Soul mates
18135 East Petroleum Drive
Baton Rouge
752-7135
Mon.—Fri., 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Sat. 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.,
Sun. 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Chicken and waffles may be the nation’s trendiest soul food dish, but Chef Ryan Andre’s snazzy version uses regional ingredients that fuse down-home with up-tempo. The chef debones the breasts and legs of a whole chicken and fries it skin-on with a straightforward wet-dry batter of egg wash and White Lily self-rising flour. He blends baked Louisiana sweet potatoes into the waffle batter to impose depth and earthy sweetness. The dish is set off by Steen’s cane syrup spiked with Jack Daniel’s and Tabasco pepper jelly, while a side of citrus-jalapeno coleslaw adds bold crunch and color. “This is a dish that’s all about different tastes and textures,” says Andre.
