Rips Tavern - Ladd, IL.

I notice Rips Tavern did not have its own thread, so I feel obliged to start one for what I consider the best fried chicken in the Chicago area.

My usual dining companions, my wife and daughter were accompanied by our house guest, her cousing from the Philippines on a visit to Rips Tavern in Ladd after some Christmas shopping Saturday afternoon. We arrived @ 4:25, and were greated by a line almost out the door. The wait was approx 1 hour and 10 minutes before we were seated at our table. The funny thing is no-one in line seemed to mind waiting, as I saw no one leave, they just stood patiently waiting for their turn. The $1.50 drafts of Miller Lite, & cheap tequila didnt hurt either. They also have Fat Tire, and Blue Moon on tap.

THis is a small hole in the wall spot for those who have never been, the floor is tacky from all the food that has been deep fried there over the decades. About 20 tables, with a pleasant staff running the show.

Once seated the menu is basic, fried chicken, or fried chicken(except Fridays were they have fish). THey only offer 1/4 fried chicken lite or dark, we all got the 1/4 lite(gotta have a chicken wing). for I think $4.50, we also had some deep fried mushrooms. The fried chicken as I mentioned above is the best I have had anywhere. The coating on the fried chicken is more of a batter as opposed to breading, and the chicken stays moist, juicy, and flaovorfull, almost as if it has been brined before cooking. The mushrooms are prepared in the same batter, and were very good. After you are seated you are presented with a container of deep fred drippings from the batter as well as sliced dill pickels to eat them with. I forgot to mention they also have Sprecher Root Beer on tap for $1.

Sorry, no pics.. I forgot my camera. But I will get some on my next visit which will be soon.

Rips Tavern
311 N. Main
Ladd, IL.
815-894-3051

http://www.ripstavern.com

Rip's fried chicken


Deep-fried drippings


The patient Rip's crowd

Thank you Pigmon, I knew someone had some pics of this place.

PIGMON wrote:Deep-fried drippings

. . . and the proper way to eat them:

In another thread crrush wrote:Pickle Crispie Taco

There's lots of information and many pictures of Rip's in that other thread.

Rene, you have the deep fried drippings "pinch" down pat. you would fit right in out here in Lay-Salle County..

I also just figured Rips deserved there own thread.

Nice to see a place from back home get some press.

I have relatives in Ladd so have had Rips fried chicken; just sadly not recently. From my memory, even their carry out window is crazy on weekends. Looks like, having never eaten in, I've missed out on the drippings all these years though.

Rips now has it's own attraction marker on I-88 on the exit signage.

LikestoEatout wrote:Rips now has it's own attraction marker on I-88 on the exit signage.

Perhaps that should be I-80?

You are correct, it's I-80

After hitting Ron's Cajun Connection for lunch, we killed some time in Peru watching "The Hangover" (thumbs up) and then headed to Ladd for a trip to Rip's:

The queue:


Pickles and crunchies (awesome. Beth brilliantly described them as deconstructed fried pickles)


Perfectly cooked, well seasoned white meat:


And the same description applies to the dark meat:


Also, ridiculously cheap. The fried chicken was as good a deep-fried chicken as I've had, and I'd like to try some of the other Ladd/Ottawa area fried chicken places in the future.

gleam wrote:. . . I'd like to try some of the other Ladd/Ottawa area fried chicken places in the future.

Did you happen to notice if Lanuti's, across the street from Rip's and one of my favorite taverns in the state, was open? It was closed for an extended period last fall. A lot of people swear by their fried chicken. I haven't tried the chicken, only the turtle.

I saw someone leaving Lanuti's, but the sign said "Closed". This was at about 1:30pm, though, and it may have been closed until dinner. Not sure.

gleam wrote:
Also, ridiculously cheap. The fried chicken was as good a deep-fried chicken as I've had, and I'd like to try some of the other Ladd/Ottawa area fried chicken places in the future.

A LaSalle County Fried chicken crawl has been mentioned a few times in the past without coming to fruition. I'd be very interested in doing one, and have a short list of places including Rip's that would be a good fit.

jimswside wrote:A LaSalle County Fried chicken crawl has been mentioned a few times in the past without coming to fruition. I'd be very interested in doing one, and have a short list of places including Rip's that would be a good fit.

Pick a date and I'll be there if at all possible.

stevez wrote:

jimswside wrote:A LaSalle County Fried chicken crawl has been mentioned a few times in the past without coming to fruition. I'd be very interested in doing one, and have a short list of places including Rip's that would be a good fit.

Pick a date and I'll be there if at all possible.

perhaps after July 4th, Ill take some time, and make my rounds of the various spots, and gather the info on the hours of various places, and see if we can get this done.

Took a quick trip out to Rip's for dinner tonight, they were really on their game. he chicken was the best I have eaten there. Not salty like last time. Perfectly cooked, and juicy. Also had alot of the fried batter, and some mushrooms.

love the cheap drinks - (1) blue moon draft, 1 miller lite draft, and (2) Sprecher drafts.. = $6.00. $9.00 w/ tip.

Got a tip from the bartender, their website says they open @ 4:30 on Saturdays, but the actually open their doors @ 3:30ish., and sart serving food @ 4:20. If you get there @ 4:30 the line is out the door, @ 4:00 when we arrived, we were seated right away.

Like I mentioned above Rip's was on their game Saturday night, I am lucky to have them and Smitty's within striking distance for some of the best fried chicken around.

mushrooms:



"lite"

Places I've been meaning to visit: Stop 5

Went over to Toons for some wings and brews during the USA/Ghana World Cup disaster and wasn't really in the partying mood after the outcome, although we did do shots in memoriam for the US. So I threw out a few ideas of where we could take a ride to and the driver was all about my Rip's suggestion. It's long been on my list and so we were off. I was surprised to see that Rip's has its own sign on the state highway exits listing food, lodging etc...We finally got there about 830 and the dining room was still packed with large and small parties and there were even a group of kids in their mid 20's smoking outside who had told one of my friends they drove from over an hour from down south to make their visit. We decided to just sit at the bar which had a few spots open and order and eat there.


The hype was real

We ordered some drinks as we waited for the chicken and chatted up with some of the farm girl waitresses and the bartender who's uncle owns the place and his grandmas recipe is what they use, so its all in the family. The couple next to us had ridden a motorcycle up from Peoria and brought an article they ripped out from a magazine that had just featured Rips. The bartender dude was surprised we came from Lincoln Park, he said he usually comes down here to go out but was really happy the chicken is so well known. I had to get a couple orders of dark and got plenty of cracklins and pickles, great combo. By the end of the night it started to clear out in the dining room but fill up in the bar with the yocal youngin's all starting the night at Rips for some food and fun. Not much to add on the quality front except for I agree with every glowing review its got. Only thing I forgot was the mushrooms but there will def. be a next time. I was very, very impressed and didn't mind the fact we weren't back in the city til Midnight. It was all worth it.



Quite simply the best fried chicken I have ever had

Rip's Tavern
311 N. Main
Ladd, IL.
815-894-3051

Time to go get...



...Fried in the Valley

Stopped into Rip's after some super rays of sun at Starved Rock. Same as it ever was. The place was packed with everyone there enjoying the fried chicken and sipping cold drinks while they waited for it. We were able to sit right away at the bar. They had wings on special, six perfectly fried whole ones, they said no fries, they gave me some anyway. Four dollars?!?!?!?! We went thru four ice cold Sam drafts, an order of fried mushrooms, four 1/4 dark plates (two to go), an order of wings and the as always comp'd bowl of fried slurry with pickles. Total? $30 plus a very nice tip left for the as always great service.


It looks like "Flings" have made their way into the Illinois Valley Region

Hi,

How was their chicken the day after?

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

How was their chicken the day after?

Regards,

Only chicken I've ever had that still has some crispness in the skin the day after. Just finished it up, as good as it was last night. As we left Lanuti's across the street was alive and well. They had Sinatra blasting on the speakers outside, bar was full on a Thursday, bartender decked out in old school uniform mixing drinks. The fried chicken smelled great but will have to wait, what a great place. Maybe I'll try the turtle too...


Lanuti's located across the street from Rip's

Im glad you got over to Lenuti's for a drink(their strongpoint imo). Classic, Old school bar you dont find too often nowdays.

Food there is ok, but their chicken isnt on the level of the area heavyweights imo.

I still remember being in there 15 years ago or so when they were expanding. We figured they must be expanding the dining room given the long lines and the fairly small dining room. Nope -- they were just significantly expanding the bar, still the same wait to get seated but now you could get drinks from the bar much earlier in your wait because you were inside the place. In retrospect I figure they probably couldn't expand the dining room without also adding kitchen space, since they already sell an awfully large amount of that delicious chicken.

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.

nice report, and pics, glad folks came out and we could join them.

Rip's chicken was as good as ever Saturday, and the spot was even a little more crowded than usual. $4.50 rounds of Jim Beam and Coors Lite drafts made the time fly.

Rip's is a well oiled machine that just focuses on a couple things and bangs them out.

Looks like it was a fantastic time! I haven't gotten back to Rip's in a while, I will have to go soon. Wish I would have known about the trip out, I would have loved to tag along. Again, it is a great choice by Jim as a GNR!

Glenn

Surprisingly the last (3) times I have gone to Rips I havent had the chicken, had to drop off the GNR one night, and last night Rip's was more packed than I have ever seen, we were going to get a couple 1/4 lights before we went to Sip-n-Snack last night, but the wait was too long.

I bet Sundays @ Rip's are interesting..., place opens @ 12:30 p.m., but they dont serve any chicken til 2:30 p.m., All the tables were filled @ about 1:00 p.m,.

Thinking Sunday @ Rip's might be the Ladd, IL,. version of Friday lunch @ Galatoires in NOLA...

Popped the 27 miles west of Martucky to Rip's last night. No wait, but almost every table still filled after 8:00 p.m.

Tasty Hamms drafts for a dollar and some Jim Beam. 1/4 lites were solid, wings were really good. I usually like my wings unbreaded/floured/etc. These were battered and came straight from the deep fryer. Crunchy deep fried batter, juicy meat. Very good with some of the hot sauce at the table:

wings:

I had read about a week ago that Rip's does lunch on Saturdays, figured(guessed) it was just what they always do(fried chix). Was interested to hear they do burgers, wings, chicken sandwiches, pork tenderloins.Intriguing to me, the Fat Boy(chicken/burger combo) & the Heart Attack(pork tenderloin,burger, pork tenderloin). Burgers also spend time in the deep fryer... Saturday lunch is a different beast thats for sure. 11:30 - 1:00 p.m., slow, laid back service compared to the typical Rip's buzz.

Fat Boy was pretty good, only options are if you want pickles and onions on the sandwich or not.. Burger had a bit of flavor, crisp exterior for sure. Chicken cutlet was good as well, crispy crust. Sandwich worked. Wings were different than above, no batter, just plain fried wing sections. Solid lunch,



lunch menu

Rip's is an institution of fried chicken, & I LOVE fried chicken. Growing up in Marseilles, we used to ride motorcycles all over the area back in the '80's & thought nothing of ending up at Rip's after a long day of riding & waiting an hour (or two) for the chicken. Probably used to eat there twice a month for years. Nowadays, I live farther east, but still try to get there when I can, but it's more like every 6 months now. Stopped in late November for the first time in months & it was as good as ever. We always seem to run into someone in line that we know. A few drinks later (& Jim Beam is my choice, too) & you're in.

I've recommended Rip's to fried chicken lovers for 30 years & most people report back that they like it, too.

That being said, I'm off in another hour headed toward Naplate for some chicken (family-style) at Anne's Hideaway tonight. It's the only place in the area I think may be just a little better.

Good to see other folks talking about Rip's.