NY Restaurant Review: Pies & Thighs

Last Sunday, I joined my friends, Andy and Sarah, for a delicious meal of fried chicken and pies and biscuits at the new and improved joint, Pies-N-Thighs. Tucked into a homey looking corner place, this little place is everything you want in a southern comfort food place. Fortunately I was going with two other food enthusiasts so we were prepared to order different dishes and share the fun. This place totally rocked out on a couple of things and was sub par on other areas. First, the dish above: "The Fried Chicken Box." A generous serving of fried chicken, home made biscuit and a side (hash browns). The fried chicken here is hands-down excellent. Definitely the best friend chicken I have ever had, the flesh was perfect and moist and the skin was crispy and not too oily. The biscuit was flaky and buttery and tasted just like those Pillsbury biscuits your Grandma used to make on the weekends.
Inside the restaurant they had a little sign that read "Voted Best Donut in New York by New York Magazine." A young man sitting next to us said he came to the restaurant frequently and that the donuts are very good. We were convinced, so we ordered a donut and here it is:

Either we came on a bad day for donuts of all the people raving about these donuts have never tried a good one. Sarah and I were not fans of the donuts which we felt lacked softness and sweetness. Andy liked it for those very same reasons so I guess it's all up to you personal donut feelings. In my opinion, a donut should taste wonderful alone but this donut needed the maple syrup to be flavorful.

Next we ordered the Fried Catfish Breakfast combo which included two eggs cooked to your choice and a side of grits. The whole lot was topped with their house made salsa. Here it is my friends:

 The catfish was very flavorful, perhaps a bit too salty, the grits were lacking a little in texture and flavor. The catfish went nicely with the eggs. There needed to be more salsa for flavoring, I found myself wanted more hot sauce to go with this meal.

Next up we have the fried chicken and waffles combo. Another generous serving of friend chicken, two grain waffles and some fresh blackberries.

I have only ever had fried chicken with waffles once before and I loved the way the fried chicken tasted with a piece of a thick waffle and a little dollop of maple syrup. This one however...not as much. Again, the fried chicken was perfect. The blackberries were a nice touch but the waffle themselves were seriously lacking. Similarly to the donut, I found them a bit dry and not quite sweet enough, maybe this is just me.

Finally, since the word "Pies" is in the name of the restaurant we couldn't leave without trying some of the their pies. They are known for their apple pie with cheddar cheese. So we ordered one of those:

While this slice of pie was tasty, there is A LOT of room for improvement. First off, it was served cold. Second, the pie crust was too thick and much too dense. Third, they really just put a slice of cheddar under the pie slice. Andy liked this particular attribute because it offset the sweetness of the pie and gave an interesting after taste. I did not appreciate this because my mom used to make apple pie with cheddar cheese and she would grate the cheese into the dough so that it baked with the pie and it was a million times tastier.

After ordering the apple pie, we learned they had a rhubarb pie so we tried on of those too:

I really liked the rhubarb pie! I would have probably liked it more had it been heated, had a less dense crust and served a la mode rather than a la whipped cream, but the filling was fantastic! A+

Would I go back to Pies-N-Thighs? Absolutely, but I would order a little differently and try some of their other pies. Stick to the fried chicken, have a biscuit for the buttery comfort, ignore the donuts, get the catfish if you are into fried fish, and have a great time!

Love,
Fried Chicken Fan

Pies-N-Thighs
166 South 4th Street (at Driggs)
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
347-529-6090