Manhattan: Morningside Heights
Posted by Nikki Goldstein, October 30, 2009 at 1:00 PM
[Photo: Nikki Goldstein]
If you've ever trekked all the way downtown to the Clinton St. Baking Co. only to find a near-eternal wait for pancakes, you might try heading in the opposite direction next time. Community Food and Juice, the newly-reopened Morningside Heights brunch staple, is owned by the same folks, and their expanded dining quarters have tremendously reduced the wait to get in.
Like its big sister, Community boasts some pretty tasty pancakes, but the ones I'd recommend most strongly are on the savory side: they're made from potato and celery root. I tend to associate celery root with pickling (my mom's favorite preparation), but this is far different. It brings out the vegetable's subtler side, adding just a hint of complexity to a classic dish. Perhaps more importantly, the celery root lends a wonderfully smooth texture to the batter which doesn't compromise the outer crisp, making for a truly intriguing combo.
Continue reading »
Posted by Nikki Goldstein, September 18, 2009 at 1:30 PM
"It’s about forgoing the syrup because the actual dish needs no further complement."
[Photograph: Robyn Lee]
Though I’m always a fan of totally original dishes, there’s nothing like a classic done perfectly. If it has a little bit of a subtle twist, even better. That’s why I go back to Kitchenette time and time again—their pancakes are my favorite in the city, and sometimes no combination of unusual toppings or batter mix-ins is going to top their simplicity.
But what about their French toast? It’s my favorite brunch dish, so it’s about time I tried it.
At Kitchenette, the French toast comes stuffed with an ever-so-thin layer of cherry vanilla filling—though as tasty as that filling is, it’s the home-made brioche used for the toast that makes this dish really shine. Kitchenette must be using special water or some kind of magical flour, because each kind of dough they whip up seems to far exceed your already-high expectations. This brioche, in particular, was simultaneously dense and fluffy—the initial crunch of the crust giving way to a melt-in-your-mouth middle, creating a lovely balance of texture. (And that’s coming from a girl who always makes her French toast with Challah.)
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, January 27, 2009 at 11:00 PM
Photographs by Robyn Lee
Rack & Soul
258 West 109th Street, New York NY 10025 (b/n Broadway and Amsterdam; map); 212-222-4800
Service: Friendly and relaxed
Setting: Funkily elegant space designed by Tony Award-winning set designer John Lee Beatty
Compare It To: Blue Smoke, Sylvia's
Must-Haves: Fried chicken, baby back ribs, pork shoulder, shrimp po' boy
Cost: $16 for fried chicken, two sides, and biscuits
Grade: A-
When it opened three years ago Rack & Soul brought together three unlikely partners: New York's legendary uptown fried chicken master and soul food truck/restaurateur, Charles Gabriel; an Alabama competition barbecue pit master John Wheeler; and last year's Memphis in May grand champ (his team was called "The Natural Born Grillers"); and restaurateur Michael Eberstadt, a Jewish New Yorker who was in the forefront of the Harlem restaurant renaissance when he opened A Slice of Harlem and Bayou just north of 125th Street almost ten years ago. Now that I'm writing this, it's clear that when you put these three characters together, you end up in a cross-cultural Obama world.
Fast forward to 2009.
The truck and then restaurant that Charles had on 155th Street and 8th Avenue are sitting dormant. A Slice of Harlem and Bayou are no more. And Rack & Soul, getting killed by the deepening recession and its inflated Broadway rent, moved around the corner to 109th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam—not exactly a restaurant row or magnet for strolling Upper West Siders looking for the city's best damn fried chicken or exemplary baby back ribs made from a genuine Old Hickory smoker.
Last week I ordered some chicken and ribs from Rack & Soul, and both were delivered by Charles himself. I greeted Charles at the door: "You're Charles." "Yes, I am," he responded with a shy smile and nod. Inspired by the fine takeout food and seeing Charles again, I decided to go to the new Rack & Soul. Because if everything else was up to snuff, I knew I had hit the Super Bowl party food trifecta: Fried chicken, real smoked barbecued ribs, and fried shrimp with oyster po' boys, which Michael Eberstadt had imported from the now-defunct Bayou menu.
Continue reading »
Posted by Erin Zimmer, December 1, 2008 at 6:30 PM
Photograph from Eating in Translation on Flickr
For a collapsed economy special that's slightly more upscale than the $4.45 Gray's Papaya deal (two dogs and a drink), check out Rack & Soul in Morningside Heights. The soul food/barbecue joint is offering prix fixe recession lunches and dinners until Inauguration Day.
Rack & Soul
2818 Broadway, New York NY 10025 (nr. 109th Street; map)
212-222-4800
Posted by Jenn Sit, October 16, 2008 at 12:30 PM
From garbage plates to the chips, cheese, and chicken combination I was hooked on from English kebab vans, I have an unhealthy obsession with french fries topped with fattening goodies. So when my friend told me about salchipapas at Pio Pio, I almost ran over to the Upper West Side branch. French fries topped with fried hot dog slices? Say no more.
Continue reading »
Posted by Nikki Goldstein, October 30, 2009 at 1:00 PM
[Photo: Nikki Goldstein]
If you've ever trekked all the way downtown to the Clinton St. Baking Co. only to find a near-eternal wait for pancakes, you might try heading in the opposite direction next time. Community Food and Juice, the newly-reopened Morningside Heights brunch staple, is owned by the same folks, and their expanded dining quarters have tremendously reduced the wait to get in.
Like its big sister, Community boasts some pretty tasty pancakes, but the ones I'd recommend most strongly are on the savory side: they're made from potato and celery root. I tend to associate celery root with pickling (my mom's favorite preparation), but this is far different. It brings out the vegetable's subtler side, adding just a hint of complexity to a classic dish. Perhaps more importantly, the celery root lends a wonderfully smooth texture to the batter which doesn't compromise the outer crisp, making for a truly intriguing combo.
Continue reading »
Posted by Nikki Goldstein, September 18, 2009 at 1:30 PM
"It’s about forgoing the syrup because the actual dish needs no further complement."
[Photograph: Robyn Lee]
Though I’m always a fan of totally original dishes, there’s nothing like a classic done perfectly. If it has a little bit of a subtle twist, even better. That’s why I go back to Kitchenette time and time again—their pancakes are my favorite in the city, and sometimes no combination of unusual toppings or batter mix-ins is going to top their simplicity.
But what about their French toast? It’s my favorite brunch dish, so it’s about time I tried it.
At Kitchenette, the French toast comes stuffed with an ever-so-thin layer of cherry vanilla filling—though as tasty as that filling is, it’s the home-made brioche used for the toast that makes this dish really shine. Kitchenette must be using special water or some kind of magical flour, because each kind of dough they whip up seems to far exceed your already-high expectations. This brioche, in particular, was simultaneously dense and fluffy—the initial crunch of the crust giving way to a melt-in-your-mouth middle, creating a lovely balance of texture. (And that’s coming from a girl who always makes her French toast with Challah.)
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, January 27, 2009 at 11:00 PM
Photographs by Robyn Lee
Rack & Soul
258 West 109th Street, New York NY 10025 (b/n Broadway and Amsterdam; map); 212-222-4800
Service: Friendly and relaxed
Setting: Funkily elegant space designed by Tony Award-winning set designer John Lee Beatty
Compare It To: Blue Smoke, Sylvia's
Must-Haves: Fried chicken, baby back ribs, pork shoulder, shrimp po' boy
Cost: $16 for fried chicken, two sides, and biscuits
Grade: A-
When it opened three years ago Rack & Soul brought together three unlikely partners: New York's legendary uptown fried chicken master and soul food truck/restaurateur, Charles Gabriel; an Alabama competition barbecue pit master John Wheeler; and last year's Memphis in May grand champ (his team was called "The Natural Born Grillers"); and restaurateur Michael Eberstadt, a Jewish New Yorker who was in the forefront of the Harlem restaurant renaissance when he opened A Slice of Harlem and Bayou just north of 125th Street almost ten years ago. Now that I'm writing this, it's clear that when you put these three characters together, you end up in a cross-cultural Obama world.
Fast forward to 2009.
The truck and then restaurant that Charles had on 155th Street and 8th Avenue are sitting dormant. A Slice of Harlem and Bayou are no more. And Rack & Soul, getting killed by the deepening recession and its inflated Broadway rent, moved around the corner to 109th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam—not exactly a restaurant row or magnet for strolling Upper West Siders looking for the city's best damn fried chicken or exemplary baby back ribs made from a genuine Old Hickory smoker.
Last week I ordered some chicken and ribs from Rack & Soul, and both were delivered by Charles himself. I greeted Charles at the door: "You're Charles." "Yes, I am," he responded with a shy smile and nod. Inspired by the fine takeout food and seeing Charles again, I decided to go to the new Rack & Soul. Because if everything else was up to snuff, I knew I had hit the Super Bowl party food trifecta: Fried chicken, real smoked barbecued ribs, and fried shrimp with oyster po' boys, which Michael Eberstadt had imported from the now-defunct Bayou menu.
Continue reading »
Posted by Erin Zimmer, December 1, 2008 at 6:30 PM
Photograph from Eating in Translation on Flickr
For a collapsed economy special that's slightly more upscale than the $4.45 Gray's Papaya deal (two dogs and a drink), check out Rack & Soul in Morningside Heights. The soul food/barbecue joint is offering prix fixe recession lunches and dinners until Inauguration Day.
Rack & Soul
2818 Broadway, New York NY 10025 (nr. 109th Street; map)
212-222-4800
Posted by Jenn Sit, October 16, 2008 at 12:30 PM
From garbage plates to the chips, cheese, and chicken combination I was hooked on from English kebab vans, I have an unhealthy obsession with french fries topped with fattening goodies. So when my friend told me about salchipapas at Pio Pio, I almost ran over to the Upper West Side branch. French fries topped with fried hot dog slices? Say no more.
Continue reading »
Posted by Jenn Sit, October 2, 2008 at 3:30 PM
"I discovered the spicy special myself a month or so ago... and it is glorious." "Next time I'm buying two." "To you non-believers, NEVER doubt the glorious invention that is the Spicy Special."
These are just a few soundbites gathered from various blogs and sites that hail the $4 Spicy Special sandwich, a hero that is fiercely beloved by Columbia students. Known as the "Crack Deli" to some, the 109 Gourmet Deli is open 24 hours, which makes it another prime target for the drunken munchies of Columbia kids—and might also explain its loyal following. Of course I had to experience this lauded and mysterious creation for myself, especially when I realized that its maker is at 109th and Amsterdam, just around the corner from my apartment. So one afternoon I journeyed up the block to find out what all the Ivy chatter was about.
Continue reading »
Posted by Jenn Sit, September 25, 2008 at 12:15 PM
Roti rolls. Kati rolls. Chapati rolls. Indian burritos. Call them what you will—if you live in New York and have never had any variation on these stuffed grilled paratha wraps, get one now. They are hand-held, greasy, and full of any number of ingredients—from chicken tikka with egg to palak paneer, depending on where you venture. Lucky for us, since the success of Kati Roll Company, which has two locations (one in Midtown and one in the West Village), these rolls seem to be popping up all over the place—from the Biriyani Cart in Midtown, who were recently nominated for a Vendy Award, to Roomali in Gramercy.
When I discovered Roti Roll Bombay Frankie was around the corner from my apartment, open late on the weekends, and just a few steps down from my neighborhood watering hole and Columbia favorite, 1020, it became a must-eat. Yet, even more exciting than seeing if the rolls were up to snuff was trying the Masala Calamari—a unique and strange addition to the Indian burrito scene. Who knew that a pint of spicy fried squid after a night out could be pretty good?
Continue reading »
Posted by Jenn Sit, September 11, 2008 at 2:45 PM
Continuing on my quest for the cheap and delicious in Morningside Heights, I came upon Flor De Mayo, which has not one, but two locations uptown. A restaurant with a split-personality—Flor De Mayo's menu serves up both Chinese and Latin American cuisines. On this trip, I decided to bypass the Chinese and went straight for the Pollo a la Brasa: a whole Peruvian rotisserie chicken.
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, September 9, 2008 at 11:00 PM
Photographs by Robyn Lee
Campo
2888 Broadway, New York NY 10025 (b/n 112th and 113th; map); 212-864-1143; camponyc.com
Service: Sloppy if well-meaning
Setting: A long narrow dining room with pleasant sidewalk seating
Compare It To: Gennaro, Celeste, Bianca
Cost: $35 for two courses, a glass of wine, tax, and tip
Grade: C
The neighborhood around Columbia University has never had a really good Italian restaurant. Yes, there's old school V & T for thick-crusted pizza and red-sauce Italian-American cooking; Max SoHa has let me down on more than one occasion; and Sezz Medi' has pretty good Neapolitan-inspired pizza, but I've never had anything else there that blew me away.
So I was psyched when I read about Campo, a new contemporary Italian restaurant with a chef, David Rotter, whose pedigree includes a stint at the late Vincent Scotto's fine restaurant, Gonzo.
Continue reading »
Posted by Jenn Sit, September 4, 2008 at 1:00 PM
Awhile back—mostly out of the laziness that kept me from venturing anywhere above 14th Street—I made a joke to a friend about having no good places to eat in his Upper West Side neighborhood. Suffice to say, I never heard the end of it from that offended friend (and no, it wasn't Ed). Now, having moved to just a few blocks from said friend, I've found myself eating my words.
And those words are delicious tortas from Taqueria y Fonda la Mexicana.
Continue reading »
Posted by Jenn Sit, August 28, 2008 at 3:45 PM
Younger and Hungry: Self-Portrait circa 1st Grade
My love of pizza began at an early age. "Pizza" was one of the first words I learned to spell, I would ride past Pizza Hut every day on my way to school, and the restaurant was where I had my first birthday party. To the right is my ultimate pizza artifact—written 15 years ago in my first grade journal, I simply declared: "I like pizza becauce it is good." I may not have drawn hands or feet, but I sure did remember the mushroom toppings.
15 years and countless slices later, I've moved to the Upper West Side and have found myself flanked by two neighborhood joints: Koronet and Sal & Carmine's. Sure, I could go for Koronet's cheap super jumbo slices, but Sal & Carmine clearly serves the superior slice. Yet, $24 for a large cheese pie is a bit much—especially since this was the Plan B after the 60-cent dinner plans at Patsy's failed. To reconcile the situation, I came up with the semi-homemade pizza bar—Sandra Lee, god help me.
Continue reading »
Posted by Hannah Howard, June 11, 2008 at 3:45 PM
I was yearning for some bacon-wrapped dates from SIP, my favorite tiny Morningside heights café/bar/restaurant/jack of all trades. The dates are fat and juicy, stuffed with oozy cream cheese and parceled up in bacon. More importantly, they cover all the bases of a perfect bar snack: salty, sweet, fatty, creamy, crunchy. Bliss.
I had ventured uptown to get my fix, but I was out of luck. My waitress was apologetic but powerless to change the debacle. SIP was out of their awesome bacon dates. What was a bacon-needing girl to do but order the billionaire's bacon. Carmelized in brown sugar and sounding promising enough, it would simultaneously allow me to get my fix while also satisfying my sweet tooth. The bacon arrived flecked with parsley and sticky with sugar, a winning flavor combo, but clearly my disappointment was leftover from the absence of the real dish I craved. 'Billionaire's bacon' is no bacon wrapped dates.
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, February 26, 2008 at 8:50 AM
Imagine a a new kind of Greek coffee shop, one opened by a really talented chef who uses good ingredients and does his thing in an environmentally friendly way.
Sounds good, doesn't it? Sounds like a concept that any New Yorker would welcome in their neighborhood. Well, Columbia and Morningside Heights have the first one: Community Food & Juice.
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, December 6, 2007 at 10:30 AM
Today is the second day (and the third night of Chanukah), and I feel like I should share what I know about latkes in New York. The Manhattan latke world suffered a great loss recently when the Polish coffee shop Teresa's on First Avenue closed. Thank God the Teresa's in Brooklyn Heights is still open. Teresa's makes crisp, thin, oniony latkes that were to die for. Thin, crisp and crunchy on the outside, and soft and oniony on the inside. That is my latke Platonic ideal, and I hope you agree. I don't want my latkes to be more than an inch think. That's why I have so many problems with latkes at kosher-style delis. They make them too thick and they often don't fry them to order. That is a major latke sin. In fact, I think those deli owners are commiting latkecide. That's why you're likely to do so much better at Polish coffee shops, where they wouldn't dream of trying to get away with serving reheated latkes. So where does one go just such latkes worth the calories, the cholesterol, and the carbs?
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, September 18, 2006 at 7:27 AM
A number of ELE users commented, and rightly so, that all the places on my Best Italian restaurant list were all pretty damned pricey. So I thought I should take a stab at a list of potential top five neighborhood Italian restaurants. How do I define a neighborhood Italian restaurant?
A restaurant where you can eat two courses and a glass of wine and spend $25. Neighborhood restaurants that don't require as much of a financial commitment and advance planning. You might wait on line because in many cases these restaurants don't take reservations.
The trouble with most neighborhood Italian restaurants is that most often they serve food that is well-meaning but mediocre at best. That said, there are a number of wonderful neighborhood Italian restaurants sprinkled all over NY. The over-all experience at these neighborhood spots will not likely be as satisfying (service and space can often be lacking), but the food can be delicious.
Here is my list of contenders:
Anthony's: Park Slope
Bianca: Noho
Biricchino: Chelsea
Celeste: Upper West Side
Cono & Sons: Williamsburg
Da Andrea: West Village
Frankies 457 Spuntino: Carroll Gardens
Frankies Clinton St. Spuntino: Lower East Side
Franny's: Park Slope
Gennaro: Upper West Side
Il Bagatto: East Village
Inoteca: Lower East Side
Joe's of Avenue U: Gravesend, Brooklyn
Manducatis: Long Island City
Nick's: Upper East Side
Sapori D'Ischia: Woodside, Queens
Sette Medi: Morningside Heights
Tommaso's: Bensonhurst
Via Emilia: Flatiron District
Have I missed any?
Posted by Ed Levine, September 12, 2006 at 6:54 AM
Yes, Absolute Bagels (2788 Broadway, New York NY 10025; 212-932-2052) is my choice for New York's best bagel. A Thai family–run bakery, Absolute's bagels are chewy, crunchy, and, blessedly, not too sweet. They also do not suffer from bagel elephantiasis, which has made many New York bagels into dirigibles with holes.
Absolute's mini bagels are my snack of choice—they're even crunchier than the regular-size versions.
And how could I forget Absolute's $1.85 bagel with cream cheese when I listed my $2 and Under New York City Eating Pleasures?
H & H's bagels are too sweet, too big, and have no crunch or chew whatsoever.
I think the reasons everyone loves them is that they're most often warm when you buy them and the shop's proximity to Zabar's (which actually carries a superior bagel, from Columbia Hot Bagels).
Are there really any other contenders in New York or anywhere else?
My bagel silver medalist is The Bagelry, 429 Third Avenue, New York NY 10016; 212-679-9845.
My bronze goes to Bagel Oasis, 183-12 Horace Harding Expressway, Fresh Meadows NY 11365; 888-BAGELOASIS.
Posted by Ed Levine, September 11, 2006 at 1:27 PM
I know which way I'm voting, but I don't want to affect the results. Cast your vote now
Posted by Ed Levine, August 18, 2006 at 10:48 AM
When I woke up this morning I had a deep yearning for a piece of fried chicken.
I'm actually not that particular about which piece. Thighs, wings, drumsticks and even the frequently dry breast, are all all right with me, because in the end I love fried chicken because of the crispy, crunchy, greaseless exterior coating, in which the breading and the skin become a cosmic one.
So where can I go for my fried chicken fix today?
Three places immediately come to mind:
1) Rack and Soul/Charles' Southern Style Kitchen: Charles Gabriel is perhaps NYC's greatest fried chicken cook. If he used just a little more salt in his batter he would be inducted into the International Fried Chicken Hall of Fame. One note: Last time I was in Rack and Soul for lunch, our chicken arrived two minutes after we ordered it. It had obviously been made well before we ordered it. So if you go at lunch, tell them you'll wait until your chicken is cooked to order.
Rack and Soul: 2818 Broadway (109th St.) 212-222-4800
Charles' Southern Kitchen: 2837 Eighth Avenue (152nd St.) 212-926-4313
2) Blue Smoke: Kenny Callaghan's fried chicken was inspired by an unscheduled stop I forced him to make at Gus' World Famous Fried Chicken , when we were driving back to the Memphis airport after spending two days eating barbecue at the Southern Foodways Barbecue Conference. Though nobody at Gus' let him get too close to the kitchen, he must have picked up something he put to use. The fried chicken here is amazing, crispy and crunchy on the outside, moist and delicious on the inside. Note: It's only served at dinner. I've begged them to serve it at lunch, but they wouldn't do it.
You can order it when you are listening to music at the Jazz Standard downstairs. It is the best thing I've ever tasted in a club.
Blue Smoke: 116 E. 27th St. (between Park Ave. South and Lexington Avenue) 212-447-7733
3) Jacque-Imo's NYC: Jacque-Imo founder Jacques Leonardi had the wisdom to hire the late, great Austin Leslie when he opened his Jacque-Imo's in New Orleans. Austin Leslie passed on recently, but you can eat a reasonable facsimile of his wondrous fried chicken at the Jacque-Imo's NYC on Columbus Avenue. There it's cooked to order. At the branch in Grand Central, the fried chicken has obviously been sitting around too long.
Jacques-Imo's NYC: 366 Columbus Ave. (77th St.) 212-799-0150
Posted by Ed Levine, June 16, 2006 at 5:27 PM
A reader has asked me for my list of top five barbecue joints in NYC.
What are yours? This is one everyone has an opinion on.
The more pertinent question is whether there are even five barbecue joints in NY with the hunger, passion and knowledge to do right by 'cue. I ended up writing about seven.
In alphabetical order (almost):
Blue Smoke: Danny Meyer, Kenny Callahan and Mark Parisi-Maynard are trying to do right by cue' lovers in NYC, and most of the time they succeed, although inconsistency continues to plague the 'cue here. The ribs are consistently excellent, the brisket less so, and the fried chicken at dinner rocks. On average I would give Blue Smoke a 90.
Daisy May's BBQ USA: Adam Perry Lang has hung up his fancy-pants toque in favor of the pursuit of the ultimate 'cue. I haven't had his barbecue recently enough, so I'll give it an incomplete for now. But I know Adam has been faring well on the competition barbecue circuit, so he's still got the smoke in his veins. In general I find he tries a little too hard with his barbecue sauces. His meat is generally far superior to his sauces.
Dinosaur Barbecue:John Stage took a lickin' from the critics when he first opened, and based on my recent experiences there, the critics were dead wrong. Stage knows his barbecue, uses plenty of real wood, and again has a passion for doing 'cue right. I'll give the it a 90.
Rack and Soul: I went early to Rack and Soul, and I found the barbecue hard to judge as it was slathered with very sweet barbecue sauce. So I'll give it an incomplete until I return. Charles Gabriel's fried chicken was way good, however. The chicken gets a 93.
RUB: Paul Kirk and his partner have done a pretty good job with RUB. The brisket is dry, the burnt ends rock, the ribs are generally damn fine, and I don't ever order barbecue chicken, but the duck was surprisingly good the one time I had it here. Burnt Ends: 92,Brisket: 70, Ribs: 88
Virgil's: You can't expect great barbecue in Times Square, but Virgil's serves up a creditable plate of ribs. I give it an 82.
One final entry not in alphabetical order:
Pies N Thighs Many writers I know and respect speak very highly of the pork shoulder here. The only time I had it, it was so smoky it tasted of nothing but smoke and vinegar. I'll be back, so for now it's an incomplete.
Posted by Ed Levine, April 23, 2006 at 1:07 PM
Charles Gabriel, perhaps NYC's finest fried chicken practitioner, has expanded south from his base at 151st St. and Eighth Avenue (Charles Southern Kitchen:212-926-4313) to 109th and Broadway, where he is cooking his very fine bird at Rack & Soul (2818 Broadway, 212-222-4800). He was in good form last night, when our party of five descended on the simple but comfortable space restaurateur Michael Eberstadt has built to house Charles & company and a smoker fueled by wood and gas installed by competition barbecue man John Wheeler.
Charles' bird was golden brown, greaseless, and crunchy and crispy on the outside and moist and tender on the inside. In short, it is everything I want fried chicken to be. Wheeler's ribs were messy, satisfying baby backs, but the very sweet glaze they were coated with almost completely obscured whatever smoky taste the Old Hickory brand smoker imbued them with. My wife's fried catfish was fried just as skillfully as the chicken, though its crispy exterior could have benefited by a shake or two of salt.
Sides: very good beans studded with tons of pork, standard macaroni and cheese that could have used a little tang and a little more cheese, solid cole slaw that wasn't overwhelmed by mayo or sugar, tender (not al dente) stringbeans that tasted like they were cooked with meat as well, lovely soulful potato salad, by the numbers candied yams, collard greens that I forgot to taste, and (get this) a waffle that was crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, much like the fried chicken. I like any place that offers a waffle as a side dish.
All this food was preceded by very good corn muffins with a honey glaze, and succeeded by moist pieces of red velvet cake and pineapple cake from a local Harlem bakery (I believe the owner said he got them from Let Them Eat Cake). They're still working out the kinks in the service (our food took a long time to come), but the staff was pleasant and well-meaning. When Dirty Bird to Go opens, I look forward to comparing its fried chicken to Charles'.
