Soul food options just haven't been the same since Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles closed up shop in Oakland a couple of years ago. The bay area offshoot of the L.A. institution was first located on Broadway near Jack London, then moved to Grand Avenue, then disappeared altogether. Since then, the only Roscoe Oaklanders could get their hands on was the new DVD set of the first season of "The Dukes of Hazzard."

But we're ecstatic to tell you that someone has come to the Roscoe -- er, rescue. The House of Chicken'n Waffles, on the corner of Broadway and Embarcadero at Jack London Square, fills that void in a big way. It seemed like forever since SFist first heard of the chix 'n' waffle phoenix in the 's review (in actuality, it was only a week, but that's how it goes when you get a jones). We finally got to go last night, and all is now right with the world. The chicken itself is nice and juicy. The breading, as the Express points out, is quite tasty and isn't all bulbous (we actually like it bulbous, but if we feel the special need for that there's always the chicken tenders at Original Mel's in Berkeley or at the Denny's in Emeryville). Our waffles weren't quite what the Express described; ours were more like the ones Dan Leone ate: good flavor but could have been cooked just a tiny bit longer. The mac and cheese, as promised, was fantastic. The corn bread was also pretty good, if a little dry. And the peach cobbler, though syrupy, wasn't too heavy.

All in all, the food at House of Chicken'n Waffles is full of flavor, and nothing is greasy. Basically you add butter and syrup to your liking. We were expecting to have to be rolled out of there and be confined to the couch for the rest of the night, but surprisingly, we had just enough to be satisfied and ready to return another night. And if that night happens to be a weekend night, we could go there as late as 4am. That's gonna come in handy for the afterparty at our wedding, the reception for which is right across the tracks at Scott's Seafood, also a great restaurant, but that's a review for another time.

East Bay Express