The Derby
Creative food, a fun atmosphere and some truly wild craft cocktails. We are on Washington Street in historic downtown Salem, Massachusetts, and this is one of the most popular places to eat and drink in the Witch City, and it's known as The Derby.
The Derby opened up in 2019 and this place has a lot to bring the people in. It's got a great atmosphere, high ceilings, brick walls, a big, long bar pouring all kinds of craft cocktails and beers. There are flat screen TVs everywhere in this place, lots of high top tables, indoor seating, outdoor seating. So it's a great place to come watch a game, have some drinks, come for lunch, come for dinner, or come for brunch On the weekends. They specialize in comfort food that is kicked up with some international twists, some modern twists, and just some stuff that you can't even believe they're putting on the plate.
You can find a lot of bold flavors just on the appetizer section of the menu. Just check out the biscuits. The Derby's biscuits are unlike any other biscuit I have ever tasted. These are bacon fat biscuits. So you have your traditional Southern Style buttermilk biscuit, but in addition to butter, they're using actual cooked bacon and the bacon fat, I guess the only way to make a biscuit even better is to have some bacon.
The nachos here are not your average nachos. These are street corn nachos. You have your nacho chips, some roasted corn and poblano peppers, three different kinds of cheeses, black beans, Chipotle crema. It comes with some salsa and some sour cream on the side. This is flat out perfect beer drinking food.
Now, these might look like french fries, but they're not. They're actually called Hell fries. They are smothered in what they call regret sauce. Now this is a house made sauce that truly you might regret if you can't handle the heat. They look kind of scary. It's almost like that nuclear orange. It has an immediate punch of like the spiciest buffalo wing you've ever tasted. It's finished off with a little bit of cotija cheese and some sour cream, supposedly, that helps fight against the heat the sour cream is the sour cream is losing that battle. It's very hot, but it's very good and very addictive.
Now let's get to the sandwiches. You can get a prime rib sandwich topped with onion strings with some au jus for some great dipping. They have a massive cheese steak smothered in cheese sauce topped with some fried cherry peppers. Here's a dish that is adorably delicious. It's called Eddie's Flat Top sliders, you get three mini burgers stacked up with some pickles and some special sauce on a nice, classic burger bun. It comes with a side of fries, and my favorite part is the little itty bitty milkshake that comes right on the side. You got your mini burger, medium fry, and you wash it down with a teeny, tiny shake.
For you hot dog lovers, they have L.A. street dogs. This starts with a hot dog that is literally wrapped in bacon, and then it's topped with pickled onions, roasted jalapenos, a cheese sauce and a sprinkle of Flaming Hot Cheetos dust. The only thing better than one of these dogs is two of these dogs. They are doubly delicious.
My favorite handheld is the Reubano. So this is part reuben sandwich, part Cubano. And this sandwich is stacked and packed the corned beef, the smoked pork belly, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, Chipotle Dijon pickles, toasty and crispy on the outside, all those juices and flavors bursting from the inside, salty, smoky, savory. It's the best Reubano I've ever had. I think it's the only Reubano I've ever had, but I guarantee you it's the best one.
The biggest bargain on the menu is the chimichurri steak frites starts out with a nice flank steak that they cook on the grill, and they slice it super thin. It's topped off with some cotija cheese, pickled radishes, chimichurri sauce all over a bed of crispy garlic fries. It's a challenge to get a little bit of everything on one bite, but I'm up to the challenge. That is my kind of meat and potatoes dish right there.
The craft cocktails here are super creative, very fresh and very delicious. This one is called the You're killing Me, Smalls old fashioned. It's made with brown butter, Bourbon caramel syrup, walnut bitters, and it comes with a side of Cracker Jacks. I mean, how fun is that? The biggest and best cocktail of all is the Sippopotamus. It's made with some vodka, watermelon puree, basil syrup, watermelon schnapps, housemade lemonade, a little citrus soda. It's basically served up in a fish bowl, and then they place the entire cocktail inside the mouth of an actual porcelain hippopotamus, hence the Sippopotamus.
Listen, you don't come to the Derby for fine dining or for an anniversary meal. You come to this place to chow down, have fun and sip something you have never tasted before. So if you're coming to Salem, you should definitely spend some time here at The Derby.
