Brown Sugar Kitchen

Oakland, CA

There isn't a quintessential, consensus best fried chicken and waffles joint in Northern California like beloved Roscoe's in LA (btw way overrated IMO), but Brown Sugar Kitchen is definitely known as a top contender in the Bay area. Other well known chicken includes Farmer Brown's and Hard Knox in the city and Kellar's Monday night fried chicken at Ad Hoc. Ever since dining at our best to date fried chicken place, LoLo's in Phoenix, where the Chuckster, Charles Barkley used to dine when he played for the Suns in the '90's, we've been in search for something equally as amazing. Foolishly, we went during the busiest time on a Saturday morning in search for really good fried chicken. We waited about an hour for a table and settled on two dishes, the chicken and waffles and the oyster Po Boy with a side of Mac and Cheese.

Chicken and Waffle

The chicken was heavily battered with rosemary and was cooked pretty well with the chicken retaining good moisture inside. The large waffle was saved by the home made apple cider syrup. A decent showing, but hardly comparable to magic of LoLo's.

Oyster Po Boy with Mac and Cheese

The Oyster Po Boy was just as meh, with an over-battered oyster and unmemorable slaw accompaniment. The mac and cheese was creamy and cheesy but did nothing to write home about. Overall, the meal wasn't bad, but did not live up to the hype that's been advertised. Given the long wait on the weekends and the inconvenient location (industrial sector) in Oakland, we probably won't be returning anytime soon.

Rating 5/10

October 3, 2009