ROCK FALLS – The city got some Flavor Friday.

Rapper and reality TV star Flavor Flav held court at Mama Cimino’s, doing interviews and posing for photos. Flav and Mama Cimino’s owner Nick Cimino have joined forces to put Colonel Sanders in check.

“We connected,” Cimino said. “We got a lot in common. Plus, I love his chicken.”

Flav’s Fried Chicken opens at 916 N. Second St. in Clinton, Iowa, on Monday – next to another Mama Cimino’s location. Cimino raved about the “Flavor of Love” star’s amazing culinary creation. “The chicken is amazing,” Cimino said.

Though it’s the signature dish, that won’t be all that’s offered at the restaurant.

Flav raved about his 99-cent chicken wings. The menu also features ribs, macaroni and cheese, greens, mashed potatoes and baked beans. Nick’s brother, Peter, discovered Flav’s cooking talent.

Peter owns a Mama Cimino’s restaurant in Las Vegas – merely doors from Flav’s crib. A slice of Cimino’s pizza brought them together.

“I was Peter’s first customer,” Flav said.

He invited Peter to his home and returned the favor – cooking for him. The fried chicken left Peter mesmerized and thinking of the possibilities.

“This chicken is good,” Flav recalled Peter saying. “We need to sell this at the restaurant.”

Flav seized the opportunity – more for Peter’s sake than his own.

“Let me blow your spot up,” he said.

So, Flav’s 99-cent chicken wings made their debut. Flav and his wings became a hit with the rest of the Cimino clan, when they hit Vegas.

“The family heard Peter had a great celebrity friend,” Flav said. “They incorporated Flava Flav into the Cimino family.”

After watching Flav flour, season and fry up chicken himself, Peter had an epiphany – build Flav his own joint. Once Flav said yes, things moved quickly. Nick sent photos of the building, with a 75-person capacity, as it went through a metamorphosis.

“I’m very proud of what Nick has done,” Flav said. “I never took gym, but I was flippin’. It feels like a Flavor Flav spot.”

He’s already looking ahead. Flav’s confident that this is just the beginning. People already have started asking about buying a franchise. Flav again stressed he couldn’t have a better partner.

“Birds of a feather gonna flock together,” he said.

You may know Flavor Flav as a star in the VH1 reality series “The Surreal Life 3” and “Strange Love.” But his biggest TV hit was “Flavor of Love” on VH1. In that show, the rapper brought his signature “Yeah, Boyeee!” to the reality show in which, as an eligible bachelor, women tried to win his heart.

Flav stressed his television persona is very different from the real Flavor Flav. Decked in a sweatshirt, baseball cap, pants and fur jacket, Flav proved to be humble. He greeted fans as friends.

“Everybody has a right to think what they want about a person,” Flav said. “They don’t have a right to judge.”

Frankly, Flav’s too busy to think about other people’s opinions. Le Flav Spirits, a line of vodka, is expected to drop in February.

A Napa Valley winery is producing a cabernet in bottles, which feature his image on the front and song lyrics on the back. Flav, a Long Island native, also is planning to introduce Brooklyn Iced Tea.

Then, there’s music. Flav has been a member of the legendary rap group, Public Enemy, for 25 years – making members eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Flav said Public Enemy still is recording.

In fact, fans raised $75,000 at www.sellaband.com to pay for the group's next album. Flav said it probably will be recorded on Long Island, as well as in California and Las Vegas.

“My partner, Chuck D, is no joke,” he said. “When you come to see a Public Enemy show, you see a show.”