Our party of two wasn’t in the mood to shout over modern bluegrass music during a midday meal, so with permission, we moved to a roomy booth closer to the bar, a far quieter section on a weekday afternoon at Birdie’s Eastside. Restaurateur Jon Alexis’s seventh restaurant felt sunny on a cloudy day, a result of designer Hatsumi Kuzuu’s work. Shades of turquoise, golden yellow, and orange enlivened the walls, upholstery, and plates (none but old timers would know that the location was formerly a Luby’s). The cherry space also helped compensate for neglectful service at the tail end of the lunch rush. Our food had its ups and a few downs. We enjoyed the bacon deviled eggs more for the amount of tangy yellow mustard in the filling than for its abundance of what tasted and looked like faux bacon bits. The Caesar was all right, with a pleasing crown of grated Parmesan and peppery croutons. Well-cooked salmon sourced from TJ’s Seafood Market (Alexis’s first restaurant) distinguished our friend’s salmon and grains bowl (which included an uninspired mix of thin-sliced portobello, corn, and undercooked Brussels sprouts). Better was the side of roasted tri-color cauliflower that packed a surprising amount of flavor, and the tikka fried chicken wrap, in which lemon rice, potent tzatziki, and pickled red onions disguised lettuce that had seen fresher days.