Lo-Lo’s Chicken & Waffles magnates Larry and Rasheedah White bring the noise at their high-energy East Valley steakhouse – but do they nail the food?
by Nikki Buchanan | Photography by Jill Mcnamara
Larry and Rasheedah White – the hard-driving duo behind Lo-Lo’s Chicken & Waffles, Monroe’s Hot Chicken and Brunch & Sip – have famously turned their affinity for fried chicken, Southern cooking and breakfast food into a multi-state restaurant empire.
Not content to rest on their laurels, the couple last summer ventured outside their casual, come-as-you-are wheelhouse. Taking over the former Charleston’s restaurant spot in Chandler, they opened Warren’s Supper Club, a modern jazz- and R&B-oriented take on the elegant supper clubs of the ’30s and ’40s. Although they kept the former tenant’s booths, massive wooden beams and partial exhibition kitchen in place, the Whites added special table lighting, a neon-lit stage and a few bistro tables near the stage to give the room a sultrier and more authentic supper club vibe.
What might be missing: a place to escape from it all.
In keeping with its name and purpose, Warren’s offers dinner (er, supper) with live entertainment, which happened to be The Franchise Band with vocalist Eloni Yawn on the night of my visit. Now here’s the rub: When the band is playing and the singer is singing, Warren’s can be loud, making conversation in moderate tones a bit tricky. Many people seem to be perfectly content with this scenario. Obviously, they’re specifically there for the entertainment. Me, I like to talk and eat and eat and talk, so the music can be a distraction.
However, you won’t find me kvetching about the exceptional service (we loved our friendly, informed and utterly accommodating server) or the appealing, Southern-inflected menu, which puts steaks front and center but also features high-end options such as short ribs, lamb, crab, lobster, caviar and the ubiquitous seafood tower. Sides skew Southern, and a handful of dishes are laved in melted Cajun or Creole butter. I’m down for all of it.
The first thing to hit the table is a bread course of salt-flecked, lacquered buns (their doughy sweetness reminiscent of Hawaiian rolls), which we slather with butter and down in minutes. Sadly, the charbroiled oysters that follow aren’t half as good. Despite a topping of Creole butter and Parmesan, their flavor is subdued, their texture desiccated. Meanwhile, the melted cheese has turned cold and gummy, and there’s not really enough juice in the oyster cups to be mopped up with toasted baguette slices.
Puffy Maryland-style crab cakes, filled with sweet, shredded crab, are much better, but I prefer bigger chunks of crab, less filler and more crunch. Still, the spicy Cajun remoulade is wonderful, and the arugula salad adds pleasantly bitter counterpoint.
I expected to be rapturous over deviled eggs with lobster, but the whites of the eggs are like rubber, while their yolky yellow centers are runny instead of fluffy. The delicate flavor of the lightly battered and fried lobster on top gets lost in the shuffle. Surely, the lobster would have more pop if it were simply boiled. That said, I ate them all, thanks to the heady boost of truffle hot honey.
It’s been a mixed bag so far, but the entrées are more successful. In fact, a 22-ounce cowboy ribeye steak is nearly perfect – charred, juicy and cooked to temperature. Next time, I’d request it plain. The Creole garlic butter drizzled over the steak is more of a distraction than an asset.
Garnished with peanuts, sesame seeds and cilantro, Korean-style baby back ribs are gorgeous, basted in and slathered with a brick-red sauce containing gochujang and hoisin. They offer subtle heat and a savory Asian flavor profile. I like them well enough (in fact, they grow on me when I eat them as leftovers), but wish the ultra-tender meat had more tug.
There’s no shortage of side dishes – 16 in all! – to round out the meal. For me, the one dud in the bunch is étouffée pot pie, which isn’t really a pot pie but more of a soupy cornbread-étouffée combo that tastes vaguely muddy and brackish. On the flip side, I love the firm but juicy charred corn, which is sweet with just a touch of jalapeño heat. The same can be said for the fluffy sweet potato soufflé our server recommends. Mantled in a crunchy overlay of brown sugar and pecans, it’s super-sweet but super-appealing, too, a delicious cross between a Thanksgiving side dish and dessert – which explains why we don’t order dessert at all, having satisfied our sugar-jones with vegetables.
The bottom line: I think it’s possible to have a great time at Warren’s if you’re comfortable with the volume level of the music. The food I’ve tried so far has been a mixed bag, and at these prices, I expect more consistency, but the menu is fun and worth further exploring. Maybe Sunday brunch? Given a few fixes, I can certainly imagine coming back for the whole shebang – drinks, dinner and entertainment. I’ll just have to learn to keep my mouth shut.
Warren’s Supper Club
Cuisine: American
Contact: 1040 N. 54th St., Chandler, 480-753-1040, warrenssupperclub.com
Hours: W-Th 4-9 p.m., F-Sa 4 p.m.-midnight, Su 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Highlights: Crab cakes ($40); cowboy ribeye ($82); Korean-style baby back ribs ($39); charred jalapeño creamed corn ($16); sweet potato soufflé ($18)
