Wafels & Dinges Chicken and Waffles Is Not What You’d Expect

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Our prayers have been answered. Sort of. When news first broke last week that Wafels & Dinges would finally be offering chicken and waffles, I think a lot of people assumed that it was only at their brick and mortar.  I also assumed it would be a play on fried chicken and waffles, that classic non-Belgian waffle dish. The good news is they’re offering the dish everywhere but the carts. But the dish itself is nothing like you’d expect.

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Instead of Southern fried chicken, they turned to a more European influence for their poultry component. The chicken n’ gravy waffle is inspired by the French dish vol-au-vent, which is basically a creamy chicken pot pie made of puff pastry. Here, of course, they’re using waffles. And it is delicious.

They’re calling it a slider, but it’s much larger than that term implies and filled me up for lunch. The price is $10, which might be pushing it a little bit, but the dish feels refined and is completely satisfying.

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Here they use two liege style waffles, minus the usual pearl sugar and with the addition of fresh herbs. The waffles are yeasty, warm and savory and makes a nice sandwich for the chicken and mushrooms inside. The name sandwich is also a misnomer because there’s really no way to eat this with your hands.

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I loved how the top waffle remained crispy while the bottom waffle got softened with some of the creamy gravy. While the filling might look like chicken salad, it’s actually a warm chunky stew of mushrooms, chicken, and deliciousness. On the side was some spicy arugula and bright pickled onions.

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The chicken and waffle wasn’t what I was expecting, but it was a wonderful discovery. While I’m still going hoping eventually for a proper fried chicken and waffle dish from the big yellow truck, this will certainly fill my yeast and poultry craving for now. The savory dish is only available on the trucks, their brick and mortar location downtown, and their soon-to-open Herald Square kiosk. Check Twitter to see when they’ll be near you.

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