An Unlikely Marriage

Chicken and Waffles are Getting Along Just Fine

By Brian Sherman

Waffles have been a highly-thought-of source of sustenance and gastronomical gratification in Europe since the Middle Ages, while fried chicken has been a staple on American dinner tables – especially in the South – for centuries. Only reasonably recently, however, has this somewhat unlikely combination of crispy and crunchy started showing up together on Lowcountry menus.

It’s likely that chicken and waffles, in its various forms and configurations, is here to stay. So how did these two culinary favorites end up on the same plate?

According to food writer and recipe developer Tori Avey, waffles – thin cakes made of flour and water and baked between a pair of metal plates – were already popular in Europe when they were brought to the New World by the Pilgrims. The stove-top waffle iron, patented in 1869 by Cornelius Swartwout, certainly played a huge role in making waffles a mainstream breakfast food in the United States, and the development of electric appliances didn’t hurt, either. 

Avey said the union of chicken and waffles first appeared long before the emergence of Swartwout’s waffle iron, pointing out that Pennsylvania Dutch homemakers baked waffles and smothered them with pulled chicken and gravy.

Fried chicken, which first showed up in American cookbooks during and directly after the Civil War and probably was a staple of enslaved Africans in the South long before that, apparently hooked up with waffles in Harlem, New York, in the late 1930s. According to Avey, Wells Supper Club was a favorite of local jazz musicians. By the time they were finished with work, it was too early for breakfast but too late for dinner, so they compromised and feasted on chicken and waffles. The tradition eventually spread to Hollywood on the West Coast and to the rest of the country.

Based on this information, it appears that chicken and waffles is not really a child of the South. The dish has, however, been adopted by restaurants throughout the Lowcountry. Here’s a look at how a handful of local eateries have taken a dish that evolved in Europe and both U.S. coasts and made it their own.

Grace & Grit

Chicken and waffles has been on the menu at Grace and Grit in Mount Pleasant for a year-and-a-half, according to Eli Kline, the restaurant’s marketing and events coordinator. The entrée consists of a house-made Belgian waffle, drizzled with butter pecan syrup – also made in-house – topped with a boneless piece of fried chicken and finished with hot honey “for a sweet kick to finish this sweet and savory dish.” Offered year-round during Sunday brunch, the meal includes bacon or sausage.

“Folks seem to love this particular dish,” Kline commented. “Sweet and savory is always a fun and enjoyable combination, and I think the possibility to enjoy so many variations and flavor combinations adds to the fun and excitement. It’s quickly become one of our most popular brunch dishes.”

Grace & Grit

320 Wingo Way • Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

843-698-4748 • gracegrit.com

Johnnie Mae’s Chicken & Waffles

Johnnie Mae’s offers up a wide selection of waffles – everything from classic buttermilk to Belgian, zucchini and Johnnie’s original cornbread waffle. Any of these are topped with two pieces of fried chicken or various flavors of wings.

“Our Lowcountry sweet wings are definitely the most popular ones we have on our menu,” said owner and chef Arturo Hoyte, pointing out that chicken and waffles has been on the menu since Johnnie Mae’s opened in 2017.

“We are learning that a lot of people in the Lowcountry have never really tried chicken and waffles. Once you try it, it’s definitely an awesome combination,” he said.

He added that Johnnie Mae’s is expanding its menu to include waffles stuffed with everything from sauteed fruit to pulled pork.

Johnnie Mae’s Chicken & Waffles
711 Bladen St. • Beaufort, South Carolina
843-941-1689 • facebook.com/JMChickenNWaffles

Maple Street Biscuit Company

The Bam!YoYo is more than just a basic order of chicken and waffles, according to Shelby McConnell, community leader for Maple Street Biscuit Company’s two locations. It includes a house-made vanilla waffle with asiago cheese and pecan wood smoked bacon baked inside, along with two fried chicken breasts – all topped with honey butter and Bissell Family Farms maple syrup. Chicken and waffles has been on the menu since the James Island store opened in July 2018 and the Mount Pleasant location was established in December 2020.

“Chicken and waffles is a big staple meal in the Lowcountry for many reasons,” she said. “They’re very filling, and ours are packed with flavor. You won’t be going home hungry.”

 Maple Street Biscuit Company
1739 Maybank Highway • Charleston, South Carolina
843-203-3889 • maplestreetbiscuits.com/james-island

996 Johnnie Dodds Blvd. • Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
843-416-8923 • maplestreetbiscuits.com/mt-pleasant

Page’s Okra Grill

 According to Courtney Page, the co-owner of Page’s Okra Grill, her restaurant was among the earliest Lowcountry eateries to offer chicken and waffles, first just at brunch and now on all its menus. She explained that the popular meal starts with buttermilk waffle batter made from scratch every day.

“What we add to the waffle batter is what really makes our take on this classic dish stand out,” she said. “Our waffle batter is filled with roasted corn, fresh sausage, sharp cheddar cheese and diced jalapenos.”

The unusual combination was created by Ashleigh Page Sbrochi, co-owner and former executive chef at Page’s. She explained how she came up with the recipe.

“We used to make salsa at the restaurant with roasted corn, and we always had jalapenos and leftover sausage,” she said. “We had done a biscuit like that before, so why not a waffle?’

And how did she know the unique version of chicken and waffles would be a success?

“How could you go wrong?” she asked, adding that for those less adventurous, the dish can be served with a traditional buttermilk waffle.

Courtney Page pointed out that the waffle is topped with fried chicken and whipped honey butter and that “we recommend a dash of hot sauce and maple syrup to really make each bite perfect.”

She said the chicken is brined in a salt and sugar bath for 24 hours, then dredged in a house breading produced in partnership with Adluh Flour that has a special blend of spices created specifically for Page’s fried chicken.

“We sell this very popular dish all day long, and it is by far one of the most photographed items on our menu,” Courtney Page said. “I love chicken and waffles.”

Page’s Okra Grill
302 Coleman Blvd. • Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
843-881-3333 • pagesokragrill.com

Poogan’s Porch

The fried chicken that tops the chicken and waffles at Poogan’s Porch features a unique blend of spices, Adluh Flour and the restaurant’s signature hot sauce buttermilk batter, according to Director of Marketing Cameron O’Toole. On the menu since 2012, the dish also comes with pure maple syrup and honey butter.

“We fry our chicken until it’s golden brown, with a perfect crunch,” O’Toole pointed out. “Our chicken and waffles is one of our bestsellers – constantly among our top three menu items. It is a balanced meal with the perfect blend of sweet and savory. Maple syrup simply tastes delicious on fried chicken.”

Chicken and waffles is offered for brunch and dinner at Poogan’s Southern Kitchen, while the chicken and waffles dish is available only during brunch at Poogan’s Porch.

Poogan’s Porch
72 Queen St. • Charleston, South Carolina
843-577-2337 • poogansporch.com

 Poogan’s Southern Kitchen
101 Nexton Square Drive • Summerville, South Carolina
843-353-2417 • pooganskitchen.com

Florence’s Lowcountry Kitchen

90 Folly Road Blvd. • Charleston, South Carolina

843-507-8285 • florenceskitchen.com