dame's chicken & waffles

a twofer. it is virtually impossible to go wrong with eitherfriedchicken or waffles, and when you put them together almost everyone will find something to like, even me. i never liked that "honey fried" chicken (marylandfriedchicken?) some chain offered years ago, and i don't care for sweet sauces, much less syrup, getting on by meat entrée - like honey glaze on ham. but what is offered here is the best of both worlds - and that is usually a good thing.

this place has been around a couple of years or so now, in a relatively new strip center sitting just beyond the hamburger square area , on mlk jr drive - the original restaurant is in durham. the place is bright, cheery with tons of large windows letting in the light - i really like that, so many restaurants are just dark, with poor lighting, at least for seasoned citizens. no such problem here. the furnishings are modern in style, with the layout being that of a v, with a diner type counter at the point of the v, and seating areas to the right and left.

they offer 10 entrees composed of some combination offriedchicken (wings, legs, or cutlets) and waffles, your choice of smear (flavored butter mixture), and a side. prices range from around $9 to $15, not particularly inexpensive, but the portions are nice, with the waffle covering the entire dinner sized plate, and the wings are cutlets are large.

the waffles (classic, sweet potato, gingerbread, blueberry, or vegan (vegan - really?)) are excellent. thefriedchicken has a rather thick crust, is seasoned a little differently than most southernfriedchicken (spices, oregano maybe) and is cooked to a rather dark stage. freshly served, the taste is very, very good, although the leftovers did not retain the best flavor when re-heated at home. the chicken on your entrée is plated on top of the waffle, with the smear on the side, and you are brought an extra plate on which to place your chicken before adding the syrup and smear - you can obviously leave it on the waffle if you so choose.

the side include grits (very well seasoned), mac&cheese (over spiced for my taste) mean greens, squash & onions, fruit, small side salad, or veggie of the day. they offer some entrée salad choices, various grit combos, eggs benedict variations, and a la carte choices such as eggs, single waffle, chicken choices, and bacon or sausage. this place definitely has a brunch feel to it (they open at 10am on the weekends), and with the portion sizes and the a la carte and side choices, it provides a plethora of culinary choices for lunch, brunch, or dinner. and they do have a few kiddie choices to bring down the cost to a family.

service was topnotch, and the manager on duty checked with us several times. some good and interesting dining options here, worth checking out.

great food, unnecessary wait. let me begin by saying, i've been several times and love the food. it's the service and wait times that force me to give it 2 stars.

the food here us great. schmear may be the best thing i've had in a long time and they do thefriedchicken well too. i'd say the only thing i didn't like was the mac and cheese because they used the breading from thefriedchicken, so it stands out. other than thay, i'd say the sweet potato waffles are the best.

now, on to the bad. waits seem to be on average, an hour or more! in my opinion, it's the management and the kitchen staff's fault. there needs to be better training in place to turn tables faster. there's no reason things need to take as long as they do. most times i think about going and see that line outside, i just change my mind. it happens often.

reservations seem to be a joke. we've made them in the past and still had to wait more than 40 min for our table. what's the point? don't offer reservations if you can't accommodate us.

i've also seem people that work there sitting at tables, while there's a wait. that just doesn't make any sense.

the last straw that prompted this review is their policy on take out. i really wanted some chicken and waffles on saturday and i was told they don't do take out when there's a wait. wow. that means take out is probably only available 25% of the time they are open because it seems there's always a wait. doesn't make any sense and they are the only restaurant in my experience to have a policy like that. needless to say, i was not happy. the competitor that got my business was, i'm sure.

all in all, it's hard to take a stance on this place because the food really is good. it's just not good enough to deal with the wait, all the time. there are too many options and they really need to fix this. maybe they don't have enough tables or they need to re-train staff...i don't know the source of the problem, so i can't propose a solution. all i can say is that as long as they remain slow, it will take a lot for me to visit them again.

i was highly disappointed in my experience as well as the food at dame's. my mother and i had a craving forfriedchicken on a friday night and heard dame's was the place to be in the triangle. we waited a little over 45 minutes for our table which was alright with us. we were promptly greeted...and then our waitress took 10 minutes to take our order. we both ordered side salads to start. my salad was filled with brown lettuce and my mothers had a rancid tomato. our meals took about 30 minutes to come out and this is where the extreme disappointment came out. i ordered a chicken cutlet which came out bone dry and the breeding tasted as if the chef had used progresso seasoned bread crumbs and burned it. the grits tasted like peppery mucus. my mothers macaroni and cheese was horrible...not cheesy what so ever and there was a distinct unpleasant aftertaste. to make matters worse, i had asked for plain butter when my waitress brought our food and she neglected to come back to our table to check up on us or bring the butter. i had to essentially flag her down. when i told her about my dislike of the food she said, "i'm sorry there's really nothing we can do...i'll tell my manager." the "manager" then came over and asked about what i disliked. he saw an uneaten chicken cutlet and barely touched grits and apologized and did nothing else. we got our check rudely dropped on our table by our waitress who didn't even acknowledge us after we complained without having anything comped or taken care of. i will not be going back to dame's, i will take my business to beasleys. this establishment is highly overrated and was truly disappointing.

did not disapoint!!!. ate there and was thrilled chicken wasfriedperfectly, waffle was amazing, the shmear makes syrup unnecessary, but i used some anyways ha. waitstaff was great to boot.

it's tasty but...be prepared to wait!!!. pulling up to the building, you would think you were in nola! beautiful property.
the gentleman at the door was great, helped us with a larger group, split us up to make it happen. very helpful!
then we waited for our server.
after three, "ill be right backs" we were able to make contact and order drinks.
then we waited for drinks.
as the table was sat next to us, served their drinks and placed our dinner order. began to wonder if our server was on break.
finally our drinks were served, dinner orders were placed.
then we really waited.
the table next to us, seated 20 minutes after us, were served and tables clearing, when our food began to arrive. one plate at a time. not kidding.
the meals were pretty tasty. i'd say the chicken was on the border of overcooked.frieda bit too hard, or maybe in larger batches and held too long. waffles were good, not crispy. shmears were good and flavorful. good mac and cheese with fresh herbs.
then we waited for drink refills. waited for ice. waited for a check.
you get the picture.
i wish these folks the best. they have a nice product, a beautiful space and some really friendly staff.
but an easy dinner for 10 folks at a home-style diner can't take 2 hours!
blessings to your crew!

i have returned to dame’s and have been blown away each time. thefriedchicken is crisp and really holds up well under a load of syrup and the waffles are supple

my meal was a complete work of art and tasted just as good as it looked. southernfriedchicken cooked to crispy, juicy, out right tasty perfection set on top of what has to be one of the best waffles i've ever had. oh yes the main attraction is very good but don't sleep on their sides. their mac n cheese could stand out on it's own as a meal. to all who may be reading this, if you have never been to durham and you find yourself in the area, do your self a favor and head downtown, make yourself a reservation (i really did get lucky lines can be really long) and taste one of the many great food destinations in downtown durham. for those living in the area feel free to leave some comments about your experience at dame's as well as food destination recommendations for my next trip.

got my "fix" again today at dame's and as usual it was pure heaven on a plate!! service was excellent, and the food..... well, there are not enough words to describe the utter perfection. hands down the bestfriedchicken i've ever had and always consistently delicious!!!!


-----18 jun, 2013-----

dame's in durham is my favorite place to eat in the entire world!!!! best food i've ever had every single time i go. my favorite thing on the menu is "the buff brahma", it comes with two chicken cutlets, i get a sweet potato waffle with orange honeycomb shmear (but without the whiskey creme sauce) it is absolute perfection!!! i could eat there everyday and never ever get tired of it. it's extremely addictive!!! this place is super busy and yes, you should expect at least an hour wait if you show up near supper time with no reservation. don't be surprised if there's a line of people waiting either.let that be a indication to you of just how awesome their food is!! it's soooo worth the wait!! i have been there at least half a dozen times in the past 8 months and it's an hour drive for me, one way!!! but each time i have been the hostess was very nice and the wait staff stayed on top of everything really well, even considering how crazy busy it was. this is the only place i've ever taken my dad to eat where he did not have a single complaint!!! if you only knew how that in itself speaks volumes!!!

“you’ll be alright, baby”, she said. a southern woman, a stranger, had called me “baby”. i liked it. it felt good and sincere and comforting. comfort in the south comes in many forms, but my favorite is food. and one of the most comforting is chicken and waffles . dame’s chicken & waffles , five points intersection of downtown durham, serves eyes-open-wide delicious chicken and waffles. owner and chef, damion moore, has outdone himself here, bringing chicken and waffles to a new level. take the light brown leghorns ($13.25) ; a classic waffle topped with four chicken legs and cashews, then drizzled with caramel. normally served with a chocolate-hazlenut shmear, pic asked for another of dame’s famous “shmear” – blueberry. i’m talkin’ take up the whole plate, thick, lightly browned, crunchy on the outside, soft & fluffy inside waffle, scrumptiousfriedchicken, i’m in heaven baby. on dame’s menu as what a classy hen? (“for the mo’ distinguished!”) ($11.25), the description reads, “a chic

gingerbread waffle with vanilla-almond schmear was awesome. greatfriedchicken style as well

best chicken & waffles. when my husband and daughter suggested chicken and waffles for lunch i was hesitant. boy, was i was wrong! what an amazing experience and meal. the 3 of us each ordered a different waffle combination, and one each of the sides offered. the mac and cheese was to die for, the collards were on the spicy side, but a nice option with the sweetness of the smears that come with each waffle dish. the grits were also a tasty side dish.

thefriedchicken was crispy, well-seasoned, and great portion size. the combination offriedchicken, waffle, smear was a match made in heaven. loved everything and have returned several more times. my daughter has returned often as well with friends from her office.

if you are in the mood for a unique eating experience, this is the place to eat. the service was attentive, wait staff knowledgeable and happy to oblige any special requests we had. a truly delightful experience.

yummy! went on a wednesday night at 6:30. wasn't to busy but 20 minutes later was almost full. food is delicious, i had the buff brahmas. place is small so based on reviews if you go on the weekend be prepared to wait. made to order food and if you have ever madefriedchicken it's not necessarily quick. so try it for the first time during the week, then decide if the food is worth the wait on a weekend.

not yet for prime time - not even good.. i have passed by this place about 25 times since it opened. i wanted to make sure they had plenty of practice on others before i stopped. about two weeks ago i arrived by myself about 11:45am to beat the lunch rush. i was quickly served and ordered thefriedchicken filet, blueberry waffles and spicy greens. the filet was hard as a rock, the waffles were just soft but not underdone. i like mine crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. the spicy greens were perfect! i told the waitress about my chicken and she tried to explain that "the crust is supposed to be crunchy". i told her this filet is crunchy all the way to the center and that if she did not believe me to let the cook take a look. she came back to fill my glass and told me my filet would be ready shortly.....never admitting that the cook's assistant over-cooked my order. anyway, another filet came and it was better but still much too tough. i will not re-visit.......even for the excellent greens. chicken is supposed to be their specialty. i predict that dames chicken and waffles will not last a year unless they fire the chicken cook.

scrumpdillyicious!. truly scrumptious and delicious. we had a late lunch around 2:30 on a friday afternoon. i'd say the place was about 1/3 full at this late hour for lunch. my wife and i shared two dishes, the light brown leghorns on sweet potato waffle and a quilted buttercup with original style small waffles. both dishes were great and we'll be back to try others. notwithstanding the menu description, diners can have almost any combo they prefer. our only wish was that dame's had a sampler plate on the menu as an appetizer. lest, i forget, we had both white meat as well as legs - bestfriedchicken i've had since i ate at sylvia's in harlem 20 years ago. the server helped us understand the menu, took our order quickly and we had everything we ordered in ten minutes. the restaurant is conveniently located on mlk, jr blvd at gorell st., about two blocks east of s. elm and three blocks from natty greene's at the edge of the new southside redevelopment area

tried the shrimp and grits and also thefriedchicken legs with mac & cheese. everything was delicious. had to wait a bit for our food but was not in a hurry. would like to see desserts added to the menu. we will definitely be back.