Lo-Lo's Fried Chicken and Waffles

[molto e]

Lo-Lo's Fried Chicken and Waffles is the best fried chicken and waffles in Phoenix and some of the best that I have ever had. Larry White(Lo-Lo) is the grandson of the owner of Mrs. White's Golden Rule Cafe in Phoenix. Larry gets his food right-chicken, waffles, homefries, mac and cheese, catfish, grits, red velvet cake etc.

Larry (Lo-Lo) White-Fried Chicken Maestro

There are many options at Lo-Lo's, but this is the namesake. The waffles are delicious and the chicken is ......divine!

A few squirts of hot sauce does not hurt either-depending where you put it

The platter comes with 3 pieces of chicken, 2 sides and cornbread.

pictured beans over rice and homefries

Cheesy Grits-yum

Mac and Cheese-please.

Cheesy Eggs

10 West Yuma St. Phoenix, AZ 85003

(just 2 blks. south of Buckeye Rd. & west of Central Ave.)

Catering & Delivery

Available

Still closed on Mondays

Tuesday - Thursday 10arn to 7prn

Fridays 10arn to 2arn

Saturday 10arn to 7prn

Sunday 10arn to 5prn

602-340-1304

I think the Fried Chicken at Horny Toad in Cave Creek is good, but Lo-Lo's wears the crown in town. I have brought many people to Lo-Lo's and always leave happy. . He is located at 10 west yuma which is 2 blocks south of Buckeye just off Central.

Good Eating,

Molto E

[ahurwich]

I told a friend about "Lo Lo's chicken & waffles" and his reply was 'Oh, they serve breakfast and lunch'. No, both items on the same plate. Wonderful fried chicken. I hadn't put hot sauce on fried chicken before, but now it just doesn't seem right without a few drops. I had rarely see giblets and gravy on a menu so I took my father in for lunch as this is one of his favorite foods, but they were offered at dinner only so he ordered catfish wasn't disappointed in the least.

[Genny]

Sounds like the place to go after a nice blues set!

[molto e]

Lo-Lo's is a nice place to go anytime!

[rjwong]

I might have to try this place and see how it compares with Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles in Los Angeles.

[phoenixfoodfanatic]

They don't have the waffles, but I also enjoy the fried chicken at Lil' Mama's Soul Cafe, 4306 North Seventh Avenue.

[molto e]

Nikki B highlighted Lo-Lo's in this months Phoenix Magazine.

Molto E

[molto e]

I had the beans over rice for the first time and would highly recommended them and the new Lo-lo's shirts rock

[molto e]

Lo-Lo’s Sings My Song

Fried chicken and waffles. To the uninitiated, it’s the strangest combination of food ever. To those who’ve experienced this fusion of delectables, it’s another story. Your mouth starts to water at the mere thought of it. As someone who has eaten this dish (and eaten it, and eaten it), I must say this unlikely duet is sweet music to my ears.

The story goes that the combination of chicken and waffles was created in 1938 at Wells Restaurant in Harlem to serve nightclub goers who could not decide if they wanted dinner or breakfast after a late night of revelry. Fortunately for Valley residents, the concept made its journey West, and in my opinion, the best-tasting fried chicken and waffles is served right here in Phoenix at Lo-Lo’s Fried Chicken & Waffles.

Larry “Lo-Lo” White Jr. is the maestro who makes this temple of crispy, juicy fried chicken and buttery golden waffles one of the hardest places in town to get into during lunchtime. Larry was born into the restaurant business, as his grandmother is Elizabeth White of Mrs. White’s Golden Rule Café, the home of soul food in Phoenix for the past 42 years. (True to its name, at the Golden Rule when it’s time to pay you walk up to the register and tell the cashier what you had for lunch, as no check is written.)

Larry’s father, Larry White Sr., has been cooking at Mrs. White’s since he was in seventh grade. “Lo-Lo” got his start in the family business at the age of 3: “I would bring drinks to the table one at a time with both hands wrapped around the glass. When I was not bringing drinks to the table then I would play Army Man with a pot on my head as a helmet.” Larry learned the restaurant business from the inside and out as a busboy, waiter, cook or whatever role that his family put him into.

In 1997, after working as a record producer for an independent label, Larry hatched the idea for Lo-Lo’s Fried Chicken & Waffles. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday Mrs. White’s Golden Rule Café would close at 5 p.m. and would reopen late at night as Lo-Lo’s Fried Chicken & Waffles. Larry says, “It really took off. I got my own clientele and people really took to the chicken-and-waffle thing.”

In 2000, a customer of late night Lo-Lo’s told Larry that he had the perfect place for him to open his own restaurant. The space was on Yuma Street right off Central behind a furniture store. Upon seeing the location, Larry’s wife was not so sure, declaring that “Nobody’s ever going to come and eat here.” Although the physical restaurant took a little longer to finalize than Larry had planned, in August 2002, Lo-Lo’s Fried Chicken & Waffles opened at its very own location.

“I had the vision the whole time,” Larry says. “When I first saw the building, I said the Phoenix Suns are going to eat here, the Arizona Cardinals, and Charles Barkley is going to come thru my door.” And come they did. In a tradition started at Mrs. White’s, celebrities autograph the white walls at Lo-Lo’s. The signatures of nearly every local athlete, including “Sir Charles,” adorn the walls of the restaurant. The athlete who comes most often, Suns center Amare Stoudemire, always orders the #1 (“KK’S with 3 pc chix prepared southern style, 2 waffles, 2 eggs w/ cheese & onions and cheese grits”). Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald is also a big fan of Lo-Lo’s and has been quoted as saying that it is his favorite place to eat. On the Fridays of Arizona Cardinal home games, Lo-Lo’s caters the meal at the practice facility for the entire team and staff. A number of famous musical performers have also eaten at Lo-Lo’s including E-40, Too Short, DMX and Cassidy, to name a few.

What is it about Lo-Lo’s that has patrons spilling into the street trying to get a seat to eat fried chicken and waffles? Larry says, “It’s Grandma’s fried chicken recipe on steroids—I tweaked it out a little. Grandma does not add as much seasoning as I do and sometimes slaps my hand, because she thinks I add too much! The seasoning is Grandma’s Secret Seasoning, that is a secret between my Grandma, my father and myself. My wife does not even know that recipe and she is real mad about that.” As for the waffles, “That was Grandma’s hotcake recipe but I added a little cinnamon.”

Whatever the secret, I cannot get enough of Lo-Lo’s Fried Chicken & Waffles. The menu has every combination of chicken, waffles, eggs and grits, served smothered or not. There is also an array of Southern-style sides such as smothered potatoes, mac & cheese, candy sweets, beans over rice, greens and corn bread. What does Lo-Lo order? The “Lo-Lo”, of course, (“3pc. chix prepared southern style with a couple splashes of Red Rooster hot sauce, w/ 2 waffles to which adds pecans”), all served with a glass of milk.

If the Lo-Lo does not suit your fancy, you will not go wrong if you order the “Soulfood Platter” (“3 pc chix southern fried or smothered in gravy and onions or your choice of catfish or red snapper filleted and pan fried in Lo-Lo’s special batter w/ 2 sides and cornbread”). The sides that I always order with my platter are the mac & cheese, the beans over rice, and the cheese grits or home fries (well done).

All chicken is cooked to order so sometimes during the lunch rush you see the chicken on its way to another table, and it’s difficult to practice the patience necessary not to jump up and grab a piece. Says Larry, “Sorry I could not grow fast enough for Phoenix. Bring a little patience and once we serve it to you, you will get the best.”

Not to worry though, Lo-Lo’s will be expanding its current capacity with an expected completion date of January 2008. What does the future hold for Lo-Los Chicken and Waffles? Larry says, “My ultimate goal is to have one of these in Scottsdale, next to the Ocean Club or Benihana’s. People would ask, ‘What is that shack?’ …Live blues, chicken and waffles—that would be great!”

Lo-Lo’s Fried Chicken and Waffles

10 W. Yuma Street, Phoenix (602) 340-1304

Closed Mondays, open Tuesday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

(Article from Edible Phoenix)

Phoenix Best Bets:

Vu at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale

Sea Saw

Binkley's Restaurant

Zinc Bistro

Cyclo

Lo-Lo's Fried Chicken and Waffles

Kohnies-Coffee, Breakfast and Best Scones

Pizzeria Bianco

Pane Bianco - Chris Bianco's sandwich shop

Matt's Big Breakfast

Arlecchino Gelateria

The Pork Shop

Grazie Pizzeria

Edited December 6, 2006 by molto e (log)

[ronnie_suburban]

It is a testament only to my years of intense training and previous "research" trips that I actually managed to wake up hungry on Day 8 of our food-filled vacation . . . but I did Not even the supposedly hard-core molto e could keep up with us. Rather than meet us to break the 'fast' he politely recused himself. But it was another one of his great tips which led us to some of the best fried chicken (and waffles) I have ever eaten.

Lolo's Chicken and Waffles is a small beige building with a painted, red-shingle roof which is located on an otherwise residential block which stands in the shadows of some large factories. It's one of those places which you can just sense, the minute you look at it, is going to be good. Or to put it another way, you'd be shocked if it weren't. And we didn't end up shocked.

We arrived at 10:30 and were asked to wait outside the small building until a table became available. A few minutes later, the friendly host/waitress came out for us and led us to our table. Lo-lo's is an unusual space that, for a moment, made me feel like I was in New Orleans. Our table was in a long, narrow side room -- with concrete floor and brick walls -- that looked like it might have been exterior space at some point in the building's history. The tables and chairs are bare bones but comfortable and the walls are adorned with colorful jazz and music-themed prints.

The menu at Lo-lo's is breakfast and lunch all in one. It is most definitely a fried chicken restaurant, offering variety of named meals which combine fried chicken and/or catfish with all sorts of side dishes, including their noted waffles. Also offered is a full array of more traditional breakfast fare, like bacon and eggs.

We did not try the catfish but the fried chicken was simply fantastic. It delivered crunchy, flavorful skin and delicious, juicy flesh. So many 'great' fried chicken places offer well-fried bird that lacks flavor beneath the skin. This bird was, happily, not in that category. I don't know the process at Lo-lo's but their chicken tastes like it's been brined, marinated or pre-seasoned before being coated and fried. I'd confidently put Lo-lo's fried chicken up against just about any fried chicken I've ever had. I'm not sure it's the best but it's certainly in the highest category.

The waffles were also wonderful. I was surprised by the relatively aggresive seasoning (cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.) they'd received but it really worked. Not only were the waffles hot, crispy and delectable but they tasted great alongside the chicken. We sampled a bunch of other sides too. The beans & rice, smothered potatoes and cornbread were all excellent. The mustard greens, which delivered a moderately spicy kick, were very good. The cheesy grits were well-prepared but needed quite a bit of salt to make them optimal (as is often my feeling about southern-style grits).

Unfortunately, we didn't try the macaroni and cheese, so we'll have to save that item for next time. The same is true of the (cheesy) eggs as well as the bevy of breakfast meats (bacon, sausage, turkey-bacon, hot links) which are offered by Lo-lo's. The relatively uncommon combination of fried chicken and waffles, while not new to me, was what I wanted to eat at Lo-lo's, so I left the more traditional breakfast options untapped. However, if I'd spent a few more days in the area, I would have likely returned to try them because everything else I ate at Lo-lo's was so good. And, I loved the large, canning jars in which beverages are served at Lo-lo's. I opted for a diet coke, but I was tempted to go for the 1-quart serving of red cool-aid, which seemed like a very popular choice at Lo-lo's.

All in all, we had a great meal at Lo-lo's. The food was fantastic, service was friendly and fast and their prices were very reasonable. We ordered a ton of food, so that we could sample it all and even with a 20%+ tip, our bill for 3 was around $35. As many times as I've been to Phoenix and searched out distinctive, local fare, I needed input from a long-time resident to find Lo-lo's. Now that I have, I can't imagine not making it a regular stop each time I visit Phoenix.

=R=

Lo-lo's Chicken & Waffles

10 West Yuma Street

Phoenix, AZ 85003

602 340-1304