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. 

Tieton Cider Works: Yakima Valley Dry Hopped Cider

Greetings readers! Hope you are enjoying some of the spring weather this week along with your favorite cider. This week we continue with another Tieton Cider variety. This one not only contains apples grown in the Yakima Valley, but hops that are grown in the very same region. This cider is a 100 percent authentic Washington state cider. It has a 6.9% ABV and is described as having nutty and fruity citrus notes. You can find all of their varieties here: http://www.tietonciderworks.com/tieton/tieton-our-cider

Color:

Bailey noticed that this cider had a lot of carbonation in it. However, she likes bubbles and thought that they made it pretty. Otherwise, it had a very nice clear golden yellow color. She rated it with a 5/5 apples right out of the gate. 

Hawke thought that it was a very bright, clear yellow cider with lots of bubbles. He also ranked it with a 5/5 apples. 

Smell:
Bailey picked up on the aroma of the hops right away. There were hints of apple in there that added a sweet pleasant smell. Although they were a background player, they compliment the hops well. She gave this cider a 4/5 apples.
Hawke detected a strong earthy scent from the hops with apples adding a sweetness to it. He also rates this with a 4/5 apples.

Taste / Complexity:
After taking a sip, Bailey was surprised that the apples come through as very crisp and clean, but not sweet. This cider has a very nice earthy taste to it that is not affected by the carbonation (such as bubbles on the tongue.)  She enjoyed this cider very much and gave it a 5/5 apples.
Hawke felt some of the dryness after taking a drink, but said that it wasn't overly dry. He felt this cider has a very smooth earthy hops taste that is complimented very well by the crisp apple flavor. He also felt that this cider was blended extremely well. He also rated it with a 5/5 apples.

Aftertaste:
Bailey felt that the aftertaste was slightly sour. This sour flavor hit the back of her tongue for a second and then was gone. She was forced to rate the aftertaste with a 2/5.
Hawke also was disappointed with the lack of lingering flavor for the aftertaste. He felt that this cider was very smooth and crisp, but just did not have an aftertaste. He rated it with a 1/5 apples.

Price:
We are not rating this section because this cider is not currently in our market area. The hopeful release for this cider is Spring or Summer of 2013.

Overall:
Bailey felt that this cider was of really great quality. Other than the aftertaste, this cider is not lacking anything. She thought that this would make a really good late summer or fall cider. Overall, she gave it a 16/20 apples, or a green apple.

Hawke thought that this cider offers a very smooth, subtle, and unique flavor. This may be the cider to introduce your beer drinking friends to. It is blended very well, and is a quality cider. Overall, he gave it a 

15/20 apples, or a green apple! 

Tieton Cider Works: Apricot Cider

Greeting readers! This week we are reviewing a cider from Tieton Cider Works. We first caught wind of this company from the Chicago Cider Summit. Bailey has been complaining since we started this blog that there were no apricot ciders available on the market. I think it went something like: "There are several fruit infused ciders, how could they possibly overlook the apricot to be paired with hard cider?" Anyway, Bailey was over the moon to learn that Tieton Cider Works had produced that very combination. Unfortunately, Tieton had a mix up with the cider delivery, and there was no cider to be tasted at the Summit. Bailey's hopes were crushed until she went up to their table and spoke with the very friendly representatives. They offered to send us a sample to review, so here we go!

This cider is Semi-Dry and has an ABV of 6.9%
All of the ciders produced by Tieton Cider Works are made from apples grown in the beautiful Harmony Orchards located in Tieton, Washington. You can find all of their ciders here: http://www.tietonciderworks.com/tieton/tieton-our-cider

Color:
Bailey thinks this cider has a gorgeous peach-golden hue with slight carbonation. She gives it a 5/5 apples.
Hawke's take was a brassy orange color and also rates it with a 5/5 apples.

Smell:
Bailey loves that the sweet apricots packed a powerful punch in the aroma. There is also a faint sour apple smell that blends in nicely to the bouquet. She quickly rates this with another 5/5 apples.
Hawke's usually doesn't go for sweet things, unless it's a bag of pretzel M&M's. However he does very much enjoy the fresh apricot and apple smell. He gives this cider a 4/5 apples.

Taste / Complexity:
Bailey is in apricot heaven with this one (if you couldn't already tell.) The apples offer a sweetness that is a perfect compliment to the very tart apricots. It makes you want to smack your lips after taking a drink. The carbonation makes it very light and enjoyable. Bailey gives it a 5/5 apples!
Hawke thinks that the apricots were a bit too tart for his liking, but still thought it was a solid cider. He detected the semi-dryness on his tongue after drinking. Hawke gives this cider a 4/5 apples.

Aftertaste:
Bailey feels that the tartness lingers into the aftertaste, and the sweet flavors change to sour. The carbonation can still slightly be felt and the aftertaste is very pleasant. She gives another 5/5 apples.
Hawke's taste buds differed a little in that he still tasted sweetness with a slight tart flavor. The dryness continued into the aftertaste for him. He rates it with a 5/5 apples.

Price:
We will be skipping this section as we are not sure how much it is selling for. When we talked to the representatives at the Cider Summit, they were hoping for an April release into the market.

Overall:
Bailey loves this cider and wouldn't change a thing. It's a great summer cider infused with some powerful yet delicious fruit. If you are a fan of apricots, you need to get your mitts on this cider! Overall, Bailey rates this cider with a 20/20 apples, or a green apple!

Hawke thinks this cider is very good and offers a very unique taste for the hard cider lovers. This cider would be great for a seasoned veteran of the cider world, or a beginner wanted to branch out from the norm.   Overall, Hawke rates this cider with a 18/20 apples, or a green apple!