The Unvegan

Edit: This location may be gone, but Rally’s is definitely still a thing.

Some days, typical fast food restaurants just aren’t enough. Enter: Rally’s. It’s like fast food, but with a few little twists. In fact, it isn’t always called Rally’s. Supposedly it is called Checker’s in some strange parts of the country.

What really drew me to Rally’s in Palms was the sign that said “2 for $4 Double Bacon Cheddar Burgers and Double Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches.” After seeing these options, I didn’t even need to look at the menu except to decide which fries I wanted. One thing that sets Rally’s apart from other fast food places is that they have two drive-thru windows, ensuring speedy ordering. In-N-Out could certainly learn a lot from this. They also have a window that you can just walk up to for ordering, if you want to sit in the nice outdoor dining area.

When I pulled up to the window, I asked what sort of vegetables typically came with the burgers I wanted, which were the usual ones you would expect, except for the onions, which came chopped. That didn’t really matter to me at the time, since I just ordered my food without everything. I also ordered some fries to join my sandwiches.

The wait was a little long for drive-thru, but they came out quickly enough. I lifted the top buns off of each to ensure that they were prepared correctly, and in the dark they looked fine, so I left the Rally’s drive-thru with my double-meaty burgers.

I laid them out and began to dig in. The Buffalo Chicken burger was great with a nice kick and a good crunch. I never thought about having a double chicken burger before, but now I wish more places would offer them. The bacon cheddar burger was a different story, though. Upon my first bite, I tasted something bitter and crunchy.

Oh No!

Onions!

And not just an easy ring of onions that I could lift from the patty, this had to be chopped onions and, of course, they were mixed in with the melted cheddar cheese. Dammit Rally’s, you had so much promise. Instead of just eating, I spent ten minutes picking out the tiny little onions while wasting precious little morsels of heat and cheese. By the time I was finished, I never wanted to see a chopped onion again. I bit back into the burger and was pretty happy, but so much time was lost. It was on the salty side, but still pretty tasty. Luckily I still had the fries, which were nothing short of incredible. They were perfectly seasoned and crunchy. In fact, I think Rally’s may be the best fast food fries I’ve ever had.

I was really happy to have tested out Rally’s, and as long as they can avoid dropping bits of onion into my food, I will be sure to pay them another visit.