Chef and restaurateur Ed Cotton (who some may remember from season 7 of Top Chef) was raised in Massachusetts and lives in Queens, but he has made his mark on Manhattan. After training at some of the city’s top restaurants, he went out on his own about five years ago and never looked back.
Following Jack & Charlie’s (opened in 2021 in the West Village) and Leonetta (opened in Murray Hill in 2024), chef Cotton just opened the doors to The Derby Club on Sutton Place in the former home of Neary’s.
“Opening The Derby Club in this legendary location is an honor,” he said. “This corner has been a landmark for New York hospitality for generations, and we’ve always known that we wanted to create a concept that would carry out its legacy and honor its history in an unexpected way.”
We caught up with chef Cotton recently to hear about all the places he likes to dine on his off days, his date night go-to spot, and his neighborhood favorites— all while he worked to get ready for launch day of The Derby Club, which just opened.
Oxomoco + Chez Ma Tante in Brooklyn
“My wife and I live in Long Island City, Queens, not far from Greenpoint, and we go there a lot to eat. We go to Oxomoco (128 Greenpoint Ave.) in Greenpoint often; I’ve been there at least a thousand times. It’s right there on Greenpoint Avenue and their food is always spot-on. We’ve also been going to Chez Ma Tante (90 Calyer St.) for years too; I know some of the people from there. Greenpoint is just so good.”
Long Island City Favorites
“I’ve lived in Long Island City for a while now, and most of my favorite places have come and gone. I used to frequent M. Wells Diner a lot; I used to frequent M. Wells Steakhouse a lot (that was my go-to place), but a lot of my go-to restaurants have closed.
Casa Enrique (5-48 49th Ave., Long Island City) is always good and the chef is a neighbor and a friend. And I’ll also go to another place called American Brass (2-01 50th Ave., Long Island City) on Center Boulevard. They have something for everyone there. My go-to dish is always their little gem Cesar salad. iIt’s one of my favorite things to order. The pastry chef there does a phenomenal job on all things sweet. There’s a peanut butter dessert there that I love.
There’s another place in our neighborhood called Go Nonna (44-64 11th St., Long Island City). My wife and I will go there and have an Aperol Spritz outside and have a bowl of pasta. It’s good, it’s nice, it’s quality.”
After Work in the West Village & Murray Hill
Corner Bistro
“For the occasional grab-a-beer-after-work, I’ll go to [the original] Corner Bistro. If I can have onion rings and a burger and an ice-cold beer… that always does the trick.” 331 W. 4th St., West Village, cornerbistrony.com
Anton’s
“I’ll also find myself at the bar at Anton’s eating their food by myself. I love, love, love [Nick Anderer’s] food. I’d never order a Waldorf Salad anywhere, but it’s on the menu there and you want to order it. It’s fantastic… so good! Whatever Nick does is great!” 570 Hudson St., West Village, antonsnyc.com
Don Angie
“Our friends at Don Angie are wonderful. Not only is the food incredible, but Angie [Rito] and Scott [Tacinelli] are good humans. We share stuff between restaurants [Jack & Charlie’s is across the street]. I’ll run over there and grab basil out of their refrigerator [laughs]. They’re great people; they’re great neighbors!” 103 Greenwich Ave., West Village, donangie.com
Rossini’s + Wolfgang’s Steakhouse
“There are two places near [my restaurant] Leonetta that I love in Murray Hill. One is a hidden gem called Rossini’s (108 E. 38th St., Murray Hill). You walk through the doors and you’re transported back in time. That’s a cool place to go after work or to meet a friend who’s visiting.
I’ll order pasta there—clams casino—it’s super classic. It’s so cool. I’ll [also] go to Wolfgang’s (4 Park Ave., Midtown) on Park for a steak and a nice bourbon. If I can play hooky for work and get out a bit early, I’ll go sit at their bar with a nice sizzling steak; I like a rib eye. The interior of Wolfgang’s on Park is really cool too.”
Date Night at Quality Meats
“It’s not in our neighborhood, but Quality Meats is [my wife and I’s] go-to date night spot. I used to work near there—at the Ritz Carlton Central Park—and Quality Meats used to be my after-work spot for a martini. That’s where I met my wife — at the Ritz Carlton—and when we first started dating, we’d meet at Quality Meats.
We’d have food and drinks….we’d also go to [now-closed brasserie] Rue 57, but Quality Meats will always hold a special spot in our hearts forever. The food is consistently good. I wish I could work there for a week, just so I could take notes! The consistency is insane. So that’s where we like to go, like on a Sunday night, when it’s not so crazy. That’s another place where we’ve been a thousand times, and we always always always eat at the bar.” 57 W. 58th St., Midtown West, qualitymeatsnyc.com
