Author: GCS
Last saved by: ENU

900 Grayson
900 Grayson St., Berkeley
www.900grayson.com
Review date: August 2010

This breakfast/lunch café gets a lot of attention. Since it’s quite small there’s a line out the door at peak periods. They’re most famous for their “Demon Waffle”, which remains on the menus for both breakfast and lunch. 

This is the infamous fried chicken-and-waffle dish, one of the more...um, unique food ideas from the Southern US. The idea, of course, being that if you like fried chicken and cream gravy, and you also like waffles with maple syrup, why not put them together!?!

Because....maybe they shouldn’t be on the same plate? 

Nonetheless, Carlos wanted to try it, and it’s hugely popular with Grayson fans. The kitchen does a good job on the fried chicken too. They slice a chicken breast into irregular paillards, give it a crusty batter coating heavy on the paprika, and fry it up greaselessly. Despite the thinness of some pieces, it was perfectly cooked, which is an impressive feat that many cooks can’t match.

Carlos opted just for maple syrup, which he put only on the waffle, not the chicken. The waffle had a nice batter, but it just wasn’t crispy enough. By the time he finished the chicken, the waffle was limp as a pancake, which negates the whole idea of it. Had it been a bit crisper, it would have been a lovely waffle, since it was very tasty and the maple syrup was The Real Thing (we ordered extra; Carlos likes to drown his carbs with liquid sucrose).

I ordered lunch – their burger, in fact. It came on a perfect bun (sturdy but tender, and very tasty in itself). There was the slightest skim of BBQ sauce on the burger, just enough to add a hint of smoky sweetness without being overwhelming. A tangle of perfectly deep-fried onion strings was on top – clearly someone really knows how to deep-fry in this place. Excellent quality crispy bacon strips criss-crossed the patty, which was gently ground and even more gently hand-formed. Had they salted the beef it would have been as good as the burgers I make at home.

900 Grayson uses really good quality ingredients and has a chef who knows their way around his/her pots and pans. The waitstaff is cheerful and quick, and makes the crowded quarters bearable. The regular coffee, however, is so-so, although the espressos are much better.

This is a good breakfast place, and might be an even better lunch place if you can squeeze yourself iin before the crowds arrive at noontime. We certainly liked it more than Jimmy Beans or the Gilman St. Grill (which I failed to remember to review; it’s good although not great). But for breakfast, our hearts belong first to Mama’s Royal in Oakland, then to Royal Café in Albany. 

Still, we’d come back and try lunch again. That burger was pretty darn good!

Two entrees, two beverages with tip came to $38.