A few years ago, on a trip to New York, I was introduced to Charles Pan-Fried Chicken by some friends who live nearby. Since then, no visit to New York is complete without a stop at this soul food institution in Harlem for some of the best fried chicken I’ve ever tried, so you can imagine my delight when I heard the much-loved establishment was headed for London.
Fried chicken is pure comfort food, and that’s what chef Charles Gabriel has built his restaurant on. Born one of 19 siblings in North Carolina in 1947, Charles mastered Southern comfort food under the guidance of his mother who passed on the golden rule — never deep fry, always pan fry.
Preparing dinners for his family who worked on the nearby cotton fields from the age of eight, Charles relocated to New York at 17 where he worked as a chef.
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Starting out of his apartment before moving onto a food truck, Charles Pan-Fried Chicken was officially established in 1990, and he’s since been referred to as “The Fried Chicken King of Harlem” by The New Yorker.
London has no shortage of chicken shops, but few are infused with the same passion felt in the generous cuts of golden chicken served up by Charles.
In fact, I rarely eat fried chicken in London because it’s hard to find anything that comes close to the Harlem institution.
A box of fried chicken in London might satisfy cravings for a few minutes, but it’s nothing on the kind of meal you get with a trip to Charles Pan-Fried Chicken, complete with baked mac & cheese, collard greens, black-eyed peas and sweet cornbread.
While plenty of cultures have their take on fried chicken, and some historians even allege that it was introduced to the Southern United States by Scottish settlers in the 1700s, many will agree that the version popularised by African-American communities in the South is the most iconic.
These communities built an entire culture around the food, with it often served after church services, and the best parts of the chicken known as preacher parts saved for visiting pastors.
So it was no surprise that many devout followers turned up to Charles’ pop-up truck on London’s South Bank on a sunny evening last week, but the experience wasn’t quite the same in my native city as it is in New York.
Charles Pan-Fried Chicken is so popular that he’s been dubbed “The Fried Chicken King of Harlem” by The New Yorker -Credit:Sydney Evans
The meal certainly didn’t disappoint, and the crispy fried chicken was just as tender as I remembered. However, I was sad to see that the set menu didn’t include an option for black-eyed peas, another Southern staple that I love.
But Charles’ food is the kind that’s made to be eaten and shared around a large table with family and friends. Ordering boxes brimming with chicken and cornbread, setting this around the table and digging in is what makes it so comforting.
So while it didn’t disappoint, and tucking in on a bench with the London Eye in the distance was certainly pleasant, I’m looking forward to returning to the Harlem institution in its native New York City, and taking it back to a table nearby where there’s hardly any place for plates once the boxes have been set down.