waffles and crisp-fried rabbit

[marlena spieler]

ate the tenderest lightest waffle with the crispiest lightest fluffiest (or was that the waffle or should i never use the word fluffy in conjunction with eating rabbit), i don't know, this dish was so terrific that i just can't get it outta my mind!

restaurant: Zazu in the Russian river countryside.

owners dusty estes, and her husband, adorable whats-his-name with the tatoo of the pig or is it a lamb, on his arm.....and who cures meat brilliantly, especially his homemade coppa which should be spoken about in whispers its so good. better than what i eat in italy, where i try to hang out as much as i can......

also the BLT salad was divine, everything was divine even things that just sounded ordinary on the menu. the lamb sausage sandwich wasn't as thrilling as i would have hoped but i was not in the mood for a sandwich at all and we pretty much ate everything else on the menu! includig fabulous gelato.

Edited October 20, 2006 by marlena spieler (log)

[Domestic Goddess]

Sounds heavenly Marlena. I wish you had pictures!

[marlena spieler]

Sounds heavenly Marlena. I wish you had pictures!

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mmmmm, maybe i do! i did take them but i haven't tried posting them on egullet before, and also......i downloaded a new programme and can't even figure out how to download photos to my website...anyhow, i'll give it a try. wish me luck.

thinking about those waffles has made me go out waffle-iron hunting. and waffle irons are expensive here in hampshire, england!

but i'm telling you, i really need one. and there ain't no way to make waffles without a waffle maker, i know--i've tried!

x m

[russ parsons]

in southern california there's a small chain of soul food restaurants called roscoe's chicken and waffles--fried chicken and good waffles. i'm not sure why it works, but it does.

[rjwong]

russ, chicken & waffles definitely work, especially for those Hollywood partyers at 3 a.m., so I've heard ...

marlena, was it actually rabbit instead of fried chicken? Pardon me for bringing up the obvious question:

Does it taste like chicken?

[ludja]

I've always wanted to try chicken and waffles; it's on my list the next time I go down to LA.

Does the classic chicken and waffles combo have gravy with it or is the waffle just served alongside with butter?

How was your fried rabbit and waffle combo served, marlena?

(Thanks for pointing out Zazu as well; the website and menu make it sound like a place to stop by and visit.)

[marlena spieler]

Like Russ, I'm not sure it works: but it does! (perhaps that is part of the reason for my elation at the whole experience).

And to answer rwong: it really was rabbit, and it tasted like rabbit, not chicken. I say this emphatically, because after my experience of my beloved pet bunny, Basil, I've just not been able to bring myself to eat rabbit. So I wasn't the one to order it.

Also, i'm not big on fried things, and combining a fried thing with a waffle was my idea of heavy and not appealing. How wrong I was!!!!! I've since been looking at waffle irons, which as i think i've mentioned, are expensive here in britain. but right now i feel i can't go on living without a waffle iron. but i'm sure i'll never make as good a waffle, or fry as good a rabbit (or chicken, i can't bring myself to cook rabbit, note abovementioned Basil bunny).

so, for Ludja, Here is a blow by blow description: of the dish, how it tasted, how it was served:

The rabbit itself was crisp, and cloaked in an airy though almost fluffy batter, so crisp and light that it seemed to defy the rules of physics. How could something be fluffy inside inbetween the crispness and the white rabbit meat. The meat itself was very very tender, and had a subtle lovely white meat flavor. being rabbit the texture is more tight-grained than chicken. it was tender. it was delicious.

the waffle was crisp edged and incredibly tender inside. there was no gravy--none was needed! the waffle had a splodge of maple butter. again, i don't have much of a sweet palate, so the maple butter was another reason for my not ordering the dish. having said that, i polished off each and every morsel of the maple buttered waffle and the tender, crisp-battered rabbit, that i could get my paws on.

i don't use this term often, but i think that dish was a masterpiece. on its own terms.

and i don't know if it could ever be as good again as that night, that plate, was. ?

Edited October 21, 2006 by marlena spieler (log)

[Carolyn Tillie]

thinking about those waffles has made me go out waffle-iron hunting. and waffle irons are expensive here in hampshire, england!

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Marlena - if you haven't bought one yet, don't buy new! The true secret of great waffles is having one that is hideously old. I was given a brand new one as a wedding present (years ago, obviously) and couldn't make a decent waffle to save my life. Several years ago, when I inherited my father's with 50+ years of seasoning, I realized the secret was in the age of the iron. Look around at garage sales and flea markets for one - you'll be much happier. If you don't find one, let me know and I'll check my local Goodwill (I know, you'll need a European adaptor, but it will be worth it!)

[marlena spieler]

i don't think that old waffle irons exist here. i have looked as am now somewhat obsessed.

i don't know why not--supposedly waffles were created when a knight returned from his crusades early, found his wife out and about, didn't know the flat breads were cooling on the bench, then sat on them. i swear, i read it somewhere. anyhow the indentations were made by his knight gear.

i've got adapters for everything else, both physically and spiritually....(what does this mean? am i getting strange, too late for me to be up tapping when i should be doing other things?)

anyhow, let me know when you find that waffle iron!

and thanks. its really sweet, i can hardly wait.

x m

ps on the other hand perhaps this is exactly why they don't have waffle irons here. they made them using knight chains, who needed a waffle iron! night night.

Edited October 21, 2006 by marlena spieler (log)

[ludja]

...

so, for Ludja, Here is a blow by blow description: of the dish, how it tasted, how it was served:

The rabbit itself was crisp, and cloaked in an airy though almost fluffy batter, so crisp and light that it seemed to defy the rules of physics. How could something be fluffy inside inbetween the crispness and the white rabbit meat. The meat itself was very very tender, and had a subtle lovely white meat flavor. being rabbit the texture is more tight-grained than chicken. it was tender. it was delicious.

the waffle was crisp edged and incredibly tender inside. there was no gravy--none was needed! the waffle had a splodge of maple butter. again, i don't have much of a sweet palate, so the maple butter was another reason for my not ordering the dish. having said that, i polished off each and every morsel of the maple buttered waffle and the tender, crisp-battered rabbit, that i could get my paws on.

i don't use this term often, but  i think that dish was a masterpiece. on its own terms.

and i don't know if it could ever be as good again as that night, that plate, was. ?

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Thanks for this wonderful description; I'm not big on things that are too sweet with savory either but that maple butter sounds great.

Good luck on finding a waffle iron! I wish I had my parent's old one (which I think was my grandparent's before that...) I have a newer one that makes one round waffle but I loved the old-fashioned one that made 4 (I think) square waffles at once.