Food Review: Chicken and Waffles of Evanston

Unfortunately, Hawke and Bailey don't spend all of their days sitting around drinking cider. They occasionally sample food as well. This time they were invited to Chicken and Waffles a restaurant that specializes in chicken, waffles, catfish and other southern home style recipes.

The Evanston location is their newest location (there are two more Chicago locations in Oak Park and the South Side) and the building itself is beautiful. Inside and out is covered with gorgeous brickwork that both Hawke and Bailey loved. Inside the restaurant there is a soft lighting and rich color. Live jazz plays on Thursday nights, but the house music was also soft and really helped complete the dinning experience.

Hawke and Bailey were promptly seated and a very friendly waitress came over. Looking over the menu, the waitress pointed out some of the popular items: The Saint which is a quarter of white or dark meat fried chicken with 2 waffles and Tonya's choice, which is 3 wings and a choice of one waffle, potato salad, or fries. Hawke opted to try The Saint with dark meat, while Bailey ordered Kisha's Creation. This is 2 fried or grilled catfish filets with a choice of waffle, grits, or rice, as well as 2 eggs done in any style. Bailey chose the fried catfish, scrambled eggs and a buckwheat waffle. She also opted to get a side of gravy.

Food arriving quickly, they surveyed the meals. Hawke's was served up with two large traditional waffles and two pieces of chicken, all on one plate with a heap of butter and two containers of syrup. Baileys was served on three plates with surprisingly large pieces of catfish and a large thick buckwheat waffle. A large portion of rice and eggs were also given, and the gravy was separate. The portions here are definitely worth the money.

The Saint

Digging into the meal Hawke found the waffles were sweet but not overwhelmingly so. They were crispy without being overdone and were not soggy at all. It went well with the syrup provided, which had a very nice maple flavor. The chicken was also very good, cooked just right. It is a traditional pairing of chicken and waffles, so it can come as no surprise that the syrup goes well on the chicken, but hot sauce is also an option. Surprisingly, there was no grease or oil that was on the chicken, despite being fried. Both the meat and the skin were done just right. Reaching over he did dip some of the chicken in the gravy that Bailey had gotten and found that the pairing was delicious. There are many different cider pairings that can be done with this meal. It is very earthy and one may want to stick with that. Hawke decided that the Grasshopp-ah Cider from the Colorado Cider Works would be a good pairing. As well, the Tieton Yakima Valley Dry Hopped Cider would also be good cider to try with this meal. 

Kishas' Creation

Sides

Baileys' meal was almost overwhelming in the amount of food that was presented. She first tried the eggs, which she really liked. They were cooked perfectly and had just the right amount of seasoning to them. The waffle was also quite good. It was very thick which Bailey almost had mistaken for two waffles, and almost had a cake-like texture to it. Despite its' size, the texture was very light, something she did not expect. Switching to the catfish, she found it to be crispy, with a rich buttery taste. Realizing that the crust was breadcrumbs and not flour, she also discovered that the catfish was not greasy at all. She was also quite a fan of the gravy. The gravy is homemade from their chicken. It is not greasy, but thick and creamy. It had a sweet peppery flavor to it. It pretty much went well with everything that was on the table. The rice was moist with a bit of stickiness to it that made it easy to dip in the gravy.

An ideal cider pairing for this meal would probably be the Woodchuck Amber or  Woodpecker Cider. Both are very standard ciders, and do not offer a lot of complex flavors. Covering up or worse, clashing flavors with a meal like this, especially the gravy, might confuse your pallet. 

Peach Cobbler

Lastly, dessert came around. This was a peach cobbler. Bailey and Hawke both found this to be delicious. It was not overly sweet as many cobblers can be. Instead it had an effective balance between sweet and tart, and was eaten very quickly.

Chicken and Waffles Restaurant offers a variety of different options while sticking to their roots. You can tell that the owners care about what comes out of the kitchen, and serving food that everyone can eat. The waitress told us that they focus on not over-seasoning or making things too greasy so that their more elderly patrons don't have to worry about diet restrictions.  Price for all the dishes was very reasonable for the quantity and quality of food served. Hawke and Bailey will definitely be eating there again, or at least getting carry out in the future. 

Judging of the Ciders

Hawke here. Judging a food or drink is not an easy task. Bailey and I went back and forth for a long time on the various aspects of cider that need to be judged and graded. Bailey with her research, myself with my gut instinct. In the end, we've narrowed it down to a few key categories that each cider shall be judged by.

Color:
-Cider's vary in color from clear, to murky. Ideally, a cider is of good quality is transparent, yet this is not always the case.

Smell:
-Just like flavor, the smell of the cider can be rich or exotic.

Complexity/Flavor:

-The taste of the cider is a integral part of the cider experience. Flavors can vary based on the conditions present and the ingredients used. An example being: Cider made from Granny Smith Apples can have a strong bitter flavor compared to those made from Macintosh apples.

Aftertaste:
-After the cider slides down the throat, it leaves behind a particular taste to please the taste-buds, this can be a strong taste, to a subtle one.

Price:
-Very Important. A hard cider has to be well worth the price that it commands on the shelf.

Overall:
-The total of our thoughts and opinions on the cider. All the previous categories are worth 5 apples for a total of 20. The overall score are these "apples" combined. The 0-10 range will be represented with a red apple. A rating between 10-20 with result with a yellow apple. Finally, anything that makes the 20-25 range will get a shiny green apple!

Greetings!

Greetings new readers! Welcome to The Cider Press, the blog dedicated to exposing everyone

to the wonderful world of hard ciders. In our first post, Hawke and I will be introducing ourselves, recounting some history of hard cider, and be explaining a bit about how this tantalizing drink is made. We are shooting to keep to a bi-weekly schedule of reviewing all your favorite hard ciders, and hopefully exposing you to some new and unique tastes. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride!

First off, who are these people?

Bailey grew up on her grandparent's apple orchard in the Midwest region of the U.S. She was very lucky to spend her early summers in the midst of blossoming apple trees, and late summers harvesting and pressing the fruit for cider of the non-alcoholic (but still very delicious) variety. If asked to pick something that would sum up the fond memories of her childhood, Bailey would say “the sweet and tangy smell of rotting apples.” Bailey discovered hard cider at the later age of 23 when she moved to a big city. She has been spreading the news to others ever since.

Hawke also grew up in the Midwest, although a little further west than Bailey. His interests have always culminated more in the food portion of sustenance, but recently was introduced to hard cider via Bailey. After the very first sip, his eyes lit up with excitement and wonder. Hawke, who usually lives by the unspoken foodie rule of “try everything at least once,” immediately expressed his desire to seek out all of the different varieties of hard cider and conquer them through gustation.

Where did this stuff come from?

The roots of hard cider date all the way back to the Eighteenth century in Europe, where it was as prevalent as beer is today. According to lore, it wasn't uncommon for Englishmen or even early settlers to drink it with breakfast. Sadly, when German immigrants brought beer with them to the U.S sometime after the Civil War era, the making of hard cider slipped into the shadows. Beer was cheaper to produce and the ingredients grew in a much more rapidly. However, it has made a comeback in the last few generations. It is now mass produced in several countries around the world, each with their own twists and distinct flavors.

How is hard cider made?

The process can be complicated depending on many factors, so this is basically an abbreviated version for those of you who are curious. First of all, the finest apples are picked and crushed into a gooey, sticky substance called pomace. Then the pomace is placed onto a “press” which basically relies on lots of weight to squeeze the juice out. Making hard cider from this juice then requires allowing the natural yeast present to turn the sugar into alcohol. This process must take place without the presence air, otherwise your batch of medal winning cider could turn into a batch of apple cider vinegar, which is not as pleasant to drink. The final result also depends on the length of storage, which can be anywhere from 8 months to 6 years. The preferred container for storage is a wooden barrel, which is very useful for adding desired flavors and being a bit flexible to allow for the various gasses released during fermentation. It is imperative that the concoction not be moved or disturbed for the duration of storage. If this happens, the sediment at the bottom will combine with the mixture and turn the final product cloudy. This is an art that takes attention to detail and lots of patience!