Fox and the Hen, a New Brunch Spot From Top Chef's Carrie Baird, Is Pure Fun

"When I would daydream about owning a restaurant, it was always breakfast," says Carrie Baird, who gained national notoriety when she appeared as a contestant during season fifteen of Top Chef in 2017. "One of my first jobs was at a 24-hour diner. I was a server when I was in high school. My parents let me work the graveyard shift!"

"I've wanted to do breakfast for 25 years," adds Michael Fox, owner of Dis Burrito. "This is a childhood dream of mine."

Now the two have come together, combining their shared passion for pop tarts, pigs in a blanket and hot sauce to create Fox and the Hen, which will officially open on Saturday, June 10. The brunch restaurant is located at 2257 West 32nd Avenue, in the former Cebiche space, which has been completely transformed into a bright, playful, welcoming eatery with plenty of quirky design details.

Fox leased the space, which is located on the same block as the Culinary Creative Group's Bar Dough and the original Tap & Burger (and happens to be across the street from his home), almost two years ago. "I was picking [Culinary Creative owner Juan Padró's] brain about opening the restaurant, and he said, 'Do you want to do it together?'" Fox recalls.
In 2021, Baird rejoined the Culinary Creative team as the culinary director for Tap & Burger, so it didn't take long for Padró to connect her with Fox, and the two quickly realized that their breakfast visions aligned, right down to the idea of adding a hot sauce wall to the space.

That's just one of the thoughtful details that give the Fox and the Hen vibes of pure fun. Others include an indoor/outdoor bar and custom wallpaper covered with "sketchy chicks," as Baird describes it. Outside the bathrooms is a prairie dog wall filled with images that Baird collected and framed herself, while the restroom interiors are covered in bright, citrus-filled wallpaper.

A neon quote on the wall that says "I wanna do right but not right now" comes from one of Baird's favorite songs by Gillian Welch, and a painting hanging near the entrance inspired the restaurant's name. "When I was zero years old, that original print was hanging in my bedroom," Fox says of the image that shows a rooster dressed as a fox in a henhouse.

When he was around thirty, his parents gifted him that original print, which still hangs in his home. The painting was done by a friend who took a photo of it and re-created it for Fox as a surprise.
While there's a mishmash of colors and details in the space, "We've been so intentional about every little thing that we've done," Fox says. "Especially what this young lady has developed on that menu."

Tempting options abound. Start with an amped-up take on a fast food-style hash brown that you can opt to order animal-style ($9) "cuz you're dope and you order good," the menu notes, or with smoked trout roe ($12). There are also choices like pop tarts ($5) and sausage rolls with a spicy maple dipping sauce ($6), which Baird says "are just bang-a-rang good."

"We want it to be fun and playful and filling," Baird says, but also community-focused and made for the neighborhood. "I want you to be able to eat here five days a week, if you're into that."

Fox adds, "We wanted someone from middle America to come in this restaurant, read the menu and say, 'I want that,' not 'What the F is that?'"
The food offerings nod to Baird's television appearances, too, with a section devoted to the fancy toast she became known for on Top Chef ($13-$16). Here, the five "Fancy-ish Toast" options range from a croque monsieur (or madame, if you'd like) swimming in a rich béchamel to a tuna melt made with albacore conserva to avocado toast, all served on griddled sourdough.

The Beat Bobby Flay-vos ($18) are the huevos rancheros that Baird made on a 2019 episode of Beat Bobby Flay, while the green chile-smothered Dat Burrito ($16) is a play on Fox's other business, Dis Burrito, which will sling its grab-and-go versions out of a shed on the property in the future.

Executive chef Zach Stensland is from Minneapolis, where butter burgers rule, so you'll find one of those on the menu, too ($16). It's made with local Centennial beef ("We're very proud of our beef," Baird notes) and comes with fries made with Idaho potatoes grown in Baird's hometown.
Other highlights include sauerkraut silver dollar pancakes loaded with cream cheese and lox ($12) and a breakfast salad ($16) served over a slice of cold pizza. The slices are made the night before and refrigerated. "Then we build a big ranchy salad on top," Baird explains. "Then when you get to the pizza, you can eat your already ranch-soaked cold pizza slice."

There are also butter-griddled blueberry muffins ($4); a breakfast sandwich ($13) with a big, fluffy, soufflé egg; the Le Big Mac Omelette ($16), which has a description written entirely in French (beouf, fromage Américan, hollandaise, laitue, oignon, cornichon, pomme frites); a play on steak and eggs called Maximus Body if you want to splurge ($39); and more.

"They're all winners," Baird says.
On the beverage side, there's Intelligentsia coffee, non-alcoholic drinks, and a lineup of cocktails including the Kick Rocks Nerd, which is made with Pop Rocks, and Bryan Cranston's Mary.

The actor was recently in Denver with his Breaking Bad co-star Aaron Paul, who grew up in the same area in Idaho as Baird. The two were in town doing tastings of their mezcal brand, Dos Hombres, and when Baird had the chance to meet them, Cranston asked if she'd ever had a Bloody made with mezcal, so they tried one. "I had a cocktail with Bryan Cranston, and it was literally the best Bloody Mary ever," she says. So obviously, she had to put it on the menu — with the actor's permission, of course.

"The man himself said okay," Baird notes.

The two partners are excited for guests to finally get a taste of the food and drinks that they've worked so hard on. "It was super cool that we both had those visions separately, and then she executed it so good," Fox says.

"This is a dream come true," Baird concludes.

Fox and the Hen is located at 2257 West 32nd Avenue and will be open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily starting Saturday, June 10. For more information, visit foxandthehen.com.