Goin' Southern Yawl

Taking the 3 Train north, further north than we'd ever been before, we found ourselves in the centre of Harlem, surrounded by the relics and ghosts of the 1920's jazz boom and the vibrancy and colour of one of New York's most happening neighbourhoods.  A two hour walking tour took us to historic sites such as the iconic (and now converted to offices) Hotel Theresa, where Fidel Castro famously spent an evening with Nikita Khrushchev, and the still thriving Apollo Theater within which great names such as Ella Fitzgerald and The Jackson Five were discovered during its weekly Amateur Night.

Being a massive centre for African-American culture, we were very much looking forward to some more of the incredible Southern style cooking we enjoyed on our last road trip of the South.  Over pre-dinner drinks, we explained to our friendly bar lady that we were heading over to Sylvia's famous restaurant, having found nothing but recommendations for this long running establishment in my Google searches:
'Another round, sugar?' she asked.

'No thank you,' I replied.  'We're going over to Sylvia's for some food but we may be back la....'  Her upturned nose and single raised eyebrow instantly told me what she thought of my plan.

'Honey, if you want real Southern cookin' you don't need to be goin' to Sylvia's.  Sure, it's okay, but it's too popular now, the food just ain't like it used ta be.'

'A tourist trap,' I added.

'Kay,' she called down the bar, to a lady sipping a large glass of white wine.  'Honey, what you think of Sylvia's?'  The same raised eyebrow.  'See what I mean? No, you ain't going to Sylvia's tonight, you're going to Amy Ruth's, and you're gonna get you some fried chicken and waffles...'

'Oh yeeeah,' came Kay's response up the bar as I was handed a scribbled address.

So we went to Amy Ruth's...

Perfectly seasoned and delicately fried chunky catfish fillets with black eyed peas and super cheesy, super thick home-made baked mac'n'cheese - This is the South on a plate.

Doing as we were told, we also ordered the fried chicken and waffle dish.  Now, the Yanks really do sweet and savoury...a lot! - and what sounds to us Brits utterly cuckoo-crazy on paper, often ends up being the most "right" kind of "wrong" you've ever tasted.  Peanut butter smothered bacon cheeseburgers in New Orleans, for example - incredible.  Likewise, once you've got a mouthful of Amy Ruth's moist, tender, hand-fried chicken, wrapped in extra crispy southern style batter, with a chunk of sweet, fluffy breakfast waffle, all drizzled in maple syrup, your life (and taste buds) may be turned around forever.