Smothered with deliciousness
My friend Kathryn Hill shares my jones
for soul food. She’s tried many spots, but always says she liked Harley’s the
best. She had a special fondness for the Thurston Road location in the ’80s, and
took me to the downtown, Clinton
location during its brief existence.
Well, Wilbert Harley — pastor, meat-cutter, businessman,
and cook — is back. Along with his wife, Celestine, he’s opened up Featuring
Harley’s at a more accessible spot on North Clinton,
just off the corner of Norton (a minute south of 104). Clearly, the place is
going to require some extensive, um, research.
Soul food is, in some respects, the polar opposite of what
goes on in much of the contemporary, culinary universe. It is not about a
back-lot garden, free-range chickens, and un-weaned lamb, all barely cooked to
preserve Gaea’s unassailable goodness. Rather, soul
food makes the best it can from what most of us can afford on a daily basis:
bone-in or tougher cuts of meats, and dried, canned, or frozen vegetables. A
good cook like Harley can spin pure gold from this flax.
Cube steak, the Thursday special, was my introduction. Cube
steak is round that’s had the tar knocked out of it in a tenderizing machine.
Like many “lesser” cuts, it’s more flavorful than expensive steaks, and the
cubing makes it melt like butter. Harley fries and smothers it in gravy, and it
just rocks. $10.95 brought a huge steak and two sides. And of course, it’s all
about the sides.
Black-eyed peas and collard greens are beautiful, with a bit
of fat, but not so much that it masks the flavors of the peas or greens. Yams
are dark with spice and pucker-your-lips sweet. My wife loved them. Soul food string
beans are slow-cooked, full of pot liquor flavor, but often a mushy mess; these
had all that depth of flavor, but maintained their texture.
“He didn’t know how to cook 30 years ago,” Celestine says of
her husband, “but he started practicing on kids, and something just happened.”
It sure did. Not a single item disappointed. The pork ribs ($10.95) were
flavorful right down to the bone (Kathryn says, rightly, that most ribs have no
flavor inside). Harley’s sauce is sweet with some interesting mysteries of
spice.
My favorite main dish was the smothered pork chops, thick,
meaty, and tender, with a gravy you’ll want on
everything ($9.95). My wife relished her juicy, baked half-chicken ($9.95). If
you’re down with the hardcore, come Wednesday for oxtails ($10.95), Friday for
southern-style catfish ($9.95), or Saturday for chitterlings ($11.95).
Harley is a pastor, and Celestine works at the church, too;
their positive, centered personalities pervade Harley’s. It’s clean and comfortable, the young wait staff friendly and absolutely
polite. I believe the sign forbidding foul language will be enforced. We came
on a Sunday, and though Harley’s has a casual feel, felt underdressed as
families arrived after church. Still, we felt nothing but welcome.
Soul food is often sweet, and the iced tea is very much so
(but delicious, and served in big, ol’ mason jars).
Peach cobbler is $3.50, but the rich, large portion was dessert for five of us.
Kathryn tells me by e-mail that Harley’s cornbread was “some of the best ever.”
I’m a fan of true cornbread, with little or no flour, not sweet, and meant as a
side for savories. You can’t get it in Rochester.
But Harley’s is the closest I’ve had; not too sweet, and with good, corn
texture.
Celestine Harley thinks people often don’t know what to
expect in a soul food restaurant, but wants to stress Harley’s’ family
atmosphere. I’ll second that; it worked beautifully for my whole brood (and the
value is excellent when you consider that you’ll get lunch the next day from
your leftovers). Kathryn wrote me, “I’m surprised to hear about Harley’s. Thought he gave up.” But Celestine says, “Harley is back and
he wants to stay back.” With great food, value, and service, and a better, more
accessible location, Harley should stay back for a good while this time. Let’s
hope so.
Featuring
Harley’s, 1415 North Clinton
Avenue, 266-8070. Hours: Tuesday &
Wednesday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11
a.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday, 1-6 p.m.
Food tip
Corn! Tomatoes! Man, do I love this time of year. Corn is
everywhere, of course, but if you’ve driven by Gentle’s Farm Market and found it closed, don’t despair. Mr. Gentle
is still growin’ and pickin’,
and you can self serve at a stand next to the market. Also, get some of Mark Cupolo’s corn chowder at Max Chophouse. And don’t forget to get your daily BLT while the gettin’s good on tomatoes. Stop by Swan’s Market at 231 Parcells Avenue for bacon
smoked right here in the city.
— AW
This article appears in Aug 30 – Sep 5, 2006.
