Bayonne Chicken & Waffles: Better than expected, expanding to Jersey City, connected to Fatburger... and Queen Latifah?

Don't get us wrong, the Jersey Journal's Bayonne Now blog is great. It tells us so much more than just walking past the vandalized machine that sells the paper by the Lightrail and still, somehow only enough that if we want to know how the story ends, we have to research it ourself. Ever see Finding Forrester? When Sean Connery gives his protege a paragraph of his then the boy writes his own story? That's the quality of journalism the Jersey Journal provides. So knowing nothing more than Bayonne Chicken & Waffles opened at 1003 Broadway at 49th Street, is inspired by the owner's love for American chicken and waffle joints, and will be delivering soon, we decided to stop by for a Sunday brunch to go hoping it would be more effective than chicken soup to get us over our current cold.

Finding a spot in front of the built-in market of public housing across the street, we crossed over to the small island of sidewalk solely inhabited by the eatery, and had a chat with owner Otis Best while waiting for our order of jumbo wings and waffles. Because everything was freshly made - our order took about ten minutes - we had time to conduct an impromptu inquisition.

Otis Best was looking to open a new restaurant in the area when driving by the vacant building on a trip from Jersey City to the local Tux Shop for something to wear to a recent wedding. Already building a steady clientele he's looking to expand to downtown Jersey City next and we have little doubt his confidence is instilled from the success of his first restaurant, his Fatburger franchise in South Beach. Doing a little research this afternoon, we learned this also seems to be the Fatburger in which Queen Latifah is invested so now we're wondering if this Otis Best is the same Otis Best who was a producer on her 2005 film Beauty Shop. (And if he is, seriously, what do they do at the Jersey Journal all day? There's not that much to write about in this town.)

It may not be the healthiest food in, but it's nice to see a new locally owned business with a quality product opening on the public housing side of town the city overtaxes to cut sweetheart deals in the development of the golf course side of town where Mario Batali plays golf. We actually caught an episode this afternoon of Spain... on the road Again and in it we learned two things, 1.) Mario carries around a guide to Spain's best golf courses in his man purse which now we know makes sense, and 2.) his favorite dessert is blackberries and vanilla ice cream. So maybe if Bayonne Chicken & Waffles adds blackberries to their waffle sundae menu, they can lure the celebrity chef to discover the other side of town.

What did we discover on the menu? Bargains. $2.95 for two jumbo wings and 1/2 waffle, $5.95 for three wings and one waffle. Kids meals, one chicken finger and 1/4 waffle for $1, twice as much for $2. 1/2 waffle sundaes with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream and either chocolate or strawberry sauce, $2.50. As the Jersey Journal pointed out, they'll be offering delivery in the coming weeks. You can reach them at (201) 858-5600. Hours are Monday to Friday, 12pm - 10pm, weekends 8am - 10pm.

And while hot sauce and Chef's Quality syrup are options, having suffered a cold all weekend we were willing to try and medicinal cure on hand. So lucky us a bottle of this arrived today and whether or not we're cured, our sense of taste has returned and nothing before it has ever better complemented fried chicken. We're not sure if the syrup or the score made the meal or the Giants' victory over Seattle that much sweeter, but we can only hope we eat this well at the Stadium tomorrow night.