Chicken or Waffles — Review of Sweet Combforts and Wingman Kitchen in Westport

multimedia by Lila Tulp   photos by Sarah Golder

If there’s any perfect breakfast-and-dinner combo, it’s chicken and waffles. At first thought, a sweet and soft breakfast food paired with a savory and crunchy dinner food would result in nothing but a disgusted look and a bad tip. But something about chicken and waffles just works and these waffles were more than the usual subpar IHOP waffles.

Sweet Combforts and Wingman Chicken in Westport provides a split-experience restaurant that has two intense tastes — super sweet and perfectly savory. With a menu that features novelty honeycomb waffles, chicken sandwiches and hot wings from mild to burn-your-mouth hot, this two-in-one restaurant provides customers the chance to experience breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert in one sitting.

I ordered the Oreo-and-cream topped Cookies and Dream waffle and the Fruity-Pebbles-covered Bam Bam waffle for $5.95 each. Based on the long list of ingredients in each item, I figured it would take at least 20 minutes to concoct, but in less than 10, they were on a plate in front of me.

Judging from the pictures I had seen on the restaurant’s wall and website, I had no idea what to expect from the Cookies and Dream besides a chocolatey fantasy — which is exactly what was produced. The waffle was coated in chunks of Oreo and rivers of chocolate sauce. It looked like each attribute was placed purposely to create a perfect conglomeration of sweetness.

One bite in, I was in love.

The crunch of the Oreo, the smoothness of the chocolate sauce and the tenderness of the waffle all came together and made a harmony of perfection. The waffle itself tasted just like a funnel cake, throwing me back into my childhood days at the carnival.

It got a little annoying when I couldn’t avoid chewing on huge Oreo chunks, but with every bite, every doubt melted away.

The pictures on the wall only slightly described the intensity of the Bam Bam waffle. But the pixelated images of the loud and rainbow-clad tragedy couldn’t prepare me for how interesting this waffle would be.

Unlike its Oreo counterpart, the Bam Bam waffle didn’t impress me at all. The first bite told me everything I needed to know — Fruity Pebbles and white chocolate on a waffle was something that never should’ve happened. I was honestly disappointed, considering I love all three ingredients individually. But as a trio, they leave an awful aftertaste that stays in your mouth and your brain for the rest of the night.

A few sips of water finally cleansed my palate to prepare for my favorite dish and the grand finale — chicken strips.

Anyone who knows me knows I order chicken strips from everywhere, from McDonalds to Salty Iguana. This chicken had big standards to uphold.

Upon being served, the crispy and perfectly golden breading already started to make my mouth water. It was almost impossible to wait the three seconds it took to add ketchup.

But those strips were worth the wait.

The ketchup was cold, the chicken was warm and the taste was unparalleled. I’d never tasted chicken that crispy and perfectly chewy in my life. It was like finding a buried treasure that was rumored to be a myth.

The platter took me back to childhood memories at Houston’s on the Plaza with my past-favorite chicken tenders, leaving me almost emotionally attached to pieces of fried meat. I shed an internal tear as I finished the plate, knowing my stomach and bank account would regret another order of chicken for $8.95.

But with two grand-scheme waffles, a four-piece chicken tender and a flood of satisfaction and nostalgia for just about $25, Sweet Combforts and Wingman Kitchen are going to have to file a restraining order to keep me from coming back to indulge in their masterpieces of taste — but next time I’ll skip the Bam Bam.