Here’s the UWS Dish: Charles Pan-Fried Chicken’s Plate of Pan-Fried Chicken

By Abigael T. Sidi

The man once anointed “Fried-Chicken King of Harlem” by the New Yorker was born in 1940s North Carolina, one of 20 siblings. He worked on a plantation during the day and helped his mother in the kitchen at night, until he turned 17 and sailed off to New York City.

Once here, Charles Gabriel started as a cook at soul-food icon Copeland’s, where he spent 22 years. At some point, he started selling his own fried chicken by the pop on a picnic table in front of his apartment building. He fried the bird the only way he knew, as his mother did back in the family kitchen: in a large cast iron skillet.

“Cooking the chicken in a frying pan is better than cooking in the deep fryer because the chicken is more crispy, more juicy and not oily,” Gabriel said in a recent interview for You Tube’s First We Feast. Many feel the technique also allows for more consistency from piece to piece, as opposed to basket frying where unevenly cooked pieces, some with nearly burnt or flaccid skin, are common. The trade-off with pan frying, however, is that “you really have to concentrate because you have to keep turning the chicken in the pan. … You can’t take your man off it because if you do, you’ll burn it.”

After turning his popups into a legendary food truck, Gabriel eventually opened his first brick-and-mortar spot on West 125th Street in 1990. With a cooking time for  chicken of about 15 minutes, no more than 25 pieces per pan, and the required constant attention during the whole cooking process, Gabriel did not choose the easy path, to say the least. But he never wavered from his mother’s recipe, working 18-hour days to achieve greatness, including two James Beard nominations in 2018 and 2024. He opened two additional spots in the city, and lucky for us, he chose West 72nd Street as his newest venture, which he launched in 2022.

Located about mid-block between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues, the UWS’s Charles Pan-Fried Chicken outpost is as narrow as it gets, with virtually no seating space. However, you can easily spot the kitchen behind the counter (in which all their famed side dishes are on display), and Eater confirmed the bird is pan-fried on site.

I opted for the classic Pan-Fried Chicken Plate, where three pieces (dark and/or white meat, your choice) come with two sides and one cornbread. The highly advertised, golden and creamy-looking mac and cheese was a no brainer, and I complemented it with collard greens. Lastly, as the ultimate test, I took my order home, a 15-minute bike ride on a cool (but not cold) mid-fall afternoon.

Amazingly, everything was still steaming hot on arrival. And equally as amazing was the chicken, which lived up to expectations, and beyond. Everyone in the family took a bite, and our reaction was unanimous: Not since our food trip (i.e., rampage) in New Orleans in 2022 had we had even come close to fried chicken this crispy, this fresh, this juicy. Its moistness and depth of flavor were on par with that of NOLA’s iconic Willie Mae’s Scotch House, and I’d say CPFC’s version surpasses that of Willie Mae’s because it is far less seasoned and thus entirely reliant on the quality of the actual product.

No one knows the secret recipe behind Gabriel’s magic, other than the fact that he only uses whole chickens and seasons the pieces (skins and bones on) for at least eight hours with a mixture of salt, cracked black pepper and, perhaps, garlic powder or onion powder, and a sprinkle of MSG-containing Chinese five-spice. After a quick rinse in a wash of egg and milk, and an equally quick coating in all-purpose flour, the pieces are fried in soybean oil at approximately 350 degrees. “The sizzle you’re looking for is like a fizz, not an angry, searing boil,” Gabriel told Eater.

Regardless of exactly how he does it, Gabriel’s fried chicken is superb, with no gimmicks or hiding or distractions from a heat kick, hot sauce or anything else. Just the bird, executed to perfection.

While the collard greens were also beautifully executed (not overcooked, with good texture and, for once, not too salty!), I was a little disappointed with the mac and cheese which, while somewhat creamy with a decent cheese pull, failed to deliver on flavor. I regretted not getting the yams, which were my third choice. The cornbread was good (moist, not too sweet or dense), but nothing crazy. Really, what Gabriel is all about is his chicken (although some have argued that the eight-hour smoked barbecue pork ribs are also out of this world.)

Charles Pan-Fried Chicken is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. til 10 p.m., and from 11 a.m. til 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, with take-out and delivery available at these times.

The Dish: Pan-Fried Chicken Plate ($18.95)
The Restaurant: Charles Pan-Fried Chicken, 146 West 72nd Street (between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues)

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