Charles’ Pan-Fried Chicken

Harlem & Upper Manhattan


It’s a hole-in-the-wall, but charismatic Charles Gabriel makes some of the best fried chicken in the city. Crisp and beautifully seasoned, it’s served with sides including collard greens, yams, mac 'n’ cheese and corn bread. Don’t expect designer touches: just unadorned tables, food on trays, and proof that a book (or chicken joint) must never be judged by its cover.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Harlem & Upper Manhattan attractions

1. Convent Avenue Baptist Church

0.41 MILES

A lovely Gothic-style church offering traditional Baptist services since the 1940s. Morning congregations are fairly dressy.

2. 555 Edgecombe Ave

0.47 MILES

When completed in 1916, this brick beaux-arts giant was Washington Heights’ first luxury apartment complex, with a concierge, a separate workers' entrance…

3. Hamilton Heights Historic District

0.5 MILES

Two parallel streets in Hamilton Heights – Convent Ave and Hamilton Tce – contain a landmark stretch of historic limestone and brownstone town houses from…

4. Morris-Jumel Mansion Museum

0.52 MILES

Built in 1765 as a country retreat for Roger and Mary Morris, this columned mansion is the oldest house in Manhattan. It is also famous for having briefly…

5. Sylvan Terrace

0.54 MILES

The wooden houses on storybook Sylvan Terrace – resplendent with their high narrow stoops, dentiled canopies and boldly paneled wooden doors – constitute…

6. 10–18 Jumel Terrace

0.54 MILES

Along 10 to 18 Jumel Terrace stands a row of town houses, designed in the 1890s by the renowned architect Henri Fouchaux. At No 16 lived prolific…

8. Hamilton Grange

0.58 MILES

This Federal-style retreat belonged to Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, who owned a 32-acre country estate here in the early 1800s. Unfortunately,…