chameleon's cafe chicken & waffles
so, i was reading the local fish wrap the other day and the food critic was talking about a new restaurant in my neighborhood. to top it all off, it was a place that specializes in chicken & waffles. i knew right then that i would soon be enjoying said specialty and writing a yelp review.
the place is owned and operated by a brother/sister pair. he's in the kitchen, she runs the house. or, at least that's how it was today. she was super friendly, brought a ton of refills, and was pretty fun to chat with. they're open form 10am-10pm and know that the crowd that they're serving food to is out late.
the current drawback: they're only open sundays. however, if business does well they're hoping to open on friday, saturday and sundays. i hope they're able to do so. currently, the rent the space they're in one day a week (it's the same location as karsh's grill - who now is only private parties & catering).
so, onto the food. the menu is limited, but that's alright. you can get the chicken & waffles. i know they do fried chicken & grilled as well. you can even get a chicken breast. at our table we had a couple of orders of fried chicken and waffles, and one chicken breast and waffles. with the fried chicken you pick what pieces you get, breast, thigh, drumstick, or wing. they have some other items on the menu, but i've forgotten what they are.
the fried chicken was delicious. nice and moist with very good flavoring. they had a cajun hot sauce on the table that i tried, but the chicken was really good enough on its own. the waffle was nice. something about that combo of chicken and waffles. my friend that had the chicken breast said it was very good as well.
couple of final things:
i wish they had gravy. i'd love to smother that delicious chicken with some gravy.
they only take cash. don't know if that'll be the way they stay, but it's cash only right now
grab a clipboard when you come in the door (if they're still doing that). you'll circle your order yourself.
they've got stuff going on, too for entertainment:
1st sunday of month- dominoes on the patio
2nd sunday - cd listening party 7 pm
3rd sunday - comedy 8 pm
4th sunday - mistoer dinner 5 pm
609 e. olive
(as i said before, it's @ karsh's grill)
My experience
I went there a weekend or two after it showed up in the Bee and it was totally packed. The place is small but it took us maybe an hour and a half to get our food. Everyone at every table got their food at different times, so when I finished my plate, two or three of the others with me had just gotten their food and were still working on it. Maybe fewer than 10 people were ahead of us and it took literally 90 minutes to see any food. More people were waiting than eating most of the time.
But the food was very good and the price was right. It's about $9.50 for a meal plus a drink. The chicken is undoubtedly good. The waffle seemed a little bland at first but there's something in the batter that separates it from the ones you make at home. Either way, a waffle of any kind is very welcome if you're hungry!
If not for the crappy service it would have been a very good meal. I hope they get the kinks out soon because it is a good idea and a very tasty brunch. I had the hot wings. The sauce wasn't as good as University Chicken (RIP) but the wings had tons of MEAT on them and the spice very good. A little more vinegar-tasting than I like but still very good and not overwhelmingly hot.
I might go back but I usually don't eat out on Sunday and I would give them a little time to work out some of the kinks. It was also supposed to be my treat but since they don't take debit I ended up having to ask my in-laws to pay for their own meal! Oh well!
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