Brunch Is Wilde With This Chicken and Waffles Dish

Lydie Lovett knows chicken. She’s been frying up juicy yardbird for more than a decade, first with her mobile Chicken Rebel sandwich stand, which she brought from San Diego to Denver in 2017 before going brick and mortar in 2019. But six years later, Lovett transformed her sunny LoHi eatery to brunch-only Wilde. There, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, the vibe is beachy and the bites lean SoCal Mexican. (The fries in the Baja burrito are a dead giveaway.)

The poultry’s as good as ever—just dig into a teetering plate of chicken and waffles as proof. “This is the same chicken I did at Chicken Rebel,” Lovett says.

The magic starts with a 24-hour brine followed by a sous vide bath (the secret to keeping the white meat juicy) and a double dredge in buttermilk and seasoned flour before a final fry. The waffle is Belgian-style, with pellets of pearl sugar that caramelize into satisfyingly crunchy bits. Drizzled in house-made bourbon maple syrup, the combo is a collision of sweet, savory, salty, crispy, and tender. “It’s great that people are still coming to us for chicken,” Lovett says. “I can’t escape it.” We don’t know why anyone would want to. 3618 Tejon St., Denver (LoHi)

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