NY Eater reports that three years after it closed, Devin’s Fish & Chips has reopened in Harlem, one of the seafood cafes and carryouts that have been staples of the neighborhood.
These cafes usually offer fried or steamed shrimp, scallops, flounder, and whole porgies, but the signature is often the whiting sandwich: lightly coated with flour and cornmeal and fried to an agreeable brownness, served on white or whole wheat bread, and dressed with tartar sauce and vinegary, Louisiana-style hot sauce.
When I reported on the availability of whiting sandwiches in Central Harlem in May 2014, eight places produced them; now four of those have closed.(The best remains open: Famous Fish Market, 684 St Nicholas Ave.) One establishment not included on the list was Devin’s on the edge of Sugar Hill, then around 13 years old. That’s because a severe fire in the kitchen had closed the restaurant a few days previously, on April 22, 2014. It had been one of the most popular fried fish cafes in Harlem.
The place is as great as ever. The outside is strung with pennants and the inside remains almost as before: A long narrow kitchen on one side parallels a counter seating area that runs deep into the interior. The fixtures are all new, and the two owners, Anthony Robinson and Debra Salichs, presided; she in the kitchen, he greeting returning customers.
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