Fried chicken. Waffles. Three words that really shouldn’t be seen in public together, but when Katie Marron’s in the kitchen, you’ll be wanting to throw caution aside and get stuck into some of the best fried chook in town. Katie has relocated her namesake crab shack to the new and improved Rochester Hotel in Fitzroy and is packing out the joint with those keen to pick up a mallet and pop on a bib and hit her famous crab boils. Blue swimmer crab joins corn, kransky sausage and chat potatoes in a hot skillet ready to be picked apart. You can build your own boil with anything from mussels and king prawns to clams – but it’s named a crab shack for good reason.

A crowd of students, young families and other Fitzroyalty all up for a good time gather to get stuck into the good range of crafty beers on tap, sip on quirky cocktails in the courtyard and snack on soft shell crab sliders and fried oysters.

And that chicken? A secret family recipe calls for three days’ prep but that produces a hands-down winning version of this fried classic. A deep tan crust that’s all crunch covers succulent, super tasty flesh, the generous serve of drummies and thighs then teamed with the just-sweet waffles you first smear with parfait. It’s comfort food writ in capitals, and when teamed with a pickleback (whisky with pickle juice) it will have you whistling Dixie off into the night.

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