Urban Chicken by Hoboken Tony

Urban Chicken Formerly - "The Chicken & Rib Crib"
630 Washington St, Hoboken, NJ - (201) 420-7173

Hoboken Tony Formerly The Chicken And Rib Crib

Tony's Rating: 4 out of 5

Urban Chicken

Full box 4 piece meal

I love fried chicken and I love ribs. Since I’ve been in Hoboken, I’ve tried this place twice, but have yet to try their ribs, so we’ll save that for another time. Let’s start off with a little background on my tastes, which may clear up (or create?) any bias I have towards fried chicken places.

I’m a very big fan of Roy Rogers. They’ve always been my favorite fried chicken place (great spices and crispy), while KFC has always been awful (overly salted and slimy, at all 5+ of the places I’ve tried). Popeye’s made its emergence in Boston, and was a decent substitute, but still was no Roy’s. One every few months on a trip from Boston to NY and back to Boston, I would make a stop at the Roy Rogers in Sturbridge, MA, since it seems Roy’s mostly makes its stand along major highways now...

Urban Chicken fried chickenThat all aside, it was time to find a solution here in Hoboken. I read a few blogs, including hoboken411.com, to try and find any reviews, and up comes a place called The Chicken And Rib Crib, now called Urban Chicken (though the 1st box of food they gave me had the old name on it). Gotta say, it’s pretty good.

The chicken was crispy, and both times I’ve ordered, they threw in an extra piece of chicken. I have to admit, that’s definitely bonus points there. The skin was good, and the actual chicken itself was not slimy or soggy, which was typical of the KFC’s I’d been to and a big no-no. Both the dark and light meats were good, and I would definitely try it out if you haven’t. You may have different tastes than me, and can’t stand fast food fried chicken, but hopefully I find a place then that has more of that 'homestyle flavor.'

Urban Chicken steak french friesThe fries are your common steak fries, but still nice to have, though crispy and spicy fries would be nice. I feel steak fries get bland after a while. They give a good amount of them, though I ordered a 4 piece meal both times. Ok, I’ll admit it. The first time I did split it with my fiancée… but the 2nd time, it was all me. I’ll see if there are less fries for the 2 piece meals that they offer as well.

Finally, as another blogger pointed out, why are there rolls included with the meal? They’re just not good. I think they’re better off putting in wet naps to clean up after than having these rolls. Both times they have been dry and nothing really pleasant about them. Maybe spreading some butter or something will help them out, but I didn’t bother after the first bite. Maybe I’ll see if they sub it or just not include it. I feel it’s a waste to just toss them when I get them.

Urban Chicken bread rollsI would definitely go back to them later, and I need to try the ribs. I’m more picky about ribs than most other food, and I get disappointed easily. Is this place better than my Roy’s? Nope, but that’s ok. I can always take the Path in to 33rd and hit the one up by Penn Station if I’m that desperate. For now, until I find another place, I will stick with Urban Chicken as my go-to fried chicken place. What do you all think?