Tag: fried chicken

Twofer Tuesday
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10/07/14 9:47am

Fried Chicken and Pigs Feet for Breakfast

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CHARLES

Breakfast of champions at Chez Charles in Harlem.

Nobody ever accused me of writing a blog about health food. Thus the subject of today’s Twofer Tuesday, Charles’ Country Pan  Fried Chicken in Harlem. Now I’m not going to get into the debate about who makes the best Southern fried chicken in New York City, but let’s just say that Mr. Charles Gabriel’s is the best I’ve ever had for breakfast.

When you’ve journeyed all the way up to Chez Charles, it’s best to go for broke. So my buddy and I did, ordering that soul food power duo, fried chicken andf pigs feet.  The crunchy juicy chicken lashed with hot sauce and unctuous pigs feet were just part of our complete breakfast that morning.  And heck, those collards almost  made it a healthy one. Almost.

Charles’ Country Pan Fried Chicken, 2839 Frederick Douglass Blvd., Harlem, 212-281-1800

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Dish O' The Day
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08/25/14 11:00am

Canton Gourmet’s ‘Famous’ Chicken is Aptly Named

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CANTONCHICKEN

This Chinese fried chicken deserves to be described as famous.

PLEASE NOTE THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED

As much as I go on about a certain  secret Taiwanese fried chicken, I do have another favorite Chinese fried chicken. It comes from Canton Gourmet. A poster sized come-on for this dish first encouraged me to try it. “Famous garlic aromatic crispy chicken,” read the English name. The poster depicting an entire golden fried bird showered with fried garlic, shallots, and scallion had me at “crispy chicken.” Throw in those three not so little words “famous garlic aromatic,” and I was sold.

Whoever’s on the fry station at Canton Gourmet knows what they’re doing and does it well. The salty skin is shatteringly crisp, yet the meat remains juicy. It was a great pleasure to crunch my way—bones and all—through an entire $11.95 platter. This top flight Chinese fried chicken is entirely deserving of its lofty moniker. I resolve to eat it more often.

Canton Gourmet, 38-08 Prince St, Queens, 718-886-9288

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Sandwich Wednesday
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06/04/14 10:47am

White Castle’s Chicken and Waffle, a Southern Slider

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WHITECASTLE

Chicken and waffles, sliderized.

I have a confession to make. Until this past Mardi Gras, I’d never eaten chicken and waffles. Oh yeah, and, every now and then I get a jones for White Castle. And I used to work there. I guess that’s three confessions. It’s been at least a year since I paid a visit to my local White Castle, but when I saw a poster for the new chicken and waffle sandwich, I knew I’d be stopping by soon. Had I not eaten a rather large Sri Lankan lunch, I would have tried this exercise in comfort food excess immediately.  “Imported from Belgium,” the copy promised presumably referring to the waffles, not the chicken. Today I decided to try out the slider king’s entry into the comfort food mashup market. (more…)

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News
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12/30/13 2:50pm

C+M’s 20 for 2013, a Look Back at the Year That Was

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As 2013 draws to a close rather than offer up a list of resolutions—less chips more gym, save money, etc.—C+M offers a list of 20 of our favorite posts, a highlight reel of the year that was. Let the mostly Queens-focused cavalcade of offal, sandwiches, mashups, secret eats and deliciousness begin.

Crazy Crab’s Yunnan special sliced pork salad.

PLEASE NOTE THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED

1. Best use of Pig Face
Crazy Crab’s Yunnanese pig face salad is a spicy sour, salty, and unabashedly funky showcase for swatches of cool, slightly chewy pig skin.

2. Best Fizzy Water for Gluttons
Apart from being the preferred beverage of Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin the selling point of Borjomi, a Georgian sparkling mineral water, is that it “Gets rid of unnecessaries,” or as expressed in more forthright language elsewhere on the company web site, “Borjomi also improves functioning of intestines and supports slag excretion.”

3. Flushing’s Cheapest Veggie Burger
The $1.25 cài bĭng at Super Snack, a counter just outside Golden Shopping Mall is packed with crunchy piquant mustard greens and is as fine a snack as any.

(more…)

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Sandwich Wednesday
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11/20/13 10:45am

The Taiwanese Fried Chicken Gua Bao, an Exercise in Excess

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CHICKBAO

Nothing quite exceeds like excess.

Ever since I saw the ad for Subway’s Sriracha Chicken melt sandwich I’ve been strangely fascinated by it. I had every intention of covering it for this week’s Sandwich Wednesday, but couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger. That’s how I found myself in Flushing casting about for a sandwich idea and settled on trying the gua bao ($2.50), or Taiwanese pork belly sandwich from Taipei Hong, my secret Taiwanese fried chicken connection. And then it hit me. “Let me have a Number 1, spicy,” I said giving  the secret password for the off-menu fried chicken, “and a gua bao.” (more…)

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Sandwich Wednesday
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09/04/13 1:02pm

Why White Castle’s Tiny Sandwiches Beat Jollibee’s

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Woodside
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JOLLIBEE1A

A bumblebee’s eye view of Jollibee’s entire sandwich menu.

C+M’s sandwich coverage has included everything from West Indian fried fish to gargantuan Mexican tortas. Lately I’ve been feeling a bit jaded, so for this week’s Sandwich Wednesday I undertook the journey to one of Queens’ most exotic dining establishments,  Jollibee.  After all I liked the spaghetti and fried chicken combo at the Filipino fast food spot so I figured why not try their new $1 Little Big Bites. I mean you can’t go wrong for a buck. Then again maybe you can . . .

jolli3

The corned beef is slightly reminiscent of barbecued beef brisket.

The menu at the home of the psychedelic bumblebee offers two types of tiny sandwiches, Spam and corned beef. Both are served on squishy slightly sweet buns with a generous slather of mayo. Spam is best served well-fried. So the floppy, somewhat slimy rectangle of mystery meat lolling out of the bun did little for me. The corned beef on the other hand was kind of tasty, calling to mind barbecued beef brisket. (more…)

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Twofer Tuesday
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08/27/13 10:32am

A Chinese Fried Chicken Battle in Flushing’s Chinatown

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CHATIME1

Chatime food court, home to Flushing’s fiercest fried chicken rivalry.

Once upon a time not too long ago on the corner of Main Street and Maple Avenue in New York City’s most magical Chinatown there was a food court that went by the name Savor Fusion. Its overlord was a distinguished Taiwanese gent named Bobby Lee, who looked like he just stepped out of a Hong Kong gangster flick. Depending on the day’s vibe, the mustachioed Bobby was either chilling with his attractive and much younger wife, getting into a fracas with rowdy patrons, or giving out fruit to his handpicked roster of vendors who represented cooking styles from all over China. One thing was always certain though, excellent food turned out by two female chefs.

Mind and palate-blowing Sichuan fare—dan dan mian, spicy fried fish, and all manner of spicy pickles—was the specialty of  the charmingly gruff  Zhū Dà Jiě. Home-style Taiwanese chow, including  lovely salt and pepper fried chicken, was the province of the equally gruff matriarch of Taipei Hong. Sadly Savor Fusion is no more, but Zhū Dà Jiě. now has her own restaurant, which is quite excellent. Taipei Hong and its magnificent chicken were but a distant memory. I’d given up all hope of ever tasting it again. Then one day I ran into the chef on Roosevelt Avenue. I’d already eaten a substantial meal at the New World Mall, but she insisted on showing me her new joint. (more…)

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Twofer Tuesday
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05/28/13 10:32am

Pondok Jakarta’s Fried Chicken is Southeast Asian Soul Food

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Whitney fried chicken, named for a certain thoroughfare in Elmhurst.

Whitney fried chicken, named for a certain thoroughfare in Elmhurst.

Ever since I got back from North Carolina I’ve had a fried chicken jones. Efforts to round up a crew of eaters to head uptown to Charles’ Country Pan Fried Chicken have fallen apart. I’d just about given upon my fried chicken quest when I found some in the most unusual of places, Pondok Jakarta, a newish Indonesian spot on Whitney Avenue in Elmhurst.

Pondok Jakarta takes its name from a traditional Indonesian hut. Whitney Fried Chicken ($8.95) leads the roster of chicken dishes. The Indonesian name listed beneath, ayam goreng ala pemuda, means fried chicken pemuda style. Pemuda means youth, and, as best as I can tell, has been affiliated with various Indonesian political movements. Politics aside it’s some fine fried chicken. (more…)

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Twofer Tuesday
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04/09/13 12:15pm

The Strangely Tasty Spaghetti and Fried Chicken Combo at Jollibee

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Woodside
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Fried chicken and spaghetti, together at last.

Fried chicken and spaghetti, together at last.

When I first saw the spaghetti at Jollibee, the Filipino fast food spot in Woodside’s Little Manila, I wrote it off as a perverse creation that I’d never order. Last night I had a change of heart and gave the Pinoy pasta a whirl. I decided to hedge my bets and order a fried chicken and spaghetti combo. That way if the pasta was totally inedible I could at least munch away on the drumstick.

It’s like a sloppy joe version of pasta.

It’s like a sloppy joe version of pasta.

I was expecting a sodden overcooked mess. The pasta though was surprisingly al dente. Moreover the sauce, plenty sweet and riddled with chunks of sausage, carrots, and enriched with melted cheese was strangely compelling, in a school lunch sort of way. Around the third or fourth bite, I realized that it reminded me of one of my favorite school lunches growing up, sloppy joes. I can see why little kids go gaga over this spaghetti. That bird, or Chickenjoy, as Jollibee calls it was good but not great. When I’m looking for fast-food fried chicken I’ll stick to IHOP or KFC. And when that craving for strange spaghetti hits I’ll know where to go. After last night I should be good for two years.

Jollibee, 62-29 Roosevelt Ave., Woodside, 718-426-4445

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Dish O' The Day
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03/26/13 11:13am

IHOP’s ‘Earth-shatteringly Good’ Fried Chicken Dinner

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Union Square
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IHOP’s fried chicken dinner is surprisingly good.

IHOP’s fried chicken dinner is surprisingly good.

“We’re going to IHOP in the City,” a friend excitedly told me the other day, “You should come, it’ll be fun.” “Uh, no thanks,” I said thinking that I have a list as long as my arm of more important, more flavorful, more international foods to try in Manhattan before heading to the International House of Pancakes. In addition to my general foodwriterly concerns I wasn’t feeling especially hungry having just polished off an order of plov and a meat pie two hours before.

“Have you had their fried chicken? It’s earth-shatteringly good,” he exclaimed. And with that I was convinced to take a car ride to IHOP, a place I haven’t set foot in for at least 20 years. You see, I love good fried chicken, and frankly don’t eat it often enough. On the way there we passed by Momofuku. While my companions made fun of the name, I found myself longing to try David Chang’s $100 two-bird Korean-American fried chicken fiesta, but I stayed the course and we soon found ourselves at IHOP. (more…)

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