Charm City Wings and Waffles

With its plain tile floor and six or eight booths, Charm City Wings and Waffles could not look much more ordinary. But look down to the floor mat with the flying waffle and prepare to be awed. Our three-piece chicken and waffles ($6.99) was boffo. Boneless breast meat breaded and fried to salty perfection, served hot over a single manhole-sized Belgian-style waffle dusted with sugar. A couple shots of diner-style syrup (not pure maple) went over easy on a big globular mound of butter. The chicken was juicy, crisp, salty and had a hint of spice. The waffle was perfectly rendered. If you’re up for a starchy lunch (or breakfast), this is the thing to get.

At our server’s advice we also got the grilled salmon/shrimp platter ($14), which came over a generous bed of yellow rice but (we noticed only later) without the promised broccoli, corn on the cob and red potatoes. The broccoli would have rounded it out nicely.

The salmon was beautifully done, tender and with just a hint of heat. The shrimp were shrimp—nothing wrong with that—and the rice was a filling pile of slightly greasy, slightly sweet kernels with a bit more of the butter/margarine (Mel-Fry?) base than was necessary. A mild, sweet white sauce was fine, but added nothing necessary to this feast. Hotter options are available, as well as intriguing varieties such as “B-more,” “Raven Sense,” and “Pigtown.”

Two extra-large Arnold Palmers brought the bill to a non-cheap $26.25, but there was enough on the table for four hearty lunches by then. Those not so hungry might choose one of the salads with chicken, salmon, or shrimp for $7.

Really, though: Get the waffle.

> Email Edward Ericson Jr.