Pies 'n' Thighs — Restaurant in New York

I hate to be this person, but I was very disappointed with my meal here tonight after hearing so many good things about this place.

I ordered the chicken box with a biscuit, cornbread, and coleslaw as sides, and for dessert a peach cobbler.

The chicken was ok. It was cooked very well, it was moist and the breading was crispy but it was pretty bland. Not much flavoring to the breading so a bit disappointing after hearing so many good things.

The biscuit was ok as well. Very good flavor, you could test the butter, but it was very dense. There were no flaky biscuit layers to it.

The corn bread was probably the best thing I had here. It had good flavor, was airy and had a great crumb. There did seem to be an odd metallic taste to it though. I don't know if they are using aluminum free baking powder, but that is the kind of taste it had maybe using too much of it.

Now, the coleslaw. I rarely, if ever, don't finish what I order. I have a pretty adventurous palate and have enjoyed many foods with all kinds of textures. When I ordered the coleslaw I was surprised when it was served as a mince, smaller than a brunoise (a small dice). Texturally it was not good at all: it tasted like minced vegetables in a mayonaise soup. For flavor, there was too much of a tang from what I think was apple cider vinegar. I only had a couple bites of it so can't be so sure. I don't like to waste food so even if I don't like something I don't throw it out and will eat it, but I couldn't do that with this coleslaw.

I ordered the peach cobbler because it's summer and in season. It had good flavor but was maybe a little too sweet. A little more lemon could have helped balance it. The peaches were good, but I don't know if they're prepared inhouse or ordered peeled and marinated (reminded me of canned peaches). I was also really disappointed that there was no cooked batter with the cobbler. It was a soupy mushy batter. Be weary of the peach cobbler.

Would I go back? Probably. I would like to try the apple pie and donuts. Would I get anything above again? No. Too many other great places in the area to try (or be disappointed by).

But who am I? Some random internet goer who happens to cook most of my own meals and treats myself to a meal out once a week. This is my opinion so try it...

Abhorrent.

My 77 year old mother wanted to tip the woman, the busser, who brought our food and fulfilled our request for napkins. She didn’t get her attention in time before she left, but our waitress noticed my mother’s attempts and asked what she needed. My mother politely asked her to ask the woman to come back. The waitress badgered my mother. “Why?”

“I would like to speak with her,” my mother said.

“What do you need her for?” The waitress insisted.

“I would like to give her something.”

“She doesn’t speak English, so tell me what you want.”

A gentleman cleaning tables nearby (presumably a manager from our later interaction) kindly interjected and asked how he could help. Mistakenly thinking he was there to help, my mother again politely said, “I would like to give something to the woman who brought the napkins.”

He responded, “Why?”

My mother answered in the same manner.

Eventually the woman is brought back to the table and my mother discreetly handed her the tip and thanked her for her service. But the gentleman and waitress stood beside her uncomfortably monitoring the exchange.

The gentleman returned saying, “Just so you know, for legal reasons we split tips.” Because his reappearance and unnecessary two cents were unexpected, my mother didn’t quite hear him and asked him to repeat himself. Which he did, confidently stating that for legal reasons, they all split tips.

Dinner over. I asked for the check and to go boxes although our food had just arrived. I was brought two boxes. I asked the waitress, whose attitude was apparent from jump, if it was customary to bring to go boxes without to go bags. She said yes. I asked for bags.

On the way out, I asked the gentleman who interjected earlier if it was customary to give to go boxes without to go bags. He unequivocally said no. I let him know that the waitress needs to be told that since she thinks otherwise. He responded with some shum-shum about NYC law and then ignorantly kept talking himself into saying bags are at the discretion of the server.

Review: Do...

TLDR- I ordered from here once before back in 2022. It was a late night order so the I'm assuming that's why the quality suffered and I wasn't very impressed with the taste. Between that and the distance + high delivery fees, it made it an easy pass. Craving soul food, I recently gave them another chance. Disappointed, as this soul food is super gentrified as it's South 4th Williamsburg address suggests. I would be surprised if anyone in the kitchen actually was from the south or a person of color who understood the complexities of flavor when it comes to its preparation. It definitely wasn't a very enjoyable meal. Particularly unenjoyable was the star of the show (the fried chicken! Half of the restaurant's namesake!) was incredibly under seasoned and underwhelming. I mean you know it's not great, when it makes Popeyes chicken the standout in comparison. Order came up to $85 before tip. This included a $15 promotion discount via UberEats. I understand the economy that we live in, but unfortunately, the price point is not commensurate with the quality of food being served here.

The biscuit that came with it was umm very....sturdy. It looked good, but was pretty dense and could have been a tad softer and a bit more buttery, but definitely not the worst biscuit I have had. The mac and cheese wasn't great either, but I know it's a universally controversial dish so it may be someone's cup of tea, but this is not the way I prefer to have it prepared, as it's akin to a variation of Kraft mac and cheese. Overly cheesy and 'floury' due to its roux base, but ultimately void of flavor. Was excited for the crispy broccoli, but on occasion I got bites that were a bit too oily, which after a while made me nauseous. Grits were also lackluster and baked beans had a nice flavor, but the burnt ends did not do it any favors since it tasted dry and stringy. Collards? Again, nothing great. Also ordered banana pudding pie ? (not pictured), but it arrived melted and messy so we tossed it. Perhaps another 'off day', but no need to try this...