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diversions:
restaurant review
L.A.'s famous
Roscoe's eatery expands to L.B.
A Los Angeles culinary
institution has taken a trip down the 710 freeway and set up
a shop in Long Beach.
Roscoe's is best
known for serving two incongruous items together - in this
case, chicken and waffles - and becoming incredibly successful
at it. Besides the trademark ingredients, Roscoe's House of
Chicken & Waffles serves up some mean country-style vittles
at reasonable prices.
Roscoe's chose
a house in the East Village for its Long Beach location. The
house has been converted to a giant dining room and construction
on extra dining space and a bar is still in progress. Out
of the five Roscoe's (the other four are in Los Angeles and
Pasadena), the Long Beach location is the largest. The large
dining area comes in handy considering how crowded Roscoe's
other locations are known to get.
Understanding why
Roscoe's is busy is not hard. The food is terrific.
Roscoe's has an
extensive menu, but most of the items are variations on the
chicken-and-waffle combination. For instance, the Scoe's Special
($8.50 or $8.75) and Herb's Special ($9.85 or $9.95) are two
waffles and a quarter or a half chicken, respectively. They
can be ordered fried or smothered in thick gravy.
Chicken is the
only meat Roscoe's serves, but every part is used: legs, thighs,
breasts, giblets and livers. The chicken is only cooked one
way: fried. Some dishes will also have the chicken covered
in gravy.
Roscoe's chicken
preparation is marvelous. The meat is lightly breaded and
most of the grease stays on the skin. The meat is tender and
juicy, and the flavor is not masked by oil. The gravy is not
bad, but it should be used only on biscuits, not on meat.
The other dish
that made Roscoe's famous, the waffle, is respectable. Roscoe's
makes its own waffles, which have a slight buttermilk and
salt flavor. The waffles, however, still taste plain and should
be eaten with butter and maple syrup provided. Adventurous
diners can ask for waffles to be smothered in gravy.
Nearly all the
main courses are called specials. The Sir Michael ($8.05)
is a quarter chicken covered in gravy and served with onions,
grits and a biscuit. The Lord Harvey ($9.95) is the same dish
but with a half chicken. The Daily Specials ($5.95 to $7.45)
are red beans and rice with cornbread and a chicken thigh,
breast or two wings. E-Z Ed's Special ($7.95) is a chicken
liver omelet with a waffle or french fries. The Big Mamma
Special ($6.50) is scrambled eggs with onions and cheese served
with mashed potatoes and a biscuit. These are just a few of
the tempting specials Roscoe's cooks and more than a dozen
are on the menu.
All special items
are a la carte. If an item says half a chicken and two waffles,
that is all you get. Everything else has to be ordered on
the side.
Side orders are
not just vegetables or starches. Extra chicken wings ($1.75),
thighs, legs (both $2.60) and breasts ($3.80) along with giblets
and livers ($6.50 and $7.50) are available if one helping
is just not filling enough. A dinner salad - one of only a
few dishes that will not clog arteries - is a good and cheap
($3.50) way to start a meal.
As for the other
sides, the best bets are the collard greens ($3.25) and red
beans and rice ($4.85). The greens' bitter, vinegary aroma
complements an order of liver or giblets very well. Red beans
and rice, a Louisiana favorite, has a slightly smoky flavor.
Other sides worthy of mention are grits ($2.25), potato salad
($3.00) and cornbread ($1.50). A single waffle ($3.25) is
also available as a side.
Roscoe's only dessert
item is sweet potato pie ($3.00). After a big, greasy country
meal, there should be something sweet available. Apple, pumpkin
or pecan pie would have been nice.
While all these
items may seem pricey at first, especially considering that
the menu is a la carte, a filling meal with one special and
two sides is about $15 a person, including soft drink. That's
a fair price to pay for a meal that tastes great and leaves
patrons more stuffed than a Thanksgiving turkey.
Since Roscoe's
has been open only for a month, the service in Long Beach
is green. A waiter or waitress can miss tables for several
minutes, but this is something that will likely improve in
the next few weeks.
Despite the inexperienced
staff, Roscoe's food and prices more than compensate for any
shortcomings. Yes, Roscoe's is that good, and one meal here
will quickly show why the House of Chicken & Waffles is
a Los Angeles legend.
Chris Ledermuller
is a print journalism major at Cal State Long Beach.
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