Actually Pretty Awesome

Actually Pretty Awesome: Chicken Drums at Rickybobby

The sticky and good chicken drums.
The sticky and good chicken drums. Photo: J. Barmann/Grub Street

Judging by the crowds there at 6:30 p.m. on a Tuesday, the recently opened Rickybobby (Haight and Webster) doesn’t need our help getting the word out about their food. It’s dude food, for sure. Stoner food, arguably. And nobody’s being shy here with the bacon or cheese. Their chicken parm sandwich? It has sausage on it. The burger? It has bacon ground into the patty and tastes redolently of bacon smoke. But our favorite thing on the menu so far is their Asian-inspired, totally addictive chicken drums ($4), which are basically like chicken wings on steroids.

They have a pungent, well spiced, soy-salty, ginger-and-smoke quality, and the smoke seemed to permeate into the meat itself — which was juicy and falling off the bone. And just to confuse things a bit and culturally cross-pollinate, there’s blue cheese dipping sauce served alongside them that totally works. Much like the Bang Bang Chicken Wings at M.Y. China, there’s a sweet-salt-tangy balance in the ingredients — and something almost mole-like? — which co-chefs James Moisey and Shane LaValley undoubtedly would like to keep secret.

While most of the flavors your going to encounter here are going to be at the hit-you-over-the-head end of the comfort food spectrum, these drumsticks were a step above, and we were sad we hadn’t order more as the hungry hordes were gathering in the tiny front waiting area, staring and coveting our seats.

And why nibble on tiny wings anyway when you can have a whole drumstick? Or three.


Earlier on Actually Pretty Awesome:
The Doc Hopper at Absinthe
The Burger at KronnerBurger
Bang Bang Chicken Wings at M.Y. China
’Fruit Loops’ at Chambers Eat + Drink
Smoked Pulled Goat at Southpaw
Manti Dumplings at Troya Fillmore
Flaming Sea Bass Roll at Elephant Sushi
Black Risotto With Uni and Egg at Prospect
Seared Salmon and Mussel Mashed Potatoes at Bisou
The Meatloaf at Jamber
Carrots at Commonwealth
Turducken at Honor Bar
Beggar’s Chicken at Betelnut
Lobster Bread Pudding and Smoked Cod at Maverick
Sand Dabs at Bar Jules
Green Farro-Sausage Risotto at RN74
Vegan Charctuerie at Gather
Pickled Eggs at St. Vincent
Beef Tongue at Namu Gaji
Peruvian Rotisserie Chicken at Brasa
Green Garlic Bread at State Bird Provisions
A Dinner of Small Plates and the Duck Confit Salad at Frances
Duck Fat Chex Mix at Truck Stop Café
The Lamb Tongue Salad at Txoko
The Branzino and the Cucumber and Scallops at AQ
Dinner at Local Mission Eatery
Suckling Pig Sandwich at Sweet Woodruff
Crudités at Saison
The Roasted Broccoli Sandwich at Split Pea Seduction
George Mendes’s Partridge in a Pear Tree
The Buffalo Burger at Double Decker
A Preview of Dishes at Haven
Alicia’s Tamales Los Mayas
The Cocktails at Outerlands
The Meatball Gigante and the Honey Pie at Tony’s Pizza
Three New Gins from St. George Spirits
The Date Night at Sneaky’s BBQ
Crab and Dumplings at Pican
The Fried-Chicken Sliders at The Lookout
The Tripe and the Pickles at Bar Tartine
Fried Chicken and Cornmeal Doughnuts at Beast & the Hare

Actually Pretty Awesome: Chicken Drums at Rickybobby