Photo by Youngna Park

It's a dark day for South Billyburg lovers of southern comfort food – dark as blackened catfish on a moonless Brooklyn night. Eater points out Peter Meehan's discovery that the beloved hole in the wall Pies 'n' Thighs, in the shadow of the Williamsburg bridge, will close tomorrow night. Party, or wake, to follow.

The closure has to do with some gripes on behalf of the reactionaries at the health department, such as the pork smoker the restaurant had used outside in the lot that doubled as al fresco dining. Seems those things are illegal in New York City, but it apparently wasn’t enough for Pies ‘n’ Thighs to get rid of it in November. The DOH is on their asses; the bottom line is that tomorrow’s your last chance to savor the homemade bread, fried catfish box, spicy mac ‘n’ cheese and rhubarb, key lime, and peanut butter pies that have caused lines out the door. (Gothamist has been braving those lines since ’06.)

A blow-softener of sorts is that a new laid-back Brazilian bar and restaurant, Favela, will be opening nearby within the next couple months. Also, the Pies 'n' Thighs owners vow to reopen in time for summer in South Williamsburg, and, according to their website, hopefully in a “bigger, better, more miraculous hole in the wall!”