Roscoe's House of Chicken 'n Waffles (and the 3rd 2014 Rose Parade float Road Test)-Pasadena

Here you are again, at mmm-yoso!!! the food blog.  Kirk is really really busy today and so is Ed(from Yuma) so Cathy is writing about another one of her eating adventures. 

It was a foggy August Saturday, The Mister and I woke before 4 a.m., let the dogs out, secured the house and started driving North. I'll start with breakfast (but really this was our fifth stop of the day).

Roscoe's House of Chicken N Waffles has been "pecking around since 1975" according to the signage.  It opens at 8 a.m. daily and there seems to be a constant flow and lineup of people from about 8:25 forward. 

The Pasadena location is next to a KFC, across the street from a Popeye's and a Church's- all chicken centric eating establishments. 

We were seated at the second to last empty table, in the rear of a former Pizza Hut building. Decor is simple, with photographs and posters, many of the staff with President Obama, taken when he stopped here.  The above photo is Louis Armstrong, New Orleans native and American Jazz trumpeteer virtuoso. His contribution to Jazz is unsurpassed.   

Condiments on the table are simple and include Louisiana Red Rooster hot sauce.

 The menu is very simple; only two pages. You can get eggs and call it breakfast, or not, at any time of the day.

The Mister ordered the C- 'Stymie's Choice': fried chicken livers, grits, two eggs (over easy and nicely runny) a fresh hot buttery/not flakey biscuit and gravy with onions. ($11.70).  Each item was really fresh, flavorful and cooked in the proper manner. 

I decided to try...the 13- 'Carol C.': a fried chicken breast and a waffle ($8.95).  The waffles are made with Roscoe's own mix, are not sweet and have a bit of 'chew' to them...really good.  The chicken breast was perfectly and freshly fried-crispy thin layer of nice flavored batter- and not dry.  This was quite a bit of food and we took home some of the livers because there were so many.

I couldn't take photos of all the people inside and outside and so put my phone away.  As I was pulling out of the parking space, another car was waiting...and as I started to drive out of the lot a BIG black horse, with noisy shoes,  and a rider wearing a black cowboy hat came trotting at a fast pace toward the car, passed us by and continued.  It was surreal.

So, earlier that morning -beginning at 7- were Rose Parade float road tests at Phoenix Decorating. Above, the 2014 City of Los Angeles entry.  You can make out the Space Shuttle that was  moved there last year.  Some of the other details will become clearer at the next road test.

The Lutheran Hour Ministries float is all painted, so there's an outline for all the various dried and fresh items to be placed.  I beleive the 'windows' will have a 'stained glass' look...You can see the church steeple is in its descended position- so the float can pass under the various signal lights, street lights and other obstacles along the five mile parade route. 

The Donate Life float, "Light Up the World" depicts various lanterns.  Seated on the float and walking alongside it during the parade will be families of organ donors and donor recipients. As you can see, the float was road tested with a full weight load on board.

Trader Joe's entry this year is titled "Relish Your Dreams", going along with the theme of the 125th Rose Parade, "Dreams Come True"...and this float seems to depict an old fashioned "relish tray" along with cheese wheels and wedges - and pickles, crackers, olives, honey and other snacking items. 

Now, recall that I mentioned that the floats along the parade route need to be able to fit under signal lights, street lights, etc?

I took photos of the Trader Joe's float hydralics being tested.  You can see the how the mechanics of these floats have to be in working order...

The doorway of the Phoenix Decorating Rose Palace barn is the maximum dimensions that a float can be.  

The City of Glendale's entry depicts "Meatball", a bear that made headlines in that City last year.

 

This is the Artist's rendition of how the float will appear on January 1, 2014.

 All in all, another busy and exciting Saturday.  Hope everyone is having a good week!

Roscoe's House of Chicken 'N Waffles 830 N. Lake Avenue Pasadena (626)791-4890 or (626)791-5097  Website

 

 

Comments

[caninecologne]

Meatball the bear! That's so cool he'll be on a float! I never would have known about it...

That's a HUGE waffle on your plate! I wonder if the "Stymie" plate was named after the Little Rascals character.

[Cathy]

Meatball's story is so great and I'm so happy you knew about him, cc. I hope you'll be awake to see the parade and all the floats on January 1... Yes- the yummy waffle is about the size of my head...but not thick, so I can justify eating half with no problem. A lot of the entrees are 'named' and don't seem to have a theme, so maybe the Roscoe's Stymie is named after something in one of the episodes (I went to HS with the daughter of the original-original Spanky)

[Soo]

That's an awesome post! I love chicken and waffles and photos of floats. :-)

[Faye]

I've never ever been to Roscoes! I didn't even know they opened THAT early. I can't believe there are all those other chicken restaurants next to them too. And the prices for both dishes seem reasonable. The gravy looks sooo good right now!! Nice post !

[caninecologne]

hi cathy, actually i meant that I never knew he would be on the float. I didn't know about Meatball at all until I read your link.

[Cathy]

Thanks, Soo. I try to make things interesting while sharing part of my interests.
The gravy was unusually good and went well with the livers and the chicken (and the waffle), Faye. I do want to go back and try some of the other menu items -there aren't too many-(and maybe grab a photo of the guy on the horse)while missing the crowds. So happy it opens early; we always try to avoid crowds.
Oh, so Meatball is new to you, cc. I misunderstood. It's a rendition of him-see the second from last photo; the outline in rebar-although last year at the last minute a live dog and live penguin showed up on the HGTV float....

[caninecologne]

I like the artistic rendition. I'm sure the float will look amazing once it's done! Yay for Meatball! He was released to some animal sanctuary in San Diego from what I've read.

[Cathy]

Yes, Meatball is in Alpine, cc. I think a visit will be warranted soon. Food will end up being involved.

[RightCowLeftCoast]

Cathy, we've been to the locations in Inglewood, and Long Beach, and we enjoyed the fried chicken, but thought that the waffles were missing a little something. So where would you recommend for great waffles, that also does fried chicken?

[Cathy]

RCLC- I've tried other versions of chicken and waffles out here (names of restaurants can be found on that four letter review site) and purposely have not written about the food, because I sometimes cannot be diplomatic. Really do not like sweet, thick or fluffy waffles. I think Roscoe's is best, because their waffles are *not* as sweet (made with their own mix) and are thin/normal thickness of waffle-not meant to be consumed as a separate item, but as a piece of waffle with a piece of chicken with an optional dip in syrup; as you would with bread or a biscuit.