Babe and Ricky's
A few months ago I wrote about Mickey Champion and my seeing her ages ago at Babe and Ricky's.
B&R was one of these places that I loved and had the best intentions to visit on a regular basis....10 years go by and I'm finally making my second appearance to the place.
My recollections of the bar being located in a sketchy ghetto inside the Crenshaw neighborhood was either unfounded or 10 years has allowed what is now considered Leimert Park to shape itself into what now seems like a rather charming neighborhood dotted with art galleries and coffee houses.
Exiting Crenshaw from the 10 our mouths drooled driving passed a vast array of BBQ and Soul Food establishments. The club itself claimed to have Dinner available so we held out until we arrived. Babe and Ricky's resides in an island of business' between 43rd and Leimert.
Upon entering the club, we were greeted by Miss Laura Mae, the proprietor. Very friendly, she remembered Jenny's voice from when she phoned for information. She had reserved a table for us. The club was sparsely populated with what looked like a few regulars. We took the table and were provided with a small menu containing Wings, Cat Fish, and Hot Links. Despite my weak stomach that day, I ordered the wings. Jenny the Cat Fish.
Slowly, a few more people came by and the band started to take stage. The house band, the Mighty Balls of Fire, were a true cross-section of nationalities (sporting an Asian rhythm guitar player, Hispanic base player, and afro-American drummer) and provided a quality rhythm section to the two featured guitarists and Saxophonist.
Our food was served during the first guitarists set who managed to draw my eyes away from the monster chicken wings provided with some equally impressive playing. But let me re-iterate the size of these wings. These things were Gigantic, and fried and delicious. Accompanied by Hush-Puppies and Potato Salad. The greens had called my name....but again, I was keeping it safe. The chicken and cat-fish were top notch although pretty damn greasy.
After wolfing down the food, I managed to concentrate on the entertainment. The sax player at his best was pretty damn good but seemed to loose inspiration from time to time, possibly due to the ample show-boating of the second leads set.
The first lead seemed to integrate the rest of the band a bit better. He also jammed single-handedly from time to time and had an energy that was infectious. The second lead was technically better possibly. Although, that technical expertise may have hindered him from time to time. Regardless, the whole event was quality and did not disappoint in the least.
We managed to stay for two sets, and decided to head home around 11:00. There were inevitably more sets to come, and the crowd slowly grew but never to a point that we lost the intimate feeling of the club. We certainly weren't the only Caucasians in the mix, seems like it draws a decent USC crowd possibly.
Driving home, both Jenny and I agreed that this club was definitely a place we should frequent more often. Let's hope that doesn't mean another 10 years needs to pass before we're drawn back.
Entrance on Saturdays is 8bucks, plus a minimum of 2 drinks. On Mondays, a soul food dinner is wrapped into the cost of admission!
B&R was one of these places that I loved and had the best intentions to visit on a regular basis....10 years go by and I'm finally making my second appearance to the place.
My recollections of the bar being located in a sketchy ghetto inside the Crenshaw neighborhood was either unfounded or 10 years has allowed what is now considered Leimert Park to shape itself into what now seems like a rather charming neighborhood dotted with art galleries and coffee houses.
Exiting Crenshaw from the 10 our mouths drooled driving passed a vast array of BBQ and Soul Food establishments. The club itself claimed to have Dinner available so we held out until we arrived. Babe and Ricky's resides in an island of business' between 43rd and Leimert.
Upon entering the club, we were greeted by Miss Laura Mae, the proprietor. Very friendly, she remembered Jenny's voice from when she phoned for information. She had reserved a table for us. The club was sparsely populated with what looked like a few regulars. We took the table and were provided with a small menu containing Wings, Cat Fish, and Hot Links. Despite my weak stomach that day, I ordered the wings. Jenny the Cat Fish.
Slowly, a few more people came by and the band started to take stage. The house band, the Mighty Balls of Fire, were a true cross-section of nationalities (sporting an Asian rhythm guitar player, Hispanic base player, and afro-American drummer) and provided a quality rhythm section to the two featured guitarists and Saxophonist.
Our food was served during the first guitarists set who managed to draw my eyes away from the monster chicken wings provided with some equally impressive playing. But let me re-iterate the size of these wings. These things were Gigantic, and fried and delicious. Accompanied by Hush-Puppies and Potato Salad. The greens had called my name....but again, I was keeping it safe. The chicken and cat-fish were top notch although pretty damn greasy.
After wolfing down the food, I managed to concentrate on the entertainment. The sax player at his best was pretty damn good but seemed to loose inspiration from time to time, possibly due to the ample show-boating of the second leads set.
The first lead seemed to integrate the rest of the band a bit better. He also jammed single-handedly from time to time and had an energy that was infectious. The second lead was technically better possibly. Although, that technical expertise may have hindered him from time to time. Regardless, the whole event was quality and did not disappoint in the least.
We managed to stay for two sets, and decided to head home around 11:00. There were inevitably more sets to come, and the crowd slowly grew but never to a point that we lost the intimate feeling of the club. We certainly weren't the only Caucasians in the mix, seems like it draws a decent USC crowd possibly.
Driving home, both Jenny and I agreed that this club was definitely a place we should frequent more often. Let's hope that doesn't mean another 10 years needs to pass before we're drawn back.
Entrance on Saturdays is 8bucks, plus a minimum of 2 drinks. On Mondays, a soul food dinner is wrapped into the cost of admission!
posted by lakeside at 4:09 PM
2 Comments:
this seems like a much cooler place to see her than the Ritz!
i think the ritz will be cool. but yeah, babe and ricky's is more here environment. just difficult to get the crew together for a monday outing.
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