A Soulful Lunch of Chicken and Waffles

Whenever possible, I try to incorporate sweet into my salty.

The quintessential example of this is the soul food staple that was my lunch today: chicken and waffles.

Chicken we heard and smelled being fried up after we ordered it.

A waffle on which every single square was filled with butter (oh, yes, I used every bit of butter given me in that little cup, unlike my health-conscious friend) and then saturated with syrup. Oh my, my.

I had suggested lunch today to a friend and he had suggested Leigh Street Bar & Grill over in Carver.

He tends bar and one of his regulars had raved about the place and since it's only a few blocks from home, why not?

The menu ranged from Angus beef sliders to the fishbone fillet seasoned with Creole spices to a spicy shrimp salad over greens.

But the menu was forgotten when we saw the chalkboard chicken and waffles special and we both ordered it from our smiling server.

Moments later the chef came out of the kitchen to introduce himself and tell us about a couple of specials; one was a grilled salmon with sauteed peppers and the other a turkey burger with sauteed onions, peppers and cheese.

We were immovable, though. Tempting as they looked (he showed us pictures on his cell phone), we wanted sweet and salty.

The satellite radio was tuned to an R & B soul station played at a volume that allowed us to appreciate every bass line, every booty call lyric. Absolute perfection.

Meanwhile, there was serious frying going on in the back.

Our plates arrived with the chicken steaming and the waffle a crispy golden brown (which I immediately smeared with all that butter while it was hot).

The four large wings bore no resemblance to those pitiful specimens so often seen on a wing platter.

We just grinned at each other in anticipation. Let the eating begin.

When we finally took a break from chowing down and looked up at each other, he'd finished his entire waffle and two wings.

I'd finished 3/4 of my waffle and 2 1/2 wings.

But it was time to stick a fork in us because we were done, so we each got boxes to take the remaining wings with us for later snackage.

Breakfast and dinner. Sweet and salty. Protein and carbs.

Chicken and waffles may be the closest thing to plate perfection a girl could hope for at lunch.

My, my indeed.