596704 Mon Feb 16 14:23:31 -0800 2009 43 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 4422546 For years I've heard about Roscoe's and heard about this southern staple, but never tried it. It always seemed somewhat silly to me. I know I like fried chicken, I somewhat like waffles, what's not to like. So the other night I tried it at Wild Turkey in Yonkers. I figured everything else is delicious, why not. I just don't get it. I mean received a plate of some of the best buttermilk battered fried chicken I've ever tasted. Some nice corn on the cob cooked on a grill. And a waffle with syrup? It just didn't go. Was I supposed to eat one before the other? Together? I know I didn't want syrup on my Fried Chicken. Honestly, are there two things that go together less than these two items? Maybe I needed a different atmosphere, but I just didn't get it. Someone explain the excitement over this pairing. And please don't tell me "when it's good." My food was excellent, it just shouldn't have shared a plate! Mon Feb 16 14:23:31 -0800 2009 165800 jhopp217 1 4423953 I was wondering the same thing about the chicken and waffle pairing. The Travel Channel answered it for me on one of their "Food Paradise" shows. They said something along the lines of people who showed up at soul food restaurants for a late night bite, and couldn't decide between breakfast and lunch/dinner. So the chef put two specials of the house on one plate. And people seemed to like the sweet & savory mix, so it stuck! I haven't been to Wild Turkey, but I've tried it at Cafeteria in Chelsea. I like to eat them separately - I save the waffle for last -- but that's just me! Tue Feb 17 03:52:22 -0800 2009 4422546 59004 Sra. Swanky 1 4423969 I used to work in a private club in PA that had Chicken & Waffle night on Wednesdays. It was our busiest night. All the local businessmen, judges, attorneys and bankers scrambled downtown to score all you can eat chicken and waffles. But ours were very different from what you described. Ours was homemade waffles served w/ pulled, roastsed chicken and smothered in gravy with a side of mashed potatoes and a vegetable. No syrup. It was delicious and a very simple comfort food. I've not heard of it w/ fried chicken and syrup. Yuck. Tue Feb 17 04:09:19 -0800 2009 4422546 71241 lynnlato 2 4424016 What you explained makes some sense. That sounds almost like Kentucky Hot Brown, with the sliced turkey with bacon and tomato on french toast, smothered ina delicious white cheese gravy. Wild Turkey has that also, and it is delicious. That makes sense, becasue the french toast just asks as the "biscuit." Tue Feb 17 04:52:36 -0800 2009 4423969 165800 jhopp217 3 4426718 hat Kentucky Hot Brown sounds yummy. I could dig that. As we all know, everything is improved with bacon. :) Tue Feb 17 17:19:46 -0800 2009 4424016 71241 lynnlato 4 4426906 Yeah, like our poor bar cookie in process that died on that other board. I'm with you--everything's better with bacon (and butter!). I still have it in the back of my mind to make corn waffles and chili. Bet that is a very tasty combo. Tue Feb 17 18:06:01 -0800 2009 4426718 249664 kattyeyes 5 4427695 Yea, the cookie thing was doomed from the start - but it was fun. I like the way u think, Kattyeyes. Corn waffles sound tasty! I'm gonna make those bacon cookies - I swear. I'm just working out the details in my mind yet. I'm thinking candied pecans and bacon. Similiar to a nut mix I made of a recipe from the NYT. Any ideas for the batter? Wed Feb 18 03:29:52 -0800 2009 4426906 71241 lynnlato 6 4427830 And to make the waffles just a tad different, adding shredded cheddar to the batter with diced jalapeno, even, would complement chili nicely. I will do this someday! Glad the bacon cookie game is back on. :) I will pop you a note offline with batter suggestions. I'm still liking the idea of an oatmeal-based foundation--salty/sweet dough to accompany salty/sweet add-ins. Wed Feb 18 06:00:20 -0800 2009 4427695 249664 kattyeyes 7 4442201 Made chili and plain ol' (undoctored) Jiffy corn waffles tonight. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! I highly recommend this combo to any chili 'n cornbread lovers. Sun Feb 22 15:35:52 -0800 2009 4427830 249664 kattyeyes 4 4428183 hot browns are the best part of thanksgiving, i always make sure to cook too big of a bird so that i can have hot browns for leftovers :) Wed Feb 18 08:02:33 -0800 2009 4426718 111910 jgg13 2 4428152 I have had chicken and waffles, its a great dish. I had it at the old Coffee Cup. What can be bad? I love fried chicken, I love waffles, fried chicken is sometimes served with honey, maple syrup has a similar flavor profile and serves as a great bridge between the chicken and the waffle. Here is a little trivia Gladys Knight of Gladys Knight & the Pips owns a chain of restaurants called Gladys Knight Chicken & Waffle Wed Feb 18 07:51:52 -0800 2009 4423969 139527 GodfatherofLunch 3 4428176 Yes!! That was it! They were on the Travel Channel - in Atlanta on that show Man vs. Food! Gladys looks great!! (and so do her chicken & waffles!) Wed Feb 18 08:00:13 -0800 2009 4428152 59004 Sra. Swanky 3 4429579 Just took a look at the chicken and waffles dish from Gladys Knight and Ron Winan's. Apparently it is four fried chicken wings & one waffle for $9.50. it's called the midnight and from what I gather it is served with a packet of butter, and orange slice and hot sauce. no syrup in the picture! Although I'm sure you can ask for it. Wed Feb 18 13:50:21 -0800 2009 4428152 165800 jhopp217 1 4424162 There was a thread on chicken and waffles over in General Chowhounding recently that may be of interest: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/589803 Tue Feb 17 06:23:33 -0800 2009 4422546 249664 kattyeyes 1 4424397 I never eat waffles - never. And I don't like sweets. But the last three times we've been to NYC we've gone to Amy Ruth's in Harlem and had chicken and waffles for breakfast. And loved 'em! They also have waffles with fried fish, shrimp, can't remember what else. I think it is probably that sweet/savory combo. I don't know that I'd want it for lunch or dinner. Don't know why. But late night after too many cocktails sounds good. (Granted I'm too *old* for that any more but in my youth it would have been appealing!) Tue Feb 17 07:43:38 -0800 2009 4422546 131001 c oliver 1 4424454 For whatever it is worth, I've lived all over the South for my entire 52 years, and I had never, ever even heard of chicken and waffles until I saw it mentioned on this board. You might be able to get chicken and waffles here now, but I sure don't think is is a southern staple... Tue Feb 17 07:58:03 -0800 2009 4422546 96658 Clarkafella 2 4424581 I'm 62 and grew up in Atlanta (which doesn't/didn't qualify as "The South" necessarily) and never heard of C&W either. But I know that there are some here (perhaps in the thread referenced by kattyeyes) that did eat it in the South. Tue Feb 17 08:28:18 -0800 2009 4424454 131001 c oliver 2 4427434 Vacationed for over 20 years here and it was always around. Never did like, still don't. but a lot do. Each to their own taste. Tue Feb 17 21:19:38 -0800 2009 4424454 232829 kchurchill5 2 4428295 Chicken and Waffles originated in Harlem, USA not the south. Wed Feb 18 08:36:22 -0800 2009 4424454 10195 KTinNYC 3 4428320 This had some interesting and fun info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_and_waffles Wed Feb 18 08:43:12 -0800 2009 4428295 131001 c oliver 2 4444953 That's because chicken and waffles isn't "southern" food, per se. And unless I'm mistaken, it's a dish that has only recently become popular outside of the African American community. You've probably been able to get it in soul food restaurants for ages, but it wasn't "mainstream". Mon Feb 23 13:56:06 -0800 2009 4424454 67610 Suzy Q 3 4445144 Chicken & Waffles has been a Pennsylvania Dutch staple for a very long time. However, they never served it with fried chicken, but rather chicken sauteed w/ a mirepoix and stewed in stock. The chicken was then pulled and served over the waffles w/ gravy. Often, they added mashed potatoes to the plate - can u say carb overload? But no syrup was involved. Mon Feb 23 14:51:52 -0800 2009 4444953 71241 lynnlato 1 4425015 The earliest reference to chicken and waffles I can recall is in Billie Holiday's "autobiography". Her mother would fry 'em up for the band before they left to go on the road. I was surprised to see it on the menu in Pennsylvania Amish country, but it turned out to be chicken in gravy and NOT fried chicken. Just didn't do it for me. Tue Feb 17 10:02:48 -0800 2009 4422546 13780 Up With Olives 2 4426729 That's how we had it (see my post above). Being from Central PA makes sense that it's probably a PA Dutch thang. It's good - similiar to chicken and biscuits as Jhopp pointed out, and there is no syrup involved. Tue Feb 17 17:21:39 -0800 2009 4425015 71241 lynnlato 3 4427431 My grandmother was a Johnny Bull from Somerset County, PA, and she said that church suppers used to feature chicken and waffle dinners, but their fried chicken and waffles was served with gravy, not syrup. They were all off-the-boat from NOrthern England in that area, working the mines and smelters, circa 1900. But then these Brits also ate pork roast and saurkraut. Go figure. Tue Feb 17 21:17:13 -0800 2009 4426729 44682 mothrpoet 1 4427387 If you trust it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_and_waffles Tue Feb 17 20:55:23 -0800 2009 4422546 183643 sfumato 1 4427881 it is not a southern food, it originated in harlem in NYC. but it probably an extension from the southern classic of chicken and biscuits. i think it is a great combination, and i like when they syrup gets on my waffle. hell - people make honey fried chicken, so why not syrup? Wed Feb 18 06:25:43 -0800 2009 4422546 135229 thew 1 4427917 I don't think it's any stranger than eating cornbread with honey along with your fried chicken. Wed Feb 18 06:40:09 -0800 2009 4422546 11995 pikawicca 1 4427930 I think I may have first heard of it from the movie "Jackie Brown", when the gangster (Samuel L Jackson) lures his victim out of his apartment with promises of Roscoe's Chicken N Waffles, then kills him. Then I think I saw a tv show where Snoop Dogg brings David Beckham to Roscoe's to let him sample the food. So my media-saturated brain has always wanted to try this stuff. The idea of it being sweet, with (corn) syrup, does not appeal, but the idea of the texture of waffles with the texture of fried chicken does appeal. So I tried it at home, with store-bought Eggos and the fried chicken from Bojangles. (I am not into deep-frying at home and prefer to leave that to professionals.) Not surprisingly, it wasn't all that good with the Eggos. Actually, it was a little bit better with the blueberry waffles than it was with the plain waffles, so maybe a little sweetness does help after all. Point of all this being, I wish I had a Roscoe's nearby so I could really try it. Wed Feb 18 06:44:18 -0800 2009 4422546 133045 Budget Palate 2 4427949 OMG, I actually own a copy of "Jackie Brown" and have watched it several times, but didn't remember there was a Roscoe's reference in it. Gives new meaning to "to die for," doesn't it? ;) I think, barring a trip to Roscoe's, you might have a better shot at replicating it by making waffles at home (rather than Eggo's) and buy your fave fried chicken again. You can pick up a decent mix at the supermarket with malt in it--that seems to be a key ingredient in extra-tasty waffles. Wed Feb 18 06:53:31 -0800 2009 4427930 249664 kattyeyes 3 4436425 Yes, it's just a quick joke in there. Great flick by the way. I think messing around with a waffle iron might be a fun hobby to get into. Thanks for the suggestion. And here's to chowhounds mixing fine cuisine and fast food, and what is perceived as "high" culture with "low" culture, and everything in between, with reckless abandon! Fri Feb 20 12:07:57 -0800 2009 4427949 133045 Budget Palate 4 4436513 Big cheers to that! :) Happy waffling! Fri Feb 20 12:31:50 -0800 2009 4436425 249664 kattyeyes 1 4428189 For me personally, I eat them together. Also I don't like it when the waffle is savory, I prefer a standard breakfast waffle w/ syrup - not gravy. It sounds weird, but it does make sense - the whole salty/sweet thing is a pattern that you see w/ some frequency. Wed Feb 18 08:04:07 -0800 2009 4422546 111910 jgg13 2 4428235 Right on! To the nay sayers I say Don't knock it till you try it. Wed Feb 18 08:19:36 -0800 2009 4428189 139527 GodfatherofLunch 3 4429502 Or as my mom (still) likes to say, "Don't like it *too* much!" In other words, less for you means more for me. ;) Wed Feb 18 13:32:44 -0800 2009 4428235 249664 kattyeyes 2 4428327 Just to add a little PA Dutch soul food in here, it's very common for them to eat their scrapple with syrup. Don't knock it 'til you've tried it. Wed Feb 18 08:44:31 -0800 2009 4428189 90359 PattiCakes 1 4429674 What? You don't like it when syrup from your pancakes gets on your breakfast sausage?? I've been to Roscoe's for the Chicken and Waffles and it was good. **note** I do not care for chicken and biscuits, so the idea of waffles with gravy sounds terrible to me. Much better syrup with good fried chicken and crispy waffles. Wed Feb 18 14:17:13 -0800 2009 4422546 109905 laliz 1 4429951 One of my favorite cookbooks is Waffles From Morning To Midnight. Used copies available on Amazon. Lots of savory waffle recipes. Fun stuff! Wed Feb 18 15:34:12 -0800 2009 4422546 123480 scuzzo 1 4436213 Maybe it's just something you have to grow up eating- I love it, but can see how it may not appeal to everyone. By the way, chicken and waffles did not start in Harlem. Yes, there are some famous restaurants who feature it, and they're great at what they do, but just about everything on their menu(and the people behind those restaurants) are Southern. I don't know if I'd call it a Southern staple, but has always been very popular where my family is from(North/South Carolina, and Alabama). Just a cultural thing, I think. Fri Feb 20 11:18:11 -0800 2009 4422546 227643 Luvfriedokra 1 4437866 Mmmmmmmmm sounds so good. Could it be one of those things that you'd need to try again? A wonderful friend of mine once told me I'd have to try sushi at least 3 times before I decided I hated it. She was right & now I can't imagine not having it in my life. Fri Feb 20 19:35:31 -0800 2009 4422546 110426 Boccone Dolce 2 4444456 Sushi and pizza were two tastes I acquired instantly; something in me recognized these as things I'd been missing and unconsciously searching for all my life. I must say I had no such epiphany with chicken and waffles, though there is a Roscoe's three blocks away to which we dutifully take every out-of-town guest. Mon Feb 23 11:49:34 -0800 2009 4437866 11478 Will Owen 3 4444705 Sushi and Pizza separetely I assume, Haha. I don't want to see a thread on here with reviews from Will Owen's Pizza & Sushi. The whole idea of the "three cheese spicy tuna roll" or the "Uni Calzone" is a little much! Mon Feb 23 12:51:39 -0800 2009 4444456 165800 jhopp217 4 4445502 Pizza at 13, sushi at 40. Not too much overlap there... Mon Feb 23 16:49:20 -0800 2009 4444705 11478 Will Owen 3 4446590 My first taste of sushi was forced. The guy I was with bought some supermarket sushi- and shoved a piece in my mouth in the parking lot. The smell of hot asphalt and fishy fish wrapped in gummy rice did not a sushi lover make me.... ;o) Tried it again (forced) at a lousy Chinese buffet. Then finally my cousin took me to an actual sushi bar- she ordered a bunch of things and had me try. Not standing in a parking lot of the grocery store in 89* heat helped! It wasn't until then I realized that the other stuff was just seaweed, rice and weirdness - the items she ordered tasted amazing, and I was hooked. Tue Feb 24 03:57:23 -0800 2009 4444456 110426 Boccone Dolce