D.Rough had heard about this place on television and it came highly recommended on the internet if you wanted southern comfort food. And *I* love chicken and waffles, so I was absolutely down for going here. We had a group of five (not always the easiest to seat in an always-super-busy restaurant in downtown Atlanta) and despite an hour wait to be seated, we made this happen. Huge thanks to my friend Blossom for coming downtown and having dinner with me before her third-shift job started. It’s been too long, lady!
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this place, but I wouldn’t have even come close. At the very least, I expected it to be more dive-y, but it was really nice inside. Lots of dark woods and old soul music playing. More “date-night” than “dive”, for sure. Gladys always keeps it classy.
The menu had a lot to choose from, but much of it revolved around fried chicken and southern sides. I was really excited to have chicken and waffles in a southern joint. So I went with that. Choosing sides wasn’t as easy as I had hoped, either. I got the mac and cheese with mine, D.Rough got the collard greens, and we all ended up getting a few to share – fried green tomatoes and jerk chicken egg rolls. And of course, I got strawberry Fanta – because that’s what you do when you eat chicken or ribs!
The sides came out pretty quickly and were being eye-balled by everyone. The fried green tomatoes came with a delicious remoulade sauce – very creamy and some zip to the sauce which went well with the battered green tomatoes. I really liked these. The Jerk Chicken Egg Rolls were cut lengthwise, and were fine. I expected them to punch me in the mouth with the spice, but they didn’t. It was simply a good chicken egg roll. I also love that the menu says they are “lightly fried” – really? Hahahahaha
The entrees arrived and I was sort of surprised at the presentation. The platter contained a waffle and four chicken wings on the side. They weren’t integrated at all, which disappointed me a little, frankly. The chicken wings were pretty good, though not mind blowing. They were juicy on the inside, but the skin was a little dried out. I thought they’d have some dry rub or seasoning on them, but they didn’t. They were plenty big, so I’m not mad or anything, but I thought these would be game-changing wings. The waffle was just a waffle. I had had one earlier that day for breakfast that was just as good. It was a decent and filling meal, but not one that I’d rave about. If you want me to rave about chicken and waffles, I’ll steer you to the Sunshine Tavern in Portland, OR – THOSE are the best chicken and waffles I’ve ever had.
For our smaller sides, D.Rough’s collard greens were good. I liked them, but again, I thought I’d be raving about them at a southern place. The Mac and Cheese, I WILL rave about. It was fantastic and had TONS of real cheese in it. This was one of my favorite parts of the meal, in fact.
1. Mac and cheese
2. Strawberry Fanta3. Fried Green Tomatoes
4. The place is classy
5. No one bats an eye when you order omelets for dinner
Bottom 5 things
1. Really long lines for this place. All the time.
2. Waffles and chicken weren’t integrated
3. Disappointing jerk chicken egg roll
4. Disappointing collard greens
5. The downtown location doesn’t have a bar
www.gladysandron.net