(April 12, 2016 at 10:28 am)TheRealJoeFish Wrote: The provenance of Chicken and Waffles is actually interesting and varied! A brief summary of the Wikipedia article:
- Waffles became popular in America when Thomas Jefferson brought back a waffle iron from France (apparently in the 1700s there weren't pop singers or reality stars to emulate, so things got cool when statesmen did them).
- In the 1800s, places like Baltimore and Philadelphia started incorporating waffles into recipes, and started serving Catfish and Waffles, which quickly became Chicken and Waffles because it's a lot easier to get chicken than catfish.
- The Philadelphia version of chicken and waffles (with gravy) migrated northwest, and was adopted by the mid-1800s as a Pennsylvania Dutch staple, commonly served on Sundays.
- The Baltimore version of the dish (with syrup or cream) migrated south and became popular as a delicacy in African American communities; it was eventually made famous by its introduction to restaurants in Harlem in New York City.
- The Harlem version of Chicken and Waffles became famous in Los Angeles due to Harlem resident Herb Hudson's famous restaurant Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles.
So. That was interesting! We both learned a lot today
Edit: Forgot to include said Wikipedia article (I cite my sources yo): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_and_waffles
Second Edit: I should also note that the gravy version generally uses stewed, broiled or grilled chicken, whereas the syrup version generally uses fried chicken.
Ahh yes... good old Chicken and waffles. I grew up in Baltimore. We had this served with mashed potatoes and gravy all over everything.
Of course, now it's either a breakfast food served with butter and syrup OR we serve it with a scoop or two of strawberry ice cream.
Disclaimer: I am only responsible for what I say, not what you choose to understand.