- I'm Cody Reiss,
and I'm your New York City host for "5 Buck Lunch."
My love of food has taken me to more than 35 countries.
I've worked as a cook, farmer, and cheese maker.
Now, I'm in NYC in search of the tastiest
and cheapest food my duckets can buy.
Join me as I take you to the dankest lunch spots
for five bucks or less.
Squack!
I just got an email from my ex-girlfriend,
and I think I might need some comfort food.
Here I am, I'm in the little tiny hat on top of Manhattan.
I'm talking about the land of milk and money here.
I'm in Harlem.
I'm looking for something deep fried, covered in sauce.
Something that'll allow me to just
kind of eat all my sorrows away.
Can I possibly get something that powerful
for just five US money shekels?
Of course I could,
and I'll show you where.
But first, a fun fact.
Fun fact today is that my ex-girlfriend, Christina,
is now dating me ex-best friend, Kyle, so.
30 00:01:05,510 --> 00:01:06,343 Let's go!
My ex-girlfriend is now dating my ex-best friend.
- Aw, it's sad.
I'm sorry.
- I think that they were seeing each other all along.
- Oh no!
You think so? - Yes, yes.
- Do you think they're like, kissing and stuff?
- Sure.
Of course, right behind your back.
They could do right it in your face,
right at your house at the party.
- Oh, in my party house?
- Yes.
- No!
- You have to forget them.
- Forget both of them?
- Yes.
- All right, I'm starting to forget you guys in three, two--
If you have a message to your exes,
or to any ex out there,
what would it be?
- I hope they safe and be cover up with condoms.
- Yes!
What would you say to her, you can go ahead and just--
- On the camera?
- Yeah, I mean she's probably watching.
- Too bad.
- Oh! - Too bad.
- And why don't you think about it next time?
- Think about it hard.
- It hard. - Hard.
- Tell you what, you take a little time to think about it.
- Hard. - Hard.
What's the last thing you were sad about?
- My taxes.
- Taxes, yeah, you know what,
screw the freaking government.
And you can put that on my God dang death bed.
What's the last thing you were sad about?
- Always.
- When you're feeling sad,
what kind of food do you want to eat?
- I just want to eat seafood.
- Seafood?
- That's where I'm about to go right now.
- Let me get some freaking clams.
- What would you turn to?
- Fried chicken.
- Fried chicken, huh?
- Yeah.
- Well...
Well, I guess there's only two certainties in this world;
everybody eats,
and you'll eventually be betrayed
by everyone you care about.
Now, it's time to drown my sorrows,
and I know just the thing.
Chicken.
Chicken!
Here we are: Charles Chicken.
They're serving up affordable soul food,
and I think it might be the secret to me healing my soul.
Let's go smush on some smash.
Hello, how's it going?
- Hey, how you doing?
- Good, so tell me about the history of the restaurant.
- When I came to New York, I wanted to open a restaurant,
but I didn't have the money.
So what I did,
I got me a table on Amsterdam, 151st street.
So I'd cook chicken in my house
and bring it down the stairs and take it
to the park everyday. - No way.
How much did you sell a piece of chicken for?
- Well, then I was selling a piece of chicken for a dollar.
- A dollar.
- That's amazing.
- Yeah.
- So a lady came by one day.
She said, "Oh, whatcha gonna do when it get cold?"
She said, "Well, you know what, I have a truck."
I said, "But I don't have money to buy the truck."
She said, "OK then, I'll give you the truck,
you can use my license,
and you can pay me as you work."
- Wow.
- I had the truck for five years.
- Wow.
- That's when I got my first write up in "New York Times."
- Cool, congratulations.
- Thank you.
- What can I get for five bucks?
- [Charles] You can get a piece of chicken and cornbread.
- That sounds amazing, yeah. - Yeah, with gravy on it.
- With gravy on top?
- With gravy on top. - Oh my gosh.
I would love that.
Thank you so much.
- OK, thank you very much. - Good talking to you.
Yeah, see you.
Holy crap, a big ol' crispy piece of chicken,
smothered in peppery gravy,
and it comes with cornbread.
I mean, it's almost enough for me to say
Christina who?
It's snarf o'clock,
and I think I hear those church bells ringing.
Just hoping it's not Kyle and Christina getting married.
So, anyhow, let's dive in.
Oh, hell yeah.
Outside's crispy.
Inside's moist.
It's covered in this dark, rich, peppery gravy.
Cornbread, let's see what's going on with it.
Take a little smush-ah-roo, huh?
Maybe give it a dab, no problem.
Dense, kind of sweet.
It's a nice contrast to this, like, super rich thing here.
But I guess that's about it.
I feel like I've learned a lot today.
And Christina, if you're out there,
I still love you, I miss you, but...
I don't need you.
Not in the mood for chicken,
or just ate a bunch of chicken and you're still feeling sad?
I totally get it, my friend.
You know what, you should get?
You should get yourself a nice little side of mac & cheese.
It's only $3.50, and guess what?
You deserve it.
Whoa, great episode, Cody!
Thanks, everyone.
If you like this one, make sure to comment.
Say what makes you sad,
and what do you eat when you get sad.
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