Los Angeles, CA (The Joy of Food) — I’ve been visiting Roscoe’s since I was in college, when the door guy at the original Hollywood location would refer to me as “the girl who can’t parallel park” to the other guests. Like everyone else, I went there to see what this chicken and waffle on the same plate deal was all about. This was years before the combo started popping up as ‘brunch’ on every middling chain restaurant menu in America, always obscenely priced and served Instagram-worthy with a giant knife stabbed through the middle of something on the plate.
Roscoe’s was founded in 1975 by Harlem native Herb Hudson, aiming to bring the sweet-salty soul food combination of chicken and waffles to the beach crowds of the west coast. It’s been a factory of regret for me through the years, often consumed under all-too-blotto conditions where I’m neither qualified to rate nor barely able to remember the food.
In more sober moments, I’ve come to learn that this particular Roscoe’s location can be a mixed bag. Depending on the day and your luck, the #13 Carol C. Special can either be a fresh, crispy chicken breast and a dense, yet soft, buttery waffle, or it can be a piece of plywood with a cold circle of sawdust on the side.
When it’s done well, this is some of the best tender, succulent, crispy, crunchy chicken you can find. It takes me back to those years past where, thanks to Roscoe’s, I learned that chicken and waffles were a perfect pair. When not done well, it’s wooden, cardboard chicken that spoils the entire experience, past and present. The waffle is typically decent, just a step up from Eggos-level, but it gets bumped up with melting low-grade butter in every crevice.
The options and permutations across the menu also vary, and while things certainly revolve around fried chicken at Roscoe’s, that’s just the beginning. Smothered chicken covered in gravy is also available, as are chicken liver and giblets, and southern-style sides like biscuits, grits, greens, and macaroni and cheese. After feasting on these glorious delights, you’ll no doubt feel an extra layer of fat on yourself on the way out the door.
Methods to your eating madness may vary. Some like to take the chicken off the bone and put it on the waffle, then pick everything up and eat it like a taco. I am not one of these people, but you do whatever floats your maple syrup boat.
This Roscoe’s on Manchester is a newer location in the repertoire and not as dirty as most, less like a bathroom and more like a brightly lit soul-food version of Denny’s, probably because it used to be one. It’s also larger so you get seated on the same day you arrive.
Considering the food missteps, you’re still better off driving to another location, dingier though it may be, than risking sub-par chicken here. If this is your only option, bring your patience, some cautious optimism, and your appetite accordingly — in that order.
Written by Joy
Thanks for reading. The Joy of Food blog celebrates eating well, traveling often, and living la dolce vita. San Diego, California is home base, but thoughts are from all over. Reviews and photos help to highlight wonderful (or not) food experiences from around the world.
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The concept is great but there are other places where I prefer the chicken. Howlin Rays is great. https://www.hungryones.com/2018/08/howlin-rays/
I’ve had this one on my list for a long time but I fear the pain, as I tend to get my Nashville chicken death-wish spicy and then I always live to regret it. Every time.