Sometimes life gets in the way of cooking. Sometimes life even gets in the way of dining out… or in our restricted dining age, Mother Nature puts a stop to the affair. It’s times like these that I still turn to delivery. After doing it for over a year, quickly ordering something from an app has become second nature. Don’t feel like cooking? Break out the app.

In all fairness, these lazy days are also when I get to experience different “fast food” places. In the past, McDonald’s was an occasional treat and Maker’s Pizza would generally fill in the rest. But, with all the lazy days I’ve experienced, we broke tradition and started ordering from other places instead. That’s when my husband read out great smash burgers in Toronto and realized there’s a Rudy in North York.

The Rudy burger ($6.99), with it’s smashed beef patty, is what drew him in. Quite frankly, I’m not sure why people like these burgers; to me, it tastes like having a burger patty in jerky format as all the juices are squeezed out and you’re left with crispy edges. It’s topped with tomato, lettuce, cheese, and their special sauce, but I still found it lacking in moisture. My husband tells me it’s supposed to be like this and it’s that caramelized crust that breaks through the soft bun that people like. I’d much rather get that crunch from raw onions or dill pickles any day.  

I’ll just stick with their chicken burger, the Valentino ($8.49), where the chicken patty is thick and juicy, but still arrives with a crispy lightly battered crust. The protein is amazing. Where there’s room for improvement is the bun – it’s way too soft becoming sticky and mushy and barely holds together.

At least they provide the sauces on the side or else that bun would have no hope. The Valentino sauce is sort of like a watery ranch and while the consistency is great for drizzling, it could be saltier. Once you really soak the patty with their light hot sauce and everything mixes with the coleslaw it does get tastier. Overall, a decent chicken sandwich.

Their fries ($4.19) are a little pricy but a fair size and can be shared amongst two. It just needs to be double fried, so it doesn’t arrive so soggy. And unlike the golden arche’s fries, these barely have a lick of salt. You’ll want to save some of the chicken burger sauce to dip these into.

I’ve certainly had my fill of chicken sandwiches and fries during the pandemic. Rudy hardly leads the pack, yet it wasn’t a disappointing experience either. Maybe I need to go beyond the chicken and broaden my palette by trying more smashed burgers – is it me, or do they seem to be all the rage lately? It’s certainly a possibility, because with life right now, I’m just so tired of cooking. Anyone feeling the same?