Savor NY: Chicken And Waffles

Sammy Davis Jr, Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole have more in common than being jazz legends. They all grabbed a late night bite at Wells Supper Club in Harlem.

Surprisingly, what made the now famous restaurant a hot spot for jazz-listeners at the tail end of the Harlem Renaissance was not the famous customers. Wells’ claim to fame is that they’re the home of the original home chicken and waffles.

Henry Wells founded his restaurant in Harlem in 1934. Coming from New Orleans, Southern-style soul food was the focus of the menu like many other restaurants in the neighborhood.

Despite Wells having Southern roots, chicken and waffles is anything but. Late one night after a long set, some jazz musicians could not decide if they wanted dinner or breakfast. By frying chicken leftover from the night shift and putting it on waffle, the unexpected savory-sweet mashup was born.

Even though its a crowd favorite now, Jacqueline Orange, founder of Taste Harlem Food Tours, said the innovative meal was not always a hit.

“Can you believe no one would order it? They thought, what is this? Fried chicken and waffles?”

While the dish had a slow start, having a menu item that was not traditionally Southern eventually set Wells apart. Soon word got around about the new culinary mashup, and crowds of people flooded to the Supper Club to try chicken and waffles for themselves.

The original Wells closed in 1982, but the legacy of chicken and waffles has lived on.

The dish has since migrated across the country and different chefs have taken turns putting their own unique spin on the brunch staple.

One thing is certain, no matter where chicken and waffles can be found now, the dish will always have its home in Harlem.