The Derby is a restaurant newcomer to the Lower East Side. The menu is American Southern. The place has a large sidewalk dining area and interior is simply done of wooden tables and yellow chairs. All the windows and doors were open as it was a very warm, humid summer afternoon.
D and I met up for brunch here. He wanted the Peach Smash, a strong whiskey cocktail with a touch of peach and fresh mint to make it refreshing, while I need my caffeine and had a mug of drip coffee. (Alas, they don’t have iced coffee yet.)
We perused the brunch menu and ended up having all of this…
Our spread of food…
The pimento cheeseburger is a solid burger. The burger patty isn’t too densely packed and cooked to a nice medium-rare. The pimento cheese smeared on both slices of bread gave it enough flavor to shine through the burger but not dominating it. If anything, I just wish the bread was a few millimeters thinner so I could enjoy the burger more.
I like the tartness of fried green tomatoes so I had to have their take of the BLT sandwich, replacing the regular red tomato with the mentioned. It was a well constructed sandwich of thick cut, lightly toasted white bread filled with a thin layer of fresh lettuce, hearty pile of bacon and a few thin slices of fried green tomatoes. The sandwich was good though I prefer my bacon on the crispy side and more fried green tomatoes. The large mound of crispy fries was a nice touch.
D had his eye on chicken and waffles since he loves fried chicken. This particular plate of fried chicken was delicious. Moist, flavorful and the brine didn’t alter the chicken’s texture.
However, the waffles could have taken an extra 30 seconds in the waffle maker as it’s quite pale and doesn’t have the desirable crisp exterior. I wish there was an option of Tabasco sauce being available with this dish to make the sweet waffle and savory chicken meld. The maple jalapeno butter and maple syrup doesn’t exactly bridge the two beautifully.
If you are a carb-phile like I am, you should order the biscuit. It arrives to the table very warm served with the same maple jalapeno butter (which works great here) and strawberry jam. This biscuit is the buttery, crumbly biscuit rather than the flaky. (I’m happy with either camps.)
If you are around the neighborhood, this is a good brunch option. The crowd builds up as the afternoon rolls on but the noise level is manageable. The service is friendly and the food and drinks are solid.
To view more photos of this meal, please CLICK HERE or view the gallery below:
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Information:
The Derby
Website
167 Orchard St (at Stanton)
New York, NY 10002
