Chicago's Home Of Chicken & Waffles -- in Evanston

Chicago’s Home Of Chicken & Waffles on Dempster Street, in Evanston, has opened. As a newbie to the concept, I was eager to try it. The whole idea of contrasting tastes (sweet / salty) and textures (bready / crunchy) just seems like a marriage made in heaven – the Southern part of heaven.

Like so many marriages, this one is going to take a little more effort to rise above the norm. In short, the food was okay, the setting was fine, the service felt lacking in southern hospitality.

The room was sparsely filled just before noon, as I waited for several minutes at the entry while the staff scurried around without looking to see if anybody needed to be seated. Not a big problem, just something you notice when it’s your first time at a new place. Same kind of wait for the order to be taken.

Ordered a chicken/catfish combo that comes with a piece of cornbread and three sides (I got the mac&cheese, greens and red beans&rice); added a waffle to taste the house specialty. The portions were fine and everything was as described. Total pre-tip cost: ~ $21

At this point, my preference for taste got in the way. For example, for someone with my cardiac profile almost everything was over-salted. The coatings on the chicken and fish were nicely crispy, but fried hard. IMHO, red beans & rice should not include bones. The waffle was not the crispy-outside kind that I prefer, but rather a tough chew. The (unsweetened) iced tea was weak, which added further annoyance to the fact that I ordered it only because they had run out of Diet Coke (?).

All of these picky negatives do not make this a terrible place, just one that I will probably not choose to try again, unless everyone else in the group wants to go there. You know the feeling – we have all been there (if we are trying enough new restaurants).

Chicago Chicken & Waffles
2424 Dempster Street
Evanston, IL 60202

http://chicagoshomeofchickenandwaffles.com/index.html

This is consistent in every particular - particularly the hard-fried chicken and chewy waffles - with the Oak Park location (and, from one visit, King Drive), with one important exception: the service is incredibly warm and friendly, even when busy, which they often are. Hopefully they'll find the hospitality component in Evanston, but I don't think we can expect crisp waffles, which would be my preference as well. They're certainly able to get that effect on the catfish.

I'd give it a few weeks. The Oak Park location had some issues when they opened but they got it worked out pretty quickly.
I will say the service is not what I would call sharp, but I'm more than willing to put up with it for the friendly staff and the really good red beans and rice.

I enjoy the Oak Park location on occasion. The last few times there I have found their Catfish to be excellent. Service is always prompt and friendly.

I've had nothing but moist, delicious chicken and waffles (and catfish) with warm, welcoming service from the Oak Park location. Perhaps they are inconsistent but I haven't experienced that around a dozen or so visits. I hope the new location catches up soon.

Arrived at the Evanston location around 10:30 am on Valentine's Day with a party of two. The staff could not have been kinder or more attentive. First, the hostess opened and held the door for us. As she got us settled into a booth next to a window, she made sure to show us where we could hang our coats on the conveniently placed coat hooks (Pie Lady would be proud). Next, the young man who was clearing tables made sure that we had plenty of water to drink while we perused our menus. Mike, our server, offered us the option of studying the menus, or if we preferred, describe to him what we might be interested in (combinations, quantity, etc.) and then he would direct us to the items on the menu that might be of interest. I was offered refills for my hot tea. The staff laughed at our jokes. When asked if they could get us anything else at the end of our meal, we responded that we'd like a pillow and a blanket, I thought they were actually going to find one for us. Based on this visit at least, I think they are hitting their hospitality stride.

As for the food, I ordered "The Saint" which is 1/4 fried chicken, dark meat, with two waffles. By waffle they mean the whole piece that comes out of a waffle iron (e.g., all four segments). In my mind, that was actually eight waffles! Each waffle was as big as a dinner plate. This was big food. But I really enjoyed the flavor of the waffles. They taste of cinnamon and I thought I detected a hint of vanilla. I don't like my waffles too crunchy, so the texture of the waffles was fine for my taste. The were served with two scoops of butter and two mini pitchers of syrup.

I did not do the chicken justice - I was too full to eat it. Instead I took it home in a doggie bag and reheated it for dinner tonight. It was still plenty crispy and nicely seasoned.

Next time, I will take Mike's advice and tell him I want one piece of chicken and one waffle.

If you pull up their Facebook page on your smartphone and show it to your server, they will apply a BOGO discount to your bill. The coupon expires next week.

From the City of Evanston newsletter:

"The public is invited to join Evanston Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl, Alderman Peter Braithwaite (2nd Ward) and the owners of Evanston's newest restaurant, Chicago's Home of Chicken & Waffles, for a jazz reception and ribbon-cutting featuring Chicago jazz artist D-Erania and her band. The event is set to kick off at 6:30 p.m., March 7, at 2424 Dempster St."
http://www.cityofevanston.org/news/2013 ... s-march-7/

Noted in the release: "Their other restaurants are located in Bronzeville and Oak Park, but Evanston is the first with a bar."
Frances Willard must be twirling in her grave!

Was going to mention that they have a Groupon (http://www.groupon.com/deals/chicago-s- ... s-evanston) but it looks like they sold out.

The Evanston Lunch Group had a good turnout last Thursday, and we were able to try a fair number of dishes off a big menu with an amazingly large number of permutations of several ingredients. I agree with the OP that the waffles are chewy, rather than the crispy sort I prefer. They are also quite sweet even without the (fake maple) syrup. The white meat fried chicken was dry, although the dark meat was reasonably moist. For fried chicken in Evanston, I’d go instead to Chicken Shack. To my taste, the crisp and light fried catfish was the best item we tried. We also sampled the fried gizzards, which were fried quite hard and had a nicely seasoned breading but were too chewy for me. If I were to go back, I would like to try the fried livers, which might work well with the same treatment.

The restaurant is surprisingly large and more upscale in décor than I expected from a fried chicken place. Chicago/Evanston Home of Chicken and Waffles definitely has the advantage of Chicken Shack on this score. Our waitress could not imagine any way of serving us family style, but service was efficient and generically friendly.

I haven't had a chance to post photos yet, but I agree with EvA's assessment. The sweet/salty combo of the chicken & fake maple syrup is interesting, but not compelling enough for a return visit. I liked the catfish, but the gravy that came with the gizzards was almost unbearably salty. It did help when combined with the remarkably bland cheese and grits, though.

I think EvA and nr706's assessment is spot-on, although I will say I did not find the gravy too salty. Then again, I always crave salty flavors so my taste buds are probably deadened or something. I will probably go back again with my kid so he can enjoy some Southern-style food. I'd like to try it one more time.

I'm not sure if the certificate can be also redeemed at the Evanston or Chicago location, but restaurant.com is offering a $10 gift certificate for only $4 for the Chicago's Home of Chicken and Waffles II Oak Park location. You need a minimum purchase of $15 when you use the coupon.

see: http://www.restaurant.com/chicagos-home-of-chicken-and-waffles-ii-oak-park-pid=156805

We had a horrible experience at the Evanston location tonight. There were six of us in our party - four adults and two kids. We showed up at 6:00, and placed our order at 6:12. What followed was blame, excuses, and no food. After 30 minutes, we asked our server about our dinner, and we were told it would be ten more minutes. The manager came over at that point. I mentioned that many of the reviews that I had read said that the food was great but the service was lousy. He said that it was the second complaint about our server that he had heard that evening. Apparently, she only placed our order 12 minutes prior. He said she had been sitting on our order. He was personally going to cook our chicken. He replaced her with another server, and implied that her job was in jeopardy. He said that if we needed anything we should find him and he would take care of it. Our dinner was going to be half off. In the meantime, two tables that arrived after we did both received their food. After another 30 minutes and going to the kitchen window ourselves, only to be told that "it was being cooked right now", we left. The manager was nowhere to be found. I can't remember ever walking out of a restaurant like that. The restaurant was almost empty at that point, and we saw the kitchen staff pretty much standing around. Apparently, the Bronzeville location is fabulous. This was so disappointing.

We have given this place two chances. The food is ok, the restaurant is large and welcoming.
But the service is the absolute worst I have ever experienced anywhere. It is as though children are running the whole operation
as a game. I would NEVER EVER eat there again.

News re: Evanston's Chicago Home of Chicken & Waffles ... Evanston will lose about $154,000 on this restaurant, but after the city's loss, the owner of GNR Kabul House and The Boiler (a seafood in plastic bag place) will buy the property. No word yet on the concept for the restaurant he'll be opening.