nothin Today’s Special: Brisket Kansa-Lina Fries | New Haven Independent

Today’s Special: Brisket Kansa-Lina Fries

Maya McFadden Photo

Ricky Evans with Brisket Kansa-Lina Fries creation.

For Ricky Evans, owner of Ricky D’s Rib Shack, cooking up comfort food behind a grill totally beats wearing a suit and working in Corporate America.

Evans, who is 35, knows this because he’s done both in the past 10 years.

His Ricky D’s brick and mortar restaurant opened in 2016. Before that Evans roamed New Haven streets serving backyard barbecue-style food for three years from a mobile rib shack in a 20-foot-long truck with a grill in the back.

On the food truck Evan prepared cookout staples like ribs, pulled pork, brisket, chicken, coleslaw, potato salad and baked beans. Menu items like yams, collard greens, and loaded baked potatoes have since been introduced at the restaurant. Evan’s baked potato was a family favorite’ after many customer request was the reason he later added it to the menu.

Then Evans added his Kansa-Lina Fries to the menu. It immediately became a customer favorite.

The fries have five topping choices: beef brisket, chicken, pulled pork, rib tips, and turkey.

Take-out and delivery orders will prove crucial to the ability of local restaurants like Ricky D’s Rib Shack to weather the pandemic during the coming months as Covid-19 cases climb and cold weather sets in. Call (203) 745‑4998 or visit the restaurant’s website to order the Brisket Kansa-lina fries and other dishes for take-out or delivery. Hours are Mon. through Sat. 11 a.m to 8 p.m.

Evans starts preparing the new favorite by putting two scoops of fries into the fryer. He lets them cook for about three minutes or until golden brown.

As they cook, he preps the to-go container with a foil liner. Once the fries are golden, he drains the fry basket’s grease to keep them from becoming soggy.

The fries are transferred into a bowl and lightly seasoned with his signature Kansa-lina dry rub seasoning, then tossed by hand.

In the to-go container Evans makes a bed of fries for the first layer, then tops them with thick cubes of beef brisket.

The fries and brisket are generously drizzled with the restaurant’s signatures Kansa-lina barbecue sauce and topped off with a scoop of coleslaw.

The Road To Ricky’s

Evans is from Cleveland. He attended Virginia State University for business management.

I wanted to do everything by the books. The traditional way,” he said.

After graduating Evans dived into a corporate job in New York for four years. While working, Evans couldn’t shake the feeling of dissatisfaction. He thought to himself: I followed the traditional path. I have the salary, the benefits, and the job. That’s it?”

Evans decided to try his hand at entrepreneurship. He spent his last few months in the office drafting out his plan for Ricky D’s.

I was making my logo, getting insurance, purchasing the truck while at work,” he recalled.

I bet on myself,” Evans said.

Evans and his wife settled in New Haven, her hometown, where he began his journey as an entrepreneur.

When Evans was officially ready to start business, with the truck he asked around about where other truck vendors operated. Friends told him to go to Yale’s campus. Yale is everywhere,” he recalled thinking.

Evans later learned of the city’s food-truck-friendly areas. He most often would park the truck on Chapel Street outside the Yale Art Gallery.

In June 2016 Evans decided Ricky D’s needed a brick and mortar restaurant. On the food truck you miss a lot of opportunities because you’re only out selling for so long during the day,” he said. When the truck is done for the day there’s still customers looking for you.”

Evans chose the Ricky D’s spot at 302 Winchester Ave. so the restaurant could be at the center of both sides of town” to brings the city together with his reminiscent cookout flavors.

The restaurant’s first two years were the hardest, Evans said. It was like a wake-up call. Whether you’re getting 100 customers or none, the bills keep coming.”

By the third year Evans had built connections with the surrounding community and beyond. Some customers come from Hartford and Bridgeport to pick up meals from Ricky D’s.

Instead of going into an office, I rather be on the grill,” he said.

Before the pandemic hit, the restaurant could seat 32 people in its dine-in area. Once the pandemic hit, Evans removed the restaurant’s dining room area and focused on the increase in takeout orders.

Evans had to cut his employees’ work hours but did not lay off any of his seven staff members. Most days Evans was alone in the restaurant handling both the serving and cooking because of the new safety concerns.

The streets became a ghost town,” Evans said. The offices surrounding the restaurant began to have their employees work from home. Ricky D’s lunch and dinner rushes came to a halt.

Evans upgraded the restaurants’ online order system to make placing orders on the website easier. The restaurant does delivery with Uber Eats and Door Dash.

When cases began to pick up in New Haven, many customers ordered takeout from Ricky D’s to give hospitalized family members a comfort meal.

June was the restaurant’s best month of the year. Takeout orders skyrocketed. Customers would stop in before or after attending the summer-long protests, Evans said.

The Sauce

Evans’ signature Kansa-lina bbq sauce and dry rub seasoning.

After about four years in business, Evans decided he needed to create a signature sauce for the restaurant.

When you have a barbecue business, you need your own sauce,” he said

He named the restaurant’s barbecue flavor Kansa-Lina BBQ. The signature taste is a combination between the sweet savory taste of Kansas-City BBQ and the Carolinas’ savory vinegar style.

At right, Chris Ferguson’s art piece of Evans’ food truck.

The restaurant is decorated with HBCU flags and the art of local artist Chris Ferguson. Evans met Ferguson while operating the food truck. Ferguson took a photo of Evans with his food truck on York Street, then painted the photo. Evans bought the painting from Ferguson and promised to put in his first brick and mortar restaurant. He has since partnered with Ferguson to display his other pieces in the restaurant for customers to buy (with 100 percent of the profit going to Ferguson). A customer once bought a Ferguson piece for $750 off the restaurant’s wall.

In the future Evans hopes to franchise Ricky D’s and get his dry rub and BBQ sauce mass produced to distribute nationally.

Previous coverage of recommended take-out orders to help local businesses survive the pandemic:

Today’s Special: Haci’s Napoletana Pie
Today’s Special: Fred & Patty’s Brie On Baguette
Today’s Special: Nieda’s Moist Falafel
Today’s Special: Qulen’s Vegan Wings”
Today’s Special: Aaron’s Peruvian Rice Bowl
Today’s Special: Singh Bros.’ Chana Kulcha
Today’s Special: Grandma’s Chicken Soup
Today’s Special: Woody’s Steak & Shrimp
Today’s Special: Shilmat’s Yemisir Sambusa
Today’s Special: Arjun’s Vegetarian Manchurian
Today’s Special: Mohammed’s Bhel Poori
Today’s Special: Francesco’s Tortelli
Today’s Special: Seikichi’s Sushi
Today’s Special: Ketkeo’s Khao Poon
Today’s Special: Mike Fox’s French Toast
Today’s Special: Zhang’s Squirrel Fish Dish
Today’s Special: Jessica’s Gumbo
Today’s Special: Kenny Kim’s Vegan Ramen
Today’s Special: Ernesto’s Venezuelan Arepa
Today’s Special: Corey’s Prison Reformer” Frank
Today’s Special: Bryan’s Butter Chicken Pie
Today’s Special: Jared’s Super Supreme Baked Potato
Today’s Special: Craig’s Breakfast Reuben
Today’s Special: Sunny’s Mackerel Sashimi
Today’s Special: Jamshed’s Lemon Chicken
Today’s Special: Dave’s Navratan Curry
Today’s Special: Nicole’s Oxtail

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