Rallys Eat-It-All #20: Bacon Cheese Champ

There I was, eager all weekend to get a free stacker, only to find out that my coupon had expired. ARG! It's not like I hadn't picked up an Oreo Fudge stacker on Friday (no camera so no pic). It was good, with mostly ice cream but about 1.5 oreo cookies crumbled up on top and one spot in the middle, plus a squirt of fudge. But that only whetted my appetite and heightened my disappointment.

So I got a swirl cone instead for a buck. I hadn't noticed it with the stacker but the ice cream wasn't very creamy. It wasn't as ice-laden and flavorless as the cones you get at a Chinese buffet but it was in the same class. So it ain't no DQ but it was decently sized and very, very cold.

And they no longer have a Bacon Double Rallyburger with Cheese on the 2 for $5 menu. The manager said they could make one up for me, charging me for a regular Double Rallyburger with Cheese and then adding bacon for a dollar, but I declined because it wouldn't be eligible for the 2 for $5 menu and I'm cheap. Also I double checked the menu and there is no mention of a chili cheeseburger (double or otherwise), though I suspect again they could make one up for me if I asked the right person the rigth way. If it weren't for disappointments I wouldn't have any appointment. Oh well. But I'm not here to do secret menu items which left me with one option:

The Bacon Cheese Champ. As you can see, it's a messy fella. And there were barely two strips of bacon. Flavorwise it was about average, as far as their burgers go, and it was enhanced greatly by the medium fries I added and the SIXTEEN PACKETS OF KETCHUP I was handed when I asked for a few ketchup packets. Sometimes they give you two, sometimes they give you a double handful.

So that's it. Just like that, eleven months in and I'm done*. I've eaten every burger/entree option on their menu. Favorites include the Deep Sea Double, the Fry Lovers Burger (properly fried), the Bacon Cheddar Crisp, and the Baconzilla. Because there are only a couple I'll likely finish up trying the sides and because it's summer I'll probably be trying some milkshakes and slushies and smoothies, that is if I can find time between trying biscuits and gravy.

* Except I'm not. I'll probably never be done because as I walked up to order I saw signs for the New Bacon Double Bistro Stacker. One thing I really like about Rallys is that they are always coming up with new things. Such as the Apple Pie milkshake/stacker, though I only know this from their web site due to there being no signs in the walk-up area. However the end is definitely near.

Biscuits and Gravy Review: City View Cafe

Because I'm only two items away from finishing the Rally's Eat-It-All challenge (and because I forgot to bring something for breakfast) I thought it would be a good day to start up my next life goal.*

This aforementioned goal is to find (drum roll please) THE BEST BISCUITS AND GRAVY IN DOWNTOWN FORT WAYNE.

It's long been my position that a simple order of biscuits and gravy is a good litmus test for any restaurant. Are the biscuits hand made or (gasp) from a tube**? Likewise is the gravy made from scratch or is it from a can? How much sausage does it contain? Is it greasy? How plentiful is the portion? I think you catch my drift.

For my first foray into gustatory delight I ventured up, up, up to the City View Cafe, which is on the 13th floor of the second tallest building in Fort Wayne. This space used to be called the Window Garden Cafe and it has great views of the city. Currently it's run by a local catering/food service company.

First off, ordering was kind of weird. There's a hot bar area and you fill out your order on a small square of paper, checking the appropriate boxes, and lay the paper on top of the counter. The only other human was the cashier and a lady who arrived mere moments before me. After a full minute or so a young man showed up who looked like his best friend had died. He took our two slips of paper and got to work. Eventually he left and came back a minute or so later with a box of food service biscuits. It wasn't looking good.

Even though you're standing mere feet away the food preparation area is hidden behind a wall of frosted glass so you don't get the diner experience of watching your food prepared. I kid you not but it took almost ten full minutes to get my food. TEN MINUTES. And there was only one other person ahead of me!

I took my carry out order to the cashier who rang it up and said "Five dollars? Sheesh! Open that up will ya? I want to make sure he gave you enough." I wasn't the only one who thought that $5.07 was steep (including Fort Wayne's generous 8% food tax). But apparently the depressed young lad was generous enough because I was allowed to leave without further delay.

But the big question is how was it?

Surprisingly the star of the show was the pre-made biscuits. The young man split them, slathered them with butter and plopped them on the grill until they had a nice crisp on them, plus the fantastic flavor of butter. The gravy was of medium viscosity and didn't have much flavor. What it did have was a slightly strange taste such that halfway through my breakfast I could have been done eating, but being a member in good standing of The Clean Plate Club I made sure that I finished. There was a small amount of sausage bits, probably fried up on the premises and added to what was very likely canned gravy, but they tasted good and were also crisp. Sadly, I ran out of gravy with two bites left, although I'm not sure how more gravy could have been stuffed into the carry out container.

Biscuits - 8
Gravy - 4
Value - 5
Service - 2
GRAND TOTAL - 4.75

UPDATE Jan 2019
Alas, City View Cafe is closed. Gone. Extinct. The business that took it's place doesn't sell biscuits and gravy and so I shall shun them.

* And yes, it's good to think small.

** I had tube biscuits served to me once. Obviously it scarred me for life.

Rallys Update

I am 94.3% done with my goal. Yesterday I found that Rallys no longer sells the classic wings... it's all "boneless" wings a.k.a. chicken nuggets. So that's one off my list. They also don't sell the Chili Cheeseburger, even if asked politely.

Which means I'm down to a Bacon Cheese Champ and a Bacon Double Rallyburger with Cheese, although this last one may also be extinct. Yep, the end is near.

But not near enough. Yesterday I needed some extra sustenance so picked up a quick Fry Lovers Burger. It had three fries on it. Really, Rally's? Three? And they were soggy to boot! Fortunately I had used a coupon for a free medium fry so I just added some of my own instead of having to complain to someone who didn't make the sammich in the first place.

Sept. 10, 2018 Update

I just picked up another Fry Lovers burger and it had five fries on it. Soggy fries. Like they were waiting in a tray to be put on burgers for a while. Come on, Rallys! Get it together!