Jaclyn’s Pick:

R.U.B. Rotisserie Urban Chicken
1917 S 67th St. (Aksarben)
Fare: South American
Cost: $45 for two meals and two desserts
Reservations: Not needed/not that type of place

Greetings, Eaters and Readers!

I have … an incredibly long list of restaurants I’ve been meaning to try. But when a coworker told me about R.U.B. recently, I neglected the poor souls collecting dust on said list and immediately picked it for our January foodventure.

I don’t regret it.

Taking over the former Green Belly spot in Aksarben, R.U.B. sits on the corner of 67^th and Shirley, just in front of Inner Rail Food Hall. Walking in, you’re met with a vibrant, patterned wall and an array of thriving plants — quite the welcoming feeling.

When asked, the employee said they’ve been open for a couple of months. It was quiet on our Wednesday evening visit, but we’re certain the low-digit temps and slick roads had a lot to do with that. This was our third weather-afflicted attempt and by golly we weren’t going to postpone any longer!

R.U.B. is a counter service restaurant. You work your way down the line as they fill your container full of the hot and fresh food behind the glass. We think their trick to keeping the food so hot is by ensuring it all stays covered when not in use. While it would be fun to see all of the options in front of you, we’d much prefer a hot bite! And it’s worth noting: the cold sides and sauces did not catch any residual heat, retaining a desirable temperature as well.

Martha and I hemmed and hawed down the counter line (so many delicious options to choose from!), paid, and picked a seat by the window. We couldn’t wait to dig in.

Meat Platter with 3 Sides ($15.99) | 2-piece chicken, black beans, sweet plantains, honey mustard broccoli salad, garlic sauce, chimichurri mojo sauce

As I most often do, I preplanned what I wanted to order so I wouldn’t have to endure the self-imposed “I don’t know what to get so now I’m frozen in a state of indecision while people wait in line” situation. Even so, I still debated last-minute choices because I wanted to try it all. But I went with my original picks and was very pleased with my selection.

Chicken: It should come as no surprise that the chicken was very good. It’s in their name, right? I couldn’t tell ya what its seasoned with, but the bird was singing with flavor. Considering I picked it all apart with my hands, next time I’ll make it easy on myself and get the shredded version.

Black beans: I would love to steal the recipe for whatever they put in these black beans. They were salty and garlicky and boy were they good.

Sweet plantains: Pan-fried sweet plantains are one of my favorite things about South American dishes. They’re sweet, but not so sweet that they interrupt the savory flavors your tastebuds are focused on during dinner.

Honey mustard broccoli salad: Honey mustard? Love it. Broccoli salad? Love it. Put the two together? Chef’s kiss! I’m certain I won’t be able to pass up this side on future visits.

Garlic sauce: This sauce was great and paired quite well with the chicken. It’s a mayo-based sauce (I’m pretty sure) and has just the right amount of garlic flavor. Bottle it up and sell it, R.U.B., because I’d buy it!

Chimichurri mojo sauce: I was hoping this chimichurri would taste just like my stepmom’s (heavy on the garlic), but it did not. Instead, it was like a spicy oregano. I’m no expert with how this dark green condiment is supposed to taste, but R.U.B.’s version just isn’t for me.

Meat Platter with 3 Sides ($15.99) | 2-piece chicken, saffron rice, roasted dripped potatoes (+$2), sweet plantains, garlic sauce, medium sauce

Martha had done her own research and remembered that everything sounded delicious. When she got there, though, and stepped up to the counter – she still felt the tiniest bit of pressure and FOMO (read: we were the only ones in the restaurant at the time) about making sure she picked THEE best combo of meat and sides. In the end, she landed on familiar sides and looked forward to experiencing R.U.B.’s take.

Chicken: Much like me, she thought the chicken was perfectly delicious and flavorful. If there was any hesitation regarding thoughts of “well how hot and fresh can it REALLY be?” – those silly notions were dashed with the first savory bite. For the rest of her meal, she could hardly slow down – hopping from one tasty morsel to the next.

Saffron rice: Simple but fluffy and scrumptious, Martha couldn’t pass up having some of the beautifully bright saffron rice on her plate – if even just to balance out all the impending flavors she was about to enjoy.

Roasted dripped potatoes: Martha kind of thought ‘dripped’ potatoes might come drizzled in some appetizing sauce – but they weren’t. That isn’t to say they weren’t well seasoned – because they were. These potatoes were the perfect size to pop in one’s mouth as they devoured their meal.

Sweet plantains: These warm, sweet mouthfuls are also a favorite for Martha and she found them as yummy as she hoped they would be.

Garlic sauce: Martha didn’t think the sauce was overly garlicky, but she loved it all the same. She even lost a popable potato or two in the small sauce cup; there wasn’t anything she didn’t try in the sauces as the meal progressed.

Medium sauce: After she asked just HOW hot the Habanero sauce was, one of the employees gave Martha a sample. Poking fun at herself, she noted her tolerance for spicy must be changing because after the teeeeeniest taste, she said she could instantly feel the heat in her ears. She passed on Habanero and picked Medium as her second sauce – and was pleased she did. She found it as enjoyable as the garlic sauce and she can see herself sticking to these two tasty sauces on a return visit.

Tres Leches Cake ($6.50)

I’m quite sure I’ve mentioned my affinity for Tres Leches cake in the past. But if I haven’t, allow me to reiterate just how much I love it.

I first tried this Latin American delicacy in my youth when I went to a family wedding, where the bride was from Bolivia. I remember nothing from this wedding, except the most divine piece of cake I’d ever eaten.

Tres Leches cake is soaked in whole milk, evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk. It is the moistest cake you’ll ever eat. So, imagine my excitement to see it on the menu at R.U.B.

I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but *tootily toot* I must. I make a pretty mean Tres Leches myself. In fact, just last year was Martha’s first time trying it. She says it is one of her most favorite things in the world — and now she adores it just as much as I do.

I tell you this to let you know R.U.B. was up against some competition: me. And I must say, they got pretty darn close. In flavor, it tasted almost exactly like mine. But the top half of the cake was rather dry. We like a good moist bite from top to bottom. It didn’t stop us from devouring our slices, of course. And I’m elated to know I can drop in at R.U.B. any time to grab a slice that almost measures up to mine.

Final Bites

We love a restaurant that focuses on just a few things and does them really well. We also love that you can get such hot, fresh and delicious food to-go without feeling guilty about it. Not to mention their to-go containers are incredibly sturdy and reusable – if you’re into that kind of thing like we are.

Having grown up with home cooking that had lots of South American flair (my stepmom is from Bolivia and she’s a fantastic cook!), the food at R.U.B. brought a sense of comfort and familiarity to me. Martha loved every bite as well but she also says she’s kind of overwhelmed and annoyed that I keep picking such delicious choices for our monthly foodventures … PRESSURE’S ON, LADY!

We’ve no doubt there will be plenty of return visits to this delicious little corner in Aksarben – with two forks up in our hands!

Cheers!
The Good Bite Gals

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