When it comes to famous food pairings, chicken and waffles may raise a few eyebrows, their savory and sweet merger a culinary mystery to the uninitiated.
Yet this quirky taste combination, popular for decades in some African-American and other ethnic communities, has gone mainstream.
Crispy fried chicken and light, golden waffles are turning up together on restaurant menus and specialty eateries nationwide, including in Baltimore.
"When we moved here from New York three years ago, we noticed there wasn't a chicken-and-waffle place," says Sham Hodges who, with wife Danielle, owns ShamDanai's on Eastern Avenue, billed as the city's first chicken-and-waffle house.
"In other parts of the country, chicken and waffles are big," says Hodges, who opened the 150-seat bakery/restaurant in Highlandtown last May. "We thought it would be a good idea that people here would appreciate."
These are not your Eggo waffles or your Kentucky fried chicken. The fluffy waffles, while maybe not gourmet, are made from scratch with fresh ingredients. The chicken is uniformly fried and intensely seasoned, usually with secret ingredients.
Although new to Baltimore, chicken and waffles as a food pair appears to date back more than a half century to New York City.
Legend has it that in 1940s Harlem, the now-shuttered restaurant and nightclub Wells began serving the meal to its hungry jazz performers and jet-setting after-hours crowd.
Folks liked the taste so much that chicken and waffles became an uptown classic - one that remains a staple at celebrity hotspot Amy Ruth's, the bustling neighborhood diner Pan Pan and numerous other establishments.
Chicken and waffles eventually made their way westward, becoming a hit in Los Angeles in the 1970s. Los Angeles is home to perhaps the world's most famous chicken-and-waffle empire, Roscoe's House of Chicken N Waffles.
Founded in 1976 by Herb Hudson, the business started with a single store in Hollywood and has grown into a multimillion-dollar enterprise with five locations in greater Los Angeles. A nationwide expansion and possible franchises are being discussed.
"Roscoe's has become an international institution," says Jai Rich, a company spokesman. "People come from all over the world to eat our food ... Europeans and Asians, as well as African-Americans."
Its menu is casual, straightforward and reasonably priced, offering specially seasoned Southern deep-fried chicken, (or smothered in light gravy if you prefer), accompanied by a homemade waffle.
