Mythology aside, Williamsburg in the aughts was a great deal of fun. There was still an element of the Wild Wild East, at least for us city kids, and there was also a rapidly developing restaurant scene (shout out to Roebling Tea Room, Marlowe and Sons, Fette Sau, Roberta’s).
Originally opened in the back of a Williamsburg dive bar “hanging out into the East River” in 2006, Sarah Sanneh’s fried chicken shack, Pies ‘n’ Thighs, came to help define and symbolize the era. (The restaurant later moved to the corner of Driggs and South 4th.) It could be the origin story (Sanneh came from Diner, the Andrew Tarlow touchstone); that it was a real deal chef (Sanneh) making fried chicken and biscuits in a neighborhood rapidly gentrifying; or its edginess (in a dive bar, with its illegal smoker) that gave way to enduring quality, but Pies and Thighs became synonymous with the notion of Brooklyn dining that, for better or worse, has become a brand. Twenty years later, Sanneh is moving south.
As of April, Pies ‘n’ Thighs’ Park Slope location is operational. There, at 244 Flatbush Ave on a Tuesday night, Sanneh, her family and friends celebrated the second location, where the stroller divisions can enjoy pies, fried chicken and biscuits, and their newest offering—chicken tenders. Sanneh talked to Edible Brooklyn editor John Ortved about Citibiking, growing up, the trouble with tenders, and which of her kids she’ll be pressing into service.
—John Ortved, Editor-in-Chief
Interview with Pies ‘;n’ Thighs Chef-Owner Sarah Sannah
JO: Twenty years. Why expand now?
SS: We’ve always been really proud that the dining room has this incredible cross section of New Yorkers. We were feeling like things were pretty tight at Driggs, and so we went looking for another place that had lots of different communities, a neighborhood that is stable. And we have such an incredibly talented and loyal and tenured team at Driggs, so it’s pretty fun to give more opportunities to them and to also double what’s on our plate.
Did I see that your teenage son was working at the new spot?
Sometimes, but he’s bad. The younger one will be good, but he’s only 10. He’s not here yet. I look forward to abusing them.
Do you live in the neighborhood?
I live on the Lower East Side. I Citibike to Park Slope.
I Citibike everywhere too.
Even with the membership it’s $11. I’m paying like 80 bucks a week or more. That seems like a lot.
Well, if you weren’t too posh to push, you could just pedal for free.
And when it gives me the option for the mega boost, I pay extra.
You do? I’m too cheap. Is Park Slope the menu any different?
It’s exactly the same. How do you improve on perfection? We started making chicken tenders at Driggs a couple months ago, and we’ve really got that pretty locked down. And they deliver really well.
I am never not dismayed at the food people order in, because so few things travel well.
[The tenders] are a magical delivery food. But it was an incredibly difficult recipe to develop. I went into it thinking, How hard can it be? And then three months later, I’m was like, What the fuck? It was so hard. And then when I thought I was done—it’s delicious; it’s crispy; I’m happy with it—I took them home for my kids to try. When I opened the box, it was soggy, the breading was falling off, but the flavor was good. And so I tweaked a little more. Now, you can put them in a box and take them home for half an hour and they’re still crispy.
On a personal level, why did you want to open a new place?
I love the incredible lift of opening a restaurant. We’re casual and approachable; we also take things that matter very seriously, and we have good taste, if you’re allowed to say that about yourself. And we’re pretty ambitious. What I don’t like is thinking of Pies as being replicated. This one is very different.
How so?
The Park Slope Pies ‘N Thighs looks totally different. In Williamsburg, there’s not one wall there that I haven’t painted, and it feels really lived-in and homey. It’s rambly and funny and very intimate. This one is beautiful. It was designed by my friend Mark McQuade, who designed the Princeton Art Museum. It feels less like a weed that grew from the sidewalk in Williamsburg, the way that Pies does, in the most wonderful way. It’s a bit more grown up.
I don’t want to ask you to get ahead of yourself, but what neighborhood is next?
I’m happy to get ahead of myself. I would love to be on the Upper East or Upper West next. We’re looking all the time, all over.
If you opened up a Pies ‘n’ Thighs on the Upper East or the Upper West Side, there would be rejoicing.
Put that in the article. I mean, I think so too. But that’s the thing. We started on the absolute edge of Kent Avenue, like hanging out into the East River. Having a big, visible spot not trying to be cool, hidden—that is much more appealing to me now. I want to be accessible.
Pies ‘n’ Thighs Williamsburg
166 S 4th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Pies ‘n’ Thighs Park Slope
244 Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217
