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Chicken and Waffles
Roscoe's Waffles and Chicken.JPG
Chicken and waffles
Origin
Place of origin United States
Creator(s) Unknown
Dish details
Serving temperature Hot
Main ingredient(s) Fried Chicken
Waffles

Chicken and waffles is a dish combining waffles, a breakfast food, with (usually fried) chicken. It is served in certain specialty restaurants in the United States [1]. Some include Gladys Knight & Ron Winans' Chicken & Waffles, Heavenly Chicken & Waffles, Lolo's Chicken and Waffles and Roscoe's House of Chicken 'n Waffles.

The dish is most commonly made by serving fried chicken with a waffle, the waffle then typically being covered with butter or syrup (as is common practice among those who eat waffles for breakfast in the United States). This unusual combination of foods is beloved by many people who are influenced by traditions of soul food passed down from past generations of their families [1].

A version of this dish mostly known within areas that have Pennsylvania Dutch influences consists of a plain waffle with pulled, stewed chicken on top, covered in gravy.

Contents

History

The exact origins of the dish are unknown; there are several versions of its origins.

One version:

"As unusual as it might seem, the marriage of chicken and waffles actually has deep roots. Thomas Jefferson brought a waffle iron back from France in the 1790s and the combination began appearing in cookbooks shortly thereafter. The pairing was enthusiastically embraced by African Americans in the South. For a people whose cuisine was based almost entirely on the scraps left behind by landowners and plantation families, poultry was a rare delicacy; in a flapjack culture, waffles were similarly exotic. Chicken and waffles for decades has been a special-occasion meal in African American families, often supplying a hearty Sunday morning meal before a long day in church..." [2].

Another version:

Some historians believe the dish goes back to the late 19th century, when Southern African-Americans, recently freed from slavery, began migrating to the Northern United States. According to author John T. Edge: "My guess is that it comes from the days when someone would go out in the morning and wring a chicken's neck and fry it for breakfast. Preparing a breakfast bread with whatever meat you have on the hoof, so to speak, comes out of the rural tradition" [1].

Benny's Home Cooked.com notes:

"It is interesting to note that this combination and/or recipe does not appear in Abby Fisher's 1881 cookbook What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking. Mrs. Fisher was a former slave and her book is generally considered the first cookbook written by an African-American. These foods appear (but not together) in Mrs.Porter's 1871 cookbook Mrs. Porter's Southern Cookery Book [3].

Wells Supper Club

A restaurant named the Wells Supper Club in Harlem (1938-1999) used the slogan "Wells: Home of Chicken and Waffles, Since 1938" [4].

A commonly quoted story is that the Wells Supper Club started selling the chicken and waffles dish to late-night patrons of their club in 1938 "as it was too late for dinner, and too early for breakfast"; so Wells Supper Club served both dishes on the one plate [5] [6].

Restaurants

A sign for Gladys Knight and Ron Winans' Chicken & Waffles

Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles

From Harlem, "chicken and waffles" was brought across the country to Los Angeles by Herb Hudson, who founded Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles in the mid 1970s.

The Corner Office Restaurant and Martini Bar

In 2004, Denver discovered chicken and waffles and The Corner Office became the place to find them. For three years in a row (2007, 2008 and 2009) the restaurant has been honored by Westword, a weekly magazine in Denver, as offering the best chicken and waffles in Denver.[7]

Lolo's Chicken and Waffles

This restaurant, located in Phoenix, Arizona, was founded by Larry "Lo-Lo" White, who first started out selling this dish on the streets to earn extra money. White's chicken and waffles made copious amounts of profit, enough for him to start his restaurant, which opened in 2002. Lolo's Chicken and Waffles is well known through out the United States and is known to cater to well known sports teams, athletes and music artists and including Angie Stone, Mary J. Blige, Anthony Hamilton, Snoop Dogg, Allen Iverson, The Arizona Cardinals and members of the Chicago Cubs among others.

Gladys Knight and Ron Winans' Chicken & Waffles

Gladys Knight and Ron Winans founded a chain of chicken and waffles restaurants in 1997[8]. The original restaurant opened in Atlanta, Georgia. Subsequent restaurants in Lithonia, Georgia, Johns Creek, Georgia and Landover, Maryland (Washington, D.C. suburb) in The Boulevard at the Capital Centre [9]. The MD restaurant opening was featured on the opening episode of the Food Network's show Dweezil & Lisa (January 2004). The original Atlanta location was featured on a January 2009 episode of the Travel Channel's show Man v. Food.[10]

Popularity

The popularity of chicken and waffles has much to do with the success of Roscoe's chain of restaurants, which brought the dish more into the mainstream. What helped spread the popularity of Roscoe's was celebrity support of his restaurant. Herb Hudson knew people who worked in Motown and in television, such as Natalie Cole. Later more celebrities (such as Redd Foxx) would tell their television audience that Roscoe's was a place they should eat.

In recent decades, Arsenio Hall and Snoop Dogg have helped popularize Roscoe's, speaking of the restaurant in their performances and television shows. Will Smith also made frequent references to Roscoe's on his sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. In the 1988 film Tapeheads, the lead characters produce a TV commercial for Roscoe's, featuring rapper King Cotton performing "Roscoe's Rap." (The lyrics include such observations as "Come to Roscoe's for delicious food / We've got fuel for your attitude" and "Waffles just pancakes with little squares on 'em.")

In the movie Jackie Brown, the character Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson) offers to treat the character Beaumont (Chris Tucker) to dinner at Roscoe's if he will only ride with him and serve as "backup" in a meeting with a group of Asians looking to purchase automatic firearms. Robbie convinces Beaumont to hide in the trunk of his car, drives around the block, and murders him. This is the first instance, in the words of film critic Roger Ebert, of "one character luring another to his death with the promise of chicken and waffles". The restaurant was later also referenced in another Chris Tucker film, Rush Hour. Ludacris mentions Roscoe's in his song Call Up The Homies when he says "Let's roll to Roscoe's and grab somethin to eat."

In the movie Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, the character T.J. claims the title character Deuce is racist for figuring out that he would be at "the only chicken 'n' waffles place in all of Holland.", even though that is exactly where Deuce finds him hiding out.

The Japanese character Hiro Nakamura on the television series Heroes grew up considering chicken and waffles to be classic American food, and was thrilled to get the chance to eat it when he came to the United States.

In the movie Swingers, the characters make reference to settling their differences with a rival group of guys over Chicken and Waffles.

The movie Black Dynamite features a "Roscoe's Chili and Donuts" restaurant. Later in the film, Roscoe stumbles upon the idea of chicken and waffles.

References

  1. ^ a b c Edge, John T. (2004) Fried Chicken: An American Story. Putnam Publishing Group. ISBN 0-399-15183-4
  2. ^ Serving up chicken & waffles, Los Angeles Business Journal, September 22, 1997 (p.1) - reproduced at: http://www.bennyshomecooked.com/chicken_southern_food_in_the_uni.htm
  3. ^ http://www.bennyshomecooked.com/chicken_southern_food_in_the_uni.htm Benny's Home Cooked.com
  4. ^ The "Wells Home of Chicken and Waffles, Since 1938" logo used in the mid-eighties is available online from the US Patent & Trademark Office. Select trademarks, TESS search, registration #1431599.
  5. ^ "For 60 Years, Wells has Nourished the Harlem Community", New York Amsterdam News, April 8, 1999 (p.27) - reproduced at: http://www.bennyshomecooked.com/chicken_southern_food_in_the_uni.htm This article also provides a brief history of Joseph T Wells and his wife Elizabeth.
  6. ^ "Fine Dining Returns to Harlem", Uptown Flavor, February 22, 2005. Joe Wells Bio This article also provides a brief bio of Joe Wells.
  7. ^ "Best Chicken and Waffles" Westword. Retrieved 26 November 2009. http://www.westword.com/bestof/2009/award/best-chicken-and-waffles-1053419
  8. ^ Gladys&Ron's Company history
  9. ^ Gladys&Ron's home page
  10. ^ Michaud, Debbie (January 7, 2009). "Travel Channel’s ‘Man v. Food’ takes on Atlanta". Creative Loafing. http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/omnivore/2009/01/07/travel-channels-man-v-food-takes-on-atlanta/. 

In the movie Swingers, the characters make reference to settling their differences with a rival group of guys over Chicken and Waffles.

External links








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