Rick's Chop House Review

I normally don't like to do food reviews but since there was a request for one, here it goes. I'll soon have a couple of trips posted too. It's been a busy and trying time for the family but life goes on.

Good fried chicken is like hanging out with your best friend. It’s something you find comfort in, enjoy while you are doing it, and on the grand night, something you feel a little guilty for having done. Enter Rick’s chop house. I know, I know, it’s a steak place hence the chop house name but even my stomach lost the argument when it comes to spending $38 for the ribeye at lunch. This was our first time to go to this restaurant even though it’s been on my to do list for about 2 or 3 years now. It is a quaint restaurant with a really friendly waitstaff. 

As we were seated, the waitress noticed my wife’s black pants and told us she will be back with black napkins. I’m sure glad my wife understood what she meant because I was at a loss. It’s obviously a female thing since she said something about how white napkins might leave stuff behind on your black pants and such. I normally just tuck my napkin under my chin man bib-style so I usually don’t have that sort of concern.

We asked the lovely waitress what she recommended and she said she liked the chicken fried chicken.  That’s what my wife ended up getting and I decided to try the buttermilk fried chicken.

While we waited, the waitress brought me out a warm towel with a lemon on top to wipe my fingers after I ate the chicken. I guess licking my fingers was out of the question?

Maybe a little too nice for this guy.

I thought this was a nice touch with the mini tabasco bottles.

The food soon arrived and looked great.

My meal consisted of a nice sized chicken breast and a drumstick. I am real leery of ever getting chicken breast when it comes to my fried chicken since many establishments cook the breast until they are as moist as cardboard. This breast though was plenty juicy and tasty. The buttermilk flavor wasn’t very noticeable but the moisture was. The crust on the chicken was light and had a nice balanced blend of spices but could have used just a tad more salt.  I usually expect buttermilk chicken to have a hardier crust on it which I do prefer but this was a really well executed dish. The red mashed potatoes that came with with the meal were just lumpy enough to be what I considered rustic styled.  The larger chunks of bacon that were laced throughout the potatoes added a nice chewy contrast and great bacon flavor to the potatoes.  The Creole creamed corn was good, well seasoned and buttery. I would have liked something a little lighter on my plate since the chicken and potatoes were so heavy but the creamed corn was pretty good.

As advertised: Pan Fried, Sour Cream and Bacon Smashed Redskin Potatoes, Creole Creamed Corn, Black Pepper Pan Gravy

My wife’s chicken fried chicken was tasty. It was cooked perfectly with a nice moistness on the inside but a slightly crispy and more importantly non-greasy crust. The strangly orange chipotle gravy was light and had a nice flavor. I would have enjoyed it more if it was a tad spicier but my wife thought it was seasoned well enough. The green bean side dish was good. They didn’t over cook the green beans which is something I am very happy about. The green was still very green on the beans and they still had plenty of crunch to them. My only real complaint was the overwhelming garlic flavor to them. I like garlic quite a bit but when matched with the green beans it left a raw garlicky aftertaste that I was taken back by. All in all, it was a nice well done dish with descent portions.

As advertised: Pan Fried Crispy Chicken Breast, Sour Cream and Bacon Smashed Redskin Potatoes, Roasted Poblano Chorizo, Corn Gravy, Garlic Green Beans

We decided to really punish ourselves with some much heralded pecan pie.  This was a really good borderline great pecan pie. If you just want that nice dark caramelized sugar and pecan taste but aren’t that fond of crust, this is your pie.  Large roughly chopped pecans, butter, and sugar must have really been the only things that went into this pie which is made fresh daily according to our waitress.

All in all I give this place a solid 4 out of 5. The service was top notch and the food was very well prepared and executed. I wouldn’t hesitate to come back to this place for another meal, maybe even for dinner. As far as fried chicken goes though, this one isn’t as good as a best friend, maybe just a close friend that you hang out with only when everyone else is busy.