In the Mood for Fried Chicken

I think I have mentioned that fried chicken is one of my favorite foods. I can be satisfied by inexpensive fast food fried chicken like Popeyes. I can also be happy ordering it in a fine dining restaurant for a pretty price such as Pican in Oakland.

I have been spending a lot of time this month in San Francisco checking in on my ill grandmother who lives in SoMa (South of Market). I always forget that she lives fairly close to Farmerbrown’s Little Skillet. This is the take out offshoot of Farmer Brown in the Tenderloin. Little Skillet closes early at 2:30, so many a time I have missed the opportunity. I had my second visit to Little Skillet yesterday. I walked up to the window to order my two piece fried chicken and two piece waffle. Within five minutes it was ready.

The smell of the fried chicken through my take out box was tempting me to just open up my box and eat it on the street. That’s what most people do when they get their food from Little Skillet. I beat temptation and made it to my grandmother’s place before I devoured it.

I like having the combination of chicken and waffles, but I like to keep the two separated because I don’t want maple syrup touching my chicken. I was surprised that my waffles held up through the walk. It still had some crisp to it. Dressed with syrup, it was tasty. My chicken also held extremely well. The batter on the skin was seasoned perfectly and the crispy batter had a loud crunch. It was all very satisfying.

After eating the chicken and waffles, I wanted to know where the dish originates. Wikipedia suggests several theories. My favorite one involves Thomas Jefferson. Legend has it that he bought a waffle iron in France in the 1790’s and shortly thereafter chicken and waffles started to appear in American cookbooks.