Image via Complex Original
Need proof there's a god? Behold chicken and waffles, a food that straddles the realms of savory and sweet like nothing else can. Some may say chicken and waffles lacks savoir fair, but we think it makes up for it with pure, unadulterated fried-goodness (and a crap-load of syrup).
But all chicken and waffle dishes are not created equal. There are myriad subtleties that go into perfecting this prized pièce de résistance: how deeply fried the chicken is, the sugar content of the syrup, and the waffle's density, just for starters. There's a science to this.
While we haven't cracked that elusive formula ourselves, we have tracked down the few who have. Leave your cholesterol apprehensions at the door and your calorie counts behind, and shamelessly dive in to the Best Chicken & Waffles in NYC. And if doc asks about your sky-high HDL's, feel free to blame Complex.
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10. Sweet Chick
Neighborhood: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Address: 164 Bedford Ave.
Website: sweetchicknyc.com
Comfort food with a sometimes Southern bent—that's what Williamsburg newcomer Sweet Chick is serving up. In addition to offering a classic chicken & waffle combo, the charming, kitschy spot also offers the option to go the bacon & cheddar or rosemary & mushroom waffle route, should you want to switch the style up. (Pro tip: you defintely should).
Vegetarians can also experience the restaurant's signature dish with a crispy "thigh" of seitan that will turn even the most avid carnivores into converts. With waffles this on-point (a crispy exterior with pillow-soft innards) a bevy of homemade butters to slather on (lemon, herb, and berry), the protein (almost) plays second fiddle, anyway. Wash it down with a purple drank, a play on a gin fizz made with Welch’s grape soda, and leave ridiculously satisfied.
9. Clinton St. Baking Co.
Neighborhood: Lower East Side
Address: 4 Clinton St.
Website: clintonstreetbaking.com
This cozy eatery may have made it onto the map with their blueberry pancakes, but it's their chicken and waffles that is undoubtedly keeping them there. The salty-sweetness of CSB's buttermilk fried chicken meets its match with a crunchy Belgian waffle, but it's the warm maple butter and honey-Tabasco-kick that make this waffle unforgettable.
8. Melba's
Neighborhood: Harlem, Manhattan
Address: 300 West 114th St.
Website: melbasrestaurant.com
If you were even slightly shocked when Bobby Flay was taken down by the Melba Wilson during his chicken and waffle throwdown, you have never been to Melba's. Those who have had a taste of Ms. Wilson's waffle-wonders had their bets placed way in advance.
But if you don't know, know you know: Melba's eggnog-soaked waffles and the crispy, crunchy meat she tops it off with are the stuff of fantasies and culinary wet dreams, and the freshly whipped strawberry butter she covers her concoction with finish us off finish the dish off just right.
7. Cafeteria
Neighborhood: Chelsea
Address: 119 7th Ave.
Website: cafeteriagroup.com
Being open 24 hours, Cafeteria is Chelsea's go-to post-boozing feed. Some go to sober up, others in hopes of catching a glimpse of someone famous trying to sober up, but you? You go for the chicken and waffles.
Cafeteria's fried chicken is juicy without being oily and their waffles crisp enough to withstand even the most overzealous syrup usage. This is a chicken and waffle duo that is too good to be wasted on inebriated taste-buds. Go sober and your mindful mouth will thank you.
6. Sylvia's
Neighborhood: Harlem
Address: 328 Malcolm X Blvd.
Website: sylviassoulfood.com
If you already know that Sylvia is Harlem's go-to for soulful grub, it should come as no surprise that she is also our go-to for top notch chicken and waffle indulgences.
Grab a seat at Sylvia's counter, and she will set you up with an oversized piece of deeply fried chicken that will only be outmatched by the even-more-oversized waffle she puts beneath it, and the heaping scoop of butter she drops on top of it. You may not be able to breathe post-consumption, but focus on the bliss settling its way into the deepest part of your stomach, and you'll be just fine.
5. The Brooklyn Star
Neighborhood: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Address: 593 Lorimer St.
Website: thebrooklynstar.com
By now, it's no secret that we're big on the Brooklyn Star. We're already obsessed with their insanely good bacon mac and cheese, and their understated sweet tea sour (the idea warm weather cocktail, but our latest preoccupation is with their sumptuous platter of chicken & waffles.
Candied grapefruit is served alongside a browned and bouyant waffle, and topped with a juicy, full-flavored hunk of chicken. Thought the waffle is wonderful, it's this gloriously gluttonous bird that will have you singing the Brooklyn Star's praises. Also, napping. Like, immediately afterwards.
4. Pies 'N Thighs
Neighborhood: Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Address: 166 South 4th St.
Website: piesnthighs.com
Pies 'N Thighs may look like just another Williamsburg hipster haven, being that it's frequently crowded with ironically dressed, PBR-drinking types—but don't hold it against them.
Truth is, anyone can enjoy a BBQ chicken joint run by cute women, especially when those women are not only whipping up freshly baked waffles and topping them with greasy-good chicken, but also smothering said waffle with an artery-clogging quantity of cinnamon butter.
Sorry, but this time, it looks like the hipsters are onto something.
3. Back Forty
Neighborhood: East Village
Address: 190 Avenue B # 1
Website: backfortynyc.com
Back Forty admits it that it is a burger joint "at its core," but that doesn't stop them from serving some of the best chicken and waffles the city has to offer. Back Forty's chicken is coated in a nutty batter which conceals some seriously moist meat, and is served beside a sweet belgian waffle that contrasts the chicken's mean crunch with its super-softness. Back Forty keeps the fix'ins simple—a side of creamy butter and maple syrup—but the wings and waffles pack so much flavor solo, you could easily tear halfway through before you even think to use either of them. Not bad for a self-proclaimed burger joint.
2. Buttermilk Channel
Neighborhood: Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn
Address: 524 Court St.
Website: buttermilkchannelnyc.com
Chicken battered within an inch of its life is the name of the chicken and waffle game at Buttermilk Channel. And with a place with a name that brings breakfast to mind, you'd expect that their waffles would be equally on point, and your expectations would be beyond met.
Buttermilk Channel's award-winning, heavily carb-coated chicken lounges on a pillow-soft cheddar waffle and comes topped with flurry of powdered sugar. Served on the side is a bittersweet maple-balsamic glaze (more for the dipping than the pouring) that ties in the homemade coleslaw sitting beside your chicken-topped waffle, which you probably overlooked. Chicken vision—it's a real thing.
1. Amy Ruth's
Neighborhood: Harlem, Manhattan
Address: 113 West 116th St.
Website: amyruthsharlem.com
If you're looking for the mecca of chicken and waffles, look no further than Amy Ruth's, the only Southern spot we know with an entire menu devoted to protein and waffle combos alone.
Of the chicken-included variety is the Rev. Al Sharpton, which comes fried or smothered in gravy by request, or the Tommy Tomita, which features waffles and fried chicken wings. Either will be the best decision you've ever made, because Amy Ruth's is among the few, rare places whose just-crisp-enough waffles and never-too-crunchy chicken leave nothing to be desired...except a bed.
