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| - I feel betrayed. My second visit to Harlem Underground was a disaster, and I'd been talking it up to my dinner companion for weeks. I actually feel embarrassed. At first I thought maybe I'd just ordered wrong, but my friend had what I had on my first visit, fried chicken with waffles--the house specialty, and was distinctly unimpressed.
I had the turkey meatloaf, feeling in the mood for something less egregiously unhealthy than fried chicken, and it was terrible. Dry and bland and sort of chewy. It was improved by a nice though small side of steamed spinach with a slightly sweet (maple syrupy?), buttery sauce, but that wasn't enough to rescue it.
We both had a side of mac and cheese, me because they were out of sweet potato fries (odd, since earlier that afternoon I bought sweet potatoes at the grocery across the street). It was not totally awful but it tasted like it had been sitting around for a while.
Two things rescued it from one star: the service and the red velvet cake, the latter of which I doubt was made anywhere near the premises and even a bit dry, but nonetheless authentic and delicious. Thank you Liam, our charming and on the ball server. I hope the lackluster food doesn't screw you out of the tips you deserve.
I'm eager to see what other reviewers have to say, because clearly my experiences are wildly inconsistent.
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