With a cluck cluck here and a cluck cluck there, chicken is ubiquitous at Bob’s. But for a salad or the marginalized haddock dinners (which might be the officia* chicken of the sea" around here) and the ability to just order a plate of "sides," it’s all about poultry, and even then just one variety. But that’s what you come here for - chicken broiled, buffaloed, pot pied, sandwiched, smothered in cheese, battered, sauced and occasionally tossed on a salad. Oh and souped. Chicken in almost all its abundant variety.

The dining room is a throwback, slightly worn carpets and Formica with high white wooden booths and benches and country reds and greens on the walls, It’s like sitting in Grandma’s kitchen breakfast nook circa 1945 somewhere out on a farm where chickens run outside on the lawn and eggs are gathered daily.

Upon seating ourselves, the waitress (who knew just about everyone) immediately brings out a hunk of cornbread with butter to keep me occupied. The bread is sweet and crumbly, but I wished it came out warm so the butter would melt all dripping inside.

The main attraction is a traditional country meal, rotisserie chicken with hearty helpings of traditional sides served heaping and falling off the plate. I ordered a half a chicken with two sides (a special that day for $7.99, normally $8.99), but since it was difficult to choose from the huge list of sides, I added another. What’re mashed potatoes and gravy without stuffing? Without candied yams?

The half chicken was very large with a skin fragrant with herbs and black pepper and covered with the rich chewy and crunchy bits that make a broiled chicken sublime. The meat was tender and had absorbed the herbs of the outside with the moistness of the fat, although the bird was not greasy in the least. Half the size with just white or dark meat are also on the menu.

A choice of dipping sauces is offered including fresh stock gravy, spicy hot, honey mustard, cranberry orange, barbecue, or cranberry jelly. I chose the honey mustard for my chicken, but as it was served cold, I thought it more appropriate for the tenders or cold chicken. Gravy and barbecue are best with the warm. I had the stock gravy on my mashed potatoes, the gravy a sort of orange-brown with a good fresh flavor, although not quite thick enough. The potatoes were from scratch, but too watery and therefore lacking in flavor, so gravy is essential.

A sausage bread stuffing was a bit dry, but gravy covers that issue as well. It was almost exactly like the stuffing I make so it struck a chord, spicy, robust and filled with bits of onions and tasty sausage.

Other sides include steamed broccoli, sweet corn, butternut squash, honey dill carrots, handcut fries and boiled red potatoes. I tried the special that day candied yams, which were a bit too soft but sweet and just like Thanksgiving.

We also tried the dill carrots, which were also sweet and flavorful but lacked enough dill to give them character and were also too soft. Red potatoes were firm and retained their skins on which fresh parsley clung. All the veggies are fresh here and it shows in the flavor even if they are sometimes overcooked.

And that’s only the beginning. There are buffalo wings in mild, medium, hot or extra hot, which can be ordered by the pound ($5.99 for about eight) or as a dinner with sides. The medium was fairly hot so the extra hot must be almost lethal. They had the required crispness in the skin and the burn in the sauce was great.

A pot pie ($7.99) came topped with a square of light puff pastry rather than savory pie dough, the filling thick and enhanced by rich stock and herbs as well as small cut vegetables, basically a chicken stew with a top.

There are also open-faced sandwiches on a house-baked wheat roll with gravy and sides ($6.99 with one side) as well as roasted and sliced cold chicken sandwiches or blackened and grilled or just grilled ($3.99-$5.99). And there are salads plain or with grilled or cold chicken in spinach, Greek or Caesar versions ($3.99-$7.49).

It was difficult to save room for dessert, but I did for Bob’s. Fresh baked pies abound. Mile high apple, Maple pecan, Maine blueberry and raspberry with butter crumb topping. I couldn’t resist the pecan, which came out warm with a pile of whipped cream (or ice cream of course) and the snappy richness of pure maple syrup. You can even take them home whole to the family for the holidays.

Bob’s is a trip to a country farm with huge homemade meals you can down with a tall glass of milk, lemonade or even beer or wine. Top it off with a slice of pie and you’re on the farm. In Portsmouth. Just look outside and imagine the chickies bobbing and clucking in the backyard.

Rachel Forrest can be reached by e-mail at rachelforrest1@aol.com.

Bob’s Broiled Chicken
801 Islington St. #16
Gallagher’s Place
Portsmouth
433-6355
http://www.bobschicken.com/

Hours: Mon.-Saturday 11:30-9; Sun. 4-8

Food * * * ½
Traditional dishes with all fresh ingredients and a great way to have a dinner with all the fixings or just a light sandwich.

Service * * * *
The meals come out quickly and the staff is chummy with regulars and newbies alike.

Ambience * * * ½
The décor is a bit worn down but reminiscent of a farm kitchen, which fits in with the homecooked hearty meals..

Overall * * * ½
Chickens R Us! Good solid meals with all fresh ingredients in a homey setting.

Five stars - Excellent
Four stars - Very Good
Three stars - Good
Two stars - Fair
One star - Poor

CHOICE TIPS

If you like homecooked country style meals you might also like:

Lakeside Restaurant, 22 Main St., Kingston, 642-8589 - Nice view through big windows overlooking the lake with sandwiches and heartier fare including full homestyle dinners.

Country Brook Café, 98 Amesbury Road, Kensington, 778-6062 - Big breakfasts, big traditional lunches and dinners on Fridays (BYOB) all in a homey country setting out in the sticks. Hearty and creative at the same time.