DRIVE BY DINING
Rally’s Jim Beam Burgers 
By Dog Davis

October 6, 2005

Some burger joints in this town yearn to be sophisticated, offering gourmet toppings like dried cranberries or crumbled bleu cheese.

Not Rally’s. This Kentucky-born chain, currently based in Florida, proudly features a burger called the Big Buford, sells fries coated in a Southern-fried batter, and boasts being the “official drive-thru of NASCAR."

Rally’s two newest items don’t stray from this down-home aesthetic. One’s called the Jim Beam Double Cheddarburger and the other’s the Jim Beam Cheddar Chicken Sandwich. The former has two beef patties, while the latter has a fried chicken patty. Both are dressed with smoked cheddar cheese, grilled red onions, shredded lettuce, and – hold onto your trucker cap -- a hearty shot of Jim Beam brand barbecue sauce.

Gourmet? No way! But yummy nonetheless.

RALLY’S JIM BEAM CHEDDAR SANDWICHES

TASTE

3 tongues

It’s the cheddar-onion-BBQ sauce combo that makes these puppies rock. And yes, there’s really a trace of Jim Beam bourbon in the sauce, but you’ll be sorely disappointed if you’re expecting to get any buzz off it.

PORTABILITY

1 car

Talk about messy! Eating one of these in the car will get you a lap full of onions and lettuce, and your hands will become sticky from the sauce. Still, there are worse things in life.

DIET WATCH

2 scales

Though Rally’s has no available nutritional information, it’s safe to assume these sandwiches aren’t remotely low-cal, and even if they were, their delicious fries will break most any dieter’s resolve.

HYPE-O-METER

1 !

Rally’s slogan, “You Gotta Eat!” may be the weirdest in the industry. Like it’s short for “You Gotta Eat Something, You Might As Well Eat Here.” Southern modesty can be refreshing, but not when it lacks self-esteem.