Out and Back: Roy Rogers

Yes, really.

Surely you thought this once-sprawling franchise had been eradicated except for a few random outposts in rest stops on toll roads. That is, if you've thought about it at all. (I'm willing to accept the fact that you likely haven't.) And for a long time that was true - when Marriott sold the chain to Hardee's parent company, many Roy Rogers were converted to Hardee's, which basically meant reducing chicken to jobber status. But it turns out that the restaurant is making something of a comeback.

(Route 9 North, Pine Beach, N.J.)

This particular location was one of the survivors from the 1990 sell-off, though there's a decent chance the building's been renovated. I first stumbled upon it nine years ago when I was still working in Trenton, covering a Little League softball team in the state championship in nearby Beachwood. I happened to be back up in the area again recently and saw that it was still there, prompting today's trip.

It's been exactly that long since I've even eaten at a Roy Rogers. They still have the Fixin's Bar, where you can roll over with your burger and make it look presentable with lettuce, onions, tomatoes and pickles. I topped my bland-looking bacon cheeseburger with lettuce, onions, pickles and ketchup. The white onions threw me, as I've become accustomed to using red onions when I make burgers at home.

But let's be honest: Nobody ever went to Roy Rogers for the burgers. This is why you went:


Original Roast Beef, yo. Note the foil wrapping straight out of the environmentally-unfriendly 80's. At least they're not still using styrofoam. Mine got injured during packing (I still don't quite understand why they put it underneath the chicken box):


That's what it really looks like. Well, except for the blur. I am glad to note that it retained some juiciness even after a 45-minute drive.

Now, the appeal of Roy's for me as a kid was always that you could get burgers and fried chicken at the same place:


Dark meat is the default for the two-piece combo; white meat costs a little extra. Drumstick on the left, thigh up top. I don't remember the biscuits being about the same shape as foccacia bread, though. Must be a recent development.

Tasting the chicken reminded me that Roy's has always had a different "bite" to it for me than KFC's has. I can't quite explain what it is, though. It's not a spice thing, it's not really noticeably crispier than KFC's Extra Crispy (in fact, it's maybe a little less so). If you were to ask me which is better, I'd say it depended on my mood at the time. I do think it's somewhat ironic that from my hazy childhood fast food memories, Roy's was more likely to have chicken ready when you walked in than the chicken-only KFC, which can be a crapshoot depending on location whether you'll be waiting in there for three minutes or 15.

FYI, there are no Hardee's located in New Jersey. I think we know who won that battle.