&Waffles Brunch in Studio City (Score: 6)

Location: 4141 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91602 (right near Universal Studios)

Ambience: Visually, this modest brunch spot is a treasure. Not because it's all dressed up and fancy, but because it looks like a place that serves waffles and doesn't pretend to be anything else. You can sit in the standard diner-style inside or outside where there are some two or four person tables. Luckily for whoever owns this place, it's right next to LA's most recent viral sensation, Easy Street Burgers (which I've yet to try), so this block is usually lined with people, mostly for burgers though. We ate here on a weekday, but during weekend brunch hours this place is pretty popping too.

Food: Opening up the menu, it feels pretty self-evident that the dish to order is the chicken &WAFFLES. I mean, two of the three words in that dish are in the name of the restaurant. How could I not? The waffles were everything you'd expect. Voluptuous, sweet and spongey enough to soak up a ton of maple syrup. A+ waffles. The cajun chicken on the other hand was very mediocre and had a rubbery texture to it. Perhaps I went in with too high of expectations, but I was disappointed with the chicken. Now I know why they left it out of the name of the restaurant. I will be returning for the waffles, however, and I'm really glad places like this exist.

What we ate: Cajun fried chicken and waffles

Final thoughts: Go here focused on the waffles and the sides (which all looked good). It'll remind you of somewhere you've been before. Chicken nonobligatory.