A group of LTHers made an impromptu visit to Rip's last night...well, how impromptu could it be when you have to drive over 100 miles each way, but it was a sort of loosely planned thing.
Rip's Tavern
As you can see, chicken is served during very specific hours, but the friendly bar opens at 3:30, so you can come in and have a drink while you are waiting for the magic chicken hour to arrive. In fact, here's what Rip's looked like when the Chow Poodle and I arrived just slightly after 4:00 on a Saturday afternoon.
Rip's Tavern - Where's the Chicken?
There were a couple of tables still available, and did you notice everyone just sitting around? No one is eating anything. That’s because there's nothing to eat until the magic chicken hour. Didn't you read the sign?
We waited a few minutes for the rest of our party to arrive. By that time, all of the tables were taken, but the hostess took our order and started planning out where our party of 12 would be able to sit when the chicken came out of the fryer. Once our order was in, not only were all the tables filled, but the line of hungry chicken lovers stretched out the door and into the street. It was not even 5:00 yet, so if you’re planning a trip, be forewarned. Get there early. (Good call, jimswside)
That Chicken Better Be Damn Good!
Meanwhile, the well-oiled (pun intended) Rip's chicken machine was cranking it out at full speed.
Rip's Tavern Order Board
I love the old peg system of tracking orders. It's probably still the same piece of wood that they used on opening day in 1936.
Breading the Chicken
Manning a Dozen Fryers
Back in the dining room our waitress brought out some of the crispy bits that came off the chicken during the cooking process.
Crispy Bits
She served these with some pickles. There wasn’t anything special about the pickles; they were standard issue crinkle-cut burger pickles, but they did cut through the grease from the crispy bits and were a good accompaniment. I didn’t take a picture. We followed that up with an appetizer round of fried mushrooms.
Rip's Tavern Fried Mushrooms
The srooms were good, but not very hot. They are made up in batches and are held in bus pans waiting for service. While it would be nice to get them fresh from the fryer, I understand them taking this shortcut due to the huge volume of fried chicken they have to make in a very small kitchen.
Finally, it was time for the main event.
12 LTHers; 14 Orders of Chicken
Although you’d never mistake this chicken for the highly seasoned, pan fried chicken of the South (my preference), it was very good. The breading was crispy and the meat was very moist. More than one person in our group commented on how even the breast was extremely juicy. Some thought the chicken had been brined, but given the size of the operation and the limited kitchen space available, I just don’t see where they would have enough room for a tank big enough to brine the volume of chicken they go through. In any event, this was some damn fine chicken. If I had any knock at all, I felt it was the slightest bit too greasy, as if the oil temperature might have been a little low. Given that it was a busy Saturday night and they were frying chicken nonstop, I can see where that might happen.
The vibe at Rip's is just great. The entire staff is is wonderful, from the bartenders to the waitresses. It's obvious that they all enjoy being there as much as the customers, and that goes a long way toward making Rip's the special place that it is. I know we'll be back again and again.
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