything. When I looked at the choices of goop, I think it was nasty, nastier and OMG for selections. We actually brought a real cajun expert and she was like OH NO…
With the service is quick (hello cafeteria)… the food is just unpleasent. To bad I was starving or I may have opted to eat after going instead of ordering there.
The atmosphere is all that of a senior home when everyone is out for bingo!

This is a lunch spot in the Plaza of the Americas. I have been eating here for the past 10 years. My current favorite dish is the Hoppin John — which is a side but is substantial enough to be the meal. The food is heavy so a little goes a long way. Love the red beans and rice. Their chicken salad has a nice kick and is served with fruit. The meatloaf is fantastic. They have a great chicken fried chicken. Did I say this is not a figure friendly restaurant? But oh so tasty!

I don’t know why no one has reviewed this place yet, probably because it is only open for lunch and located inside Plaza of the Americas in Downtown Dallas (also know as the CBD for Central Business District but don’t get me started on that).
They have a rotating schedule so make sure they have what you want before you make the journey. They do validate parking for the Plaza of the America’s garage.
Treebirds has the best red beans and rice in Dallas, since Crescent City in Deep Ellum closed its doors. They offer it with big hunks of tasty smoked sausage or as a vegetarian option. You can have it topped with grated cheddar cheese – which I had never thought of but is very tasty. The beans are firm and not squishy. You can taste the filet powder. It’s very good and very hearty.
I’ve not tried the beef and bean chili, the gumbo, or the jambalaya; but I’ve been told they are excellent. I walk past there almost every day and the food looks super.
The reason I’ve not tried those dishes is because I can’t break away from my standards. The chicken fried chicken it excellent. The only place I’ve found that does it better is Chuy’s which is breaded with crushed potato chips. Treebirds is more traditional and the batter is light and crispy while the white meat inside is moist and tender. The cream gravy served on top is good, no one skimped on the fat content on any of these items.
Their meatloaf is also really good. It has a spicy jalapeño tomato sauce, and should always be served over a big scoop of their skin-​on mashed potatoes with extra sauce. You can taste the seasonings and the vegetables in the meatloaf and the tomato sauce.
My favorite thing here is the chicken and dumplings. It’s only served on Thursdays. The chicken is slow cooked and tender, you can taste the celery and seasoning in the broth which is creamy with vegetables and dumplings that are thick but not too chewy. They give you an option of having it served over white rice, which I also never thought of before but love.
Lunch specials come with two sides and bread. They offer a nice selection of vegetables each day along with standards such as fruit salad, red beans and rice, dirty rice, salad, jalapeño cornbread, and mashed potatoes. I’ve heard good things about the squash casserole and okra.
They also have catfish with étouffée topping, fried catfish fillets, baked chicken breasts, as well as the basic gumbos and what not.
At the end of the line where you check out are always little plates of desserts. The buttercake is really moist and buttery. The bread pudding is good but not great. I have a hard time passing up dessert when it’s just sitting there staring me down… so to speak.