Rockfire Grill, a popular restaurant where friends meet to drink and eat flatbread burgers, pizza and wings, recently decided to expand their clientele and accommodate breakfast lovers in Isla Vista. At the beginning of October, Rockfire Grill was transformed into Rockfire Waffle Shack, the pseudonym for their weekend-only breakfast shop. Rockfire Waffle Shack started out with a bang and released a full breakfast menu of decently priced items consisting of waffles, omelettes, coffee, mimosas and Shack Specials like beignets and huevos rancheros.
I had the pleasure of visiting Rockfire Waffle Shack on its second Friday ever opened, where I tried the banana Nutella waffle and the loaded breakfast fries. On the Rockfire breakfast menu, the waffle is described as: “two of our original golden brown waffles topped with Nutella, banana slices, whipped butter, and powdered sugar;” while the loaded breakfast fries are: “seasoned fries served with melted mozzarella and cheddar cheese, bacon, [a] fried egg, spicy sauce, and cilantro.”
In this video, I try these two items and give viewers a visual look into I.V.’s new breakfast spot. My final reviews were: an 8.5/10 for the loaded breakfast fries and an 8/10 for the banana Nutella waffle. The fries were very well seasoned and crunchy, but the bacon was too flimsy. The egg was a delicious addition but was the only real breakfast aspect of the fries. I enjoyed the spicy mayo but it left me craving a sauce with more of a kick; especially since the hot sauce on the side was watery and flavorless.
It was pleasing to have two, thin waffles stacked on top of each other, but they were close to being soggy, and with the “golden brown” description I expected the restaurant waffles to have a crunchy outside with a warm, soft inside, but that lacked. The waffles themselves had a great cinnamon-vanilla flavor that tastes homemade, and of course, the classic banana-Nutella combination can never disappoint. The whipped butter ball was so large that I at first thought it was a scoop of vanilla ice cream and was disgusted when I took a big bite of it with the waffle. Despite my fears, the addition of the side syrup did not create an overly sweet meal, and it tied all the comforting flavors together.
Overall, I did enjoy Rockfire’s new breakfast menu, especially since I.V. was lacking in breakfast options. If you’re looking for something new to try, visit Rockfire Waffle Shack; only open Friday-Sunday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.