Fried chicken and catfish (Pies'n'Thighs)

I've been giving a lot of thought as to where I want to live in NYC next year. Obviously my salary puts a big constraint on what's possible... obviously I can't afford to solo a studio in Chelsea, I probably can't manage a room on the Upper East Side, and I certainly can't find an affordable place near Union Square. Outside of financial considerations, second in my list of criteria is probably food. I know this doesn't make sense, but nope... I don't really care about my personal safety so long as there's something good to eat near my house. So yeah, lately I've been squinting my eyes super hard thinking about foods I like to eat... things like hand-pulled noodles (Chinatown), Japanese Curry (Hell's Kitchen), doughnuts (Greenpoint), and things that are, in general, fried. Which brings us to a post on "why Nicholas wants to move to Williamsburg." Three words... sort of... Pies'n'Thighs.

Someone pointed out that their name sounds like a bakery run by strippers. This is true, and unfortunately for middle-aged perverted men everywhere, that is not the case. Pies'n'Thighs is just your friendly neighborhood eatery specializing in Southern comfort food in the form of fried chicken (and other fried things) and pies. Two of my most favorite things conveniently located in a single shop... +2 for points on moving to Williamsburg. When Robyn and Melissa asked if I had ever been, I secretly squealed like a schoolgirl, but calmly replied that I had not and would love to.



If it's not obvious yet, they're really good at making fried chicken. Super crispy skin, nice juicy white meat, all-around solid flavor profile. Their catfish might be even better though. I usually abstain from eating stuff that comes from the water (I prefer not scratching myself to death)... but their fried catfish was crazy good. With just a light coating of breadcrumbs, the catfish was remarkably tender and juicy... pulling apart with just light prodding from a knife. The flavor is kind of nondescript, but when paired with tartar sauce... this shit was spot-on. And it also came with cornbread. It is an impossibility to screw up cornbread, so that was awesome too. Another +1 for living in Williamsburg?



There's something called a "chicken biscuit" on their menu. It is $5.50. Not knowing what exactly it was... curiosity definitely played a role in it getting ordered. It's basically their standard biscuit - warm, flaky, buttery, and happiness in pastry form - sandwiching a fried chicken cutlet drizzled with honey butter and hot sauce. Is it good? Fuck yeah it is. Is it worth $5.50? It's small as hell... so probably not. Whatever. I'd eat it again if it were free... if that means anything to you.



Since the store name has "pies" in it, they must be good at making pies. Fact. Even after being warned by Robyn that their pies probably weren't anything special, I was still adequately aroused by the idea of eating pies and fried chicken in one place. When I looked at the dessert specials menu, I was torn between the struffoli (it's dough... FRIED!) or the coffee ice cream pie. Tough decision. More fried stuff or an ice cream pie?



We got the coffee ice cream pie. Buyer's remorse for me. I realized it was really just coffee ice cream in an Oreo crust (which probably should've been completely obvious to me from the name). Not that it's not great and all - it tasted good - it's just that fried dough covered in honey and sprinkles seemed way more baller after ordering.

Unfortunately for me, Williamsburg is also the hipster HQ of NYC. You know who I'm talking about... wearing their tight jeans and Converses. They'll probably make fun of me for riding a bike with multiple speeds/brakes! So despite the all the pros that come from the kick ass food at Pies'n'Thighs, it's all negated by privileged rich kids who like pretending they're poor, enjoy wearing goofy clothing, and listen to crappy music. Fuck. Guess I gotta keep looking.

Now for a serious question... is it dumb that I'm choosing my home based on proximity to food?