Chicken and Waffles
Recently The Union newspaper in Nevada County featured a front-page article about Charlie’s Café, a Grass Valley institution owned and operated by Kelly and Eric Grossmann since 2011. The menu includes breakfast/brunch classics like eggs Benedict, sourdough pancakes, biscuits and gravy, and one of Chef Eric’s favorites—chicken and waffle (two pieces of crispy hand dipped chicken on a Belgian waffle topped with Nashville hot honey butter). Boy howdy, I said to Kit, and the two of us traveled back in time to 1995 when we had our first Gospel Brunch in Harlem.
We were on assignment for National Geographic to scout a three-day exploration of Manhattan from one end to the other for a group of geography teachers from urban schools around the country the following summer. As part of the scouting experience, we took a bus up the east side of Central Park to Lenox Ave in search of Sylvia’s Soul Food Restaurant on a Sunday morning.
Finding it closed, we took a bus with Harlem locals dressed in their Sunday going to church clothes and made our way to the center of Harlem where we found a Soul Food restaurant between 125th and 135th on Adam Powell Blvd.
Somewhere in that neighborhood, we had what is referred to as “Gospel Brunch” in a small, family restaurant at the hour when church in Black Harlem let out and their preacher, choir and congregation are ready to dine. In a small notebook where I kept a detailed record of our Manhattan adventures that trip, I found a notation of items on the menu that Sunday: ¼ fried chicken with collard greens, sweet potatoes and rice or a waffle, served with a complimentary Mimosa. That dining experience was the beginning of my romance with the magic tastes experienced when hand-dipped and fried chicken is paired with buttermilk waffles, butter, and maple syrup.
So where did this unusual pairing of sweet and salty, soft and crunchy, maple flavor and chicken first come about? According to the newsletter Harlem World, the home of the best chicken and waffles in the world was Wells Restaurant on Seventh Avenue, now Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard between 132nd and 133rdStreets in Harlem. It opened in 1938 (the year Kit was born in Greenport, Long Island) and closed in 1982. When Ann Wells opened the restaurant with a humble and homey atmosphere, there were only 3 booths and 5 stools. Eventually it seated 250. In 1999, the Amsterdam News in Harlem said this about Wells: “No appetites are safe from the magnificent Southern Creole Cuisine with a twist of island flavor when visiting Wells.”
According to the article, “Wells bloomed as one of the greatest hot spots in Harlem, with a bevy of entertainers who dropped in.... Jazz musicians would stop by late at night after their various gigs. The musicians arrived too early for breakfast, enjoying the appetizing compromise of fried chicken and waffles. Nat King Cole held his wedding reception there.
I then learned from the article that Wells inspired a nationwide trend. In 1976, the year I met Kit at UCLA, Harlem native Herb Hudson opened Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles in Los Angeles. It became a popular destination for music industry professionals and became a part of the Hollywood food landscape. In 2011, President Obama stopped by and ordered the Number 9 “Country Boy”—three wings with choice of waffle, potato salad or French fries. I’m guessing his choice was the waffle.
Wanting to know if Brooklyn native and author Matthew Goodman ever went to Wells or Sylvia’s Soul Food Restaurant in Harlem, I related my experience with Kit in 1995 when we had our chicken and waffles epiphany Gospel brunch. Matthew responded, “We haven’t had chicken and waffles at either of those two places, but we’re a big chicken-and-waffles family and have gotten it at numerous restaurants — our very favorite being the legendary Amy Ruth’s at 113 W 116th Street in Harlem, where the chicken and waffles is known as “the Rev. Al Sharpton.”
Matthew also included a wonderful video of a culinary writer’s visit to Amy Ruth’s and a step-by-step tutorial by head chef Sister Jeanette on how she prepares Amy Ruth’s famous chicken and waffles. She begins with a prayer, because after all, her creations are food for the soul.
Video: Fried Chicken and Waffles at Amy Ruth’s
My longtime Peace Corps pal Steve Landau sent this note: “I’m embarrassed for me as a native NY-er to admit that I’ve never eaten southern cooking at either Sylvia’s or Amy Ruth’s in Harlem. But after watching the video and reading Matthew’s praise for the “Rev. Al Sharpton,” I do intend to make it my business to get down (from Westchester) to Amy Ruth’s for chicken and waffles in the very near future. Wishing you the most satisfying and delectable of gustatory adventures throughout 2023 and beyond.”
Will I head to Harlem for chicken and waffles at Amy Ruth’s the next time I’m in NYC?
Absolutely! In a New York minute!