Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles — Long Beach, CA

Super Bowl Sunday may have ended shabbily (Go Pats!) but it started in delicious, deep-fried splendor. Where? The original. The California legend… Roscoe’s House of Chicken’n Waffles.

If you live in California, go eat there this weekend. If you live anywhere else…get on a plane. I’ll pick you up at LAX and we’ll go together.

Around 9am, Steve and I had already reached consensus that we wanted chicken and waffles for breakfast… specifically from Roscoe’s in Long Beach. I knew I wanted the waffles and at least two pieces of chicken. The last time I was here that was a “Scoe’s #2,” but since it’s been more than a year since my last visit the menu had changed. I quickly found what I was looking for, the Scoe’s #1 which is two waffles and two pieces of chicken (one light meat, one dark meat) and an extra side of syrup.

The majority of the Sunday morning crowd while we were there were families. Parents w/ kids ranging from toddlers in high chairs, to college-aged ones in hoodies and basketball shorts. This differed greatly from the scene when I came here last. Probably because the last handful of times I’ve eaten at Roscoe’s, it’s been around midnight or 1 a.m., directly following a night out w/ friends. I digress…

Oh sumptuous pairing of piping hot, crunchy, savory chicken & buttery, sweet, soft waffles. I immediately tore into my first piece of chicken (dipped in a little hot sauce) and did the “hee hee, who who” lamaze-style breathing as the steam trapped beneath the drumstick’s crispy skin was released.

I demolished the chicken. Not sure if anyone else does this, but I butter and syrup-dip my waffle one bite at a time. It tastes like there is malt powder possibly in their waffle mix but I’m not positive. Whatever the case, the waffles are porous and absorb the syrup wonderfully and I love it! It’s a time intensive process, yes, but I love submerging each buttery bite in syrup. Future diabetic? Possibly.

Not to ignore the chicken. In honesty, I was already into my second piece of chicken before I cut into my waffle. Towards the end of the meal, when Steve was full and offered me part of his remaining chicken, I somehow found more stomach space and tucked into the thigh piece w/ my fork and knife. We kept talking and somehow, when he reached over w/ his fork for another bite, I’d accidentally eaten almost all of it. “Oops, I guess that was more than a bite.”  A flash of confusion crossed his face before he burst into laughter.

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Locations: Hollywood, West LA, Long Beach, LA & Pasadena

Suggestions: Scho’s #1, Sweet Potato Pie, Country Boy, Side of Grits w/ cheese