One of the greatest meals I've ever had was at Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles in Los Angeles at the turn of the century – a place so good it earned a first-ballot entry into the Louis Fowler Hall of Fame of Good Eating.
Since then, I have been to other chicken and waffle joints and, really, none have been comparable.
Except now…
Ladies and gentlemen, children, and flightless birds of all ages, I happily nominate Birdie’s Fried-Fried Chicken – and especially their chicken and waffles – as a new top option for down-home double-fried taste.
Applause break.
Last week, my girlfriend flew to Birdie’s – 2201 NW 150th St. Suite 200 – after some other lunch plans fell through. Though I was apprehensive about being so far up north—near Edmond, people—I took her advice and, I am a changed man because of it.
Owned and operated by local Food Network star Kevin Lee, Birdie's kinda looks like any of the proto-restaurants in the immediate area—lots of big-box stores, franchised fast-food eateries, and other Generica concepts engulf you—but past those doors, it is a wonderland of pure double-down, double-fried chicken heaven.
As I pictured my cholesterol shot through the roof like a rocket eagle, I started with an appetizer of homemade biscuits.
Packed with butter, honey, or both, the Cheddar Chive Biscuits ($8.00) started off the meal perfectly. Every bite of these pillowy biscuits was pure heaven, as the cheddar and chives worked their way to finishing off the opening portion of dinner. Forget about Cheddar Bay Biscuits—Birdie’s has them beat!
My girlfriend ordered the Just the Bird ($10.00), featuring portions of the drumstick varieties of chicken, covered in their wet KFC sauce, which I think translates to “Korean Fried Chicken." With a side of Loaded Mac ‘n’ Cheese ($4.00), she was carbo-loaded to slight ecstasy.
While the mac ‘n’ cheese was somewhat congealed, the twice-fried chicken was a holy revelation. The zingy sauce covered the well-fried chicken, and every stupendous bite of the double-fried, double-sticky drumsticks was off-the-bone and off-the-chain.
Now it's time for the magnum opus – the Chicken and Waffles ($18.00).
A special spotlight not on the actual menu, it's a deluxe bacon buttermilk waffle, topped with a double-fried drumstick, thigh, and tender, and served with powdered sugar, syrup, and butter.
Looking at it made me want to cry. Tasting it actually did.
This is the taste I have been craving since that fateful night in L.A. In fact, it's probably better.
With the luscious bacon buttermilk waffle dripping with hot syrup, the fateful double-fried chicken feels very classic; the waffle is so moist and fluffy, the chicken so crispy and mouthwatering, and the powdered sugar sweetness brings it all together.
I fell over in pure overstimulation!
So why go to California for your allotted portion of chicken and waffles?
As of now, I will definitely be going to Birdie’s when I get that fantastic itch to sweetly scratch. Cómpralo ya!
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