Rudy’s Pub and Grill – The Straight Beef

Focus on Takeout – Rudy’s Pub and Grill (Apex, NC)

May 26, 2020 michaelm

My place to go for wings is Rudy’s. Every Tuesday night, they have $0.55 wing night. You can order an number of sauces. I have been going there for years and have never had a bad experience. Chad and I even did a lunch burger review there back in the before times. Great burgers. Great fries. Great wings. Great service, too.

I’ve never had takeout from there, though.

Rudy’s came through in a big way. I ordered twelve Honey Hot wings (my favorite) and tots. My wife ordered a Cobb salad, and the kids got BLT wraps with fries. Their online ordering system is terrific. They use a service called Chow Now. The cool thing about this company is that they charge a monthly fee instead of taking a cut of each individual order. The ordering process was simple. You can even order ahead. I ordered mine at about 1:00 PM to be picked up at 6:30. My food was being put in a bag as I walked in.

OK, let’s get to the important stuff. My family raved about their items. My wings were crisp and tangy as if they just came out of the kitchen. The tots were fluffy and just salty enough. A lot of great flavor without a hint of ketchup needed.

Restaurants are opening up now. However, we’ll still be getting takeout for awhile especially if it’s as good as Rudy’s. I highly recommend checking them out. — MM

Rudy’s Takeout Redux!

Rudy’s is also one of Chad’s favorites. He and his wife got takeout this past week. As mentioned, the ordering system is simple and allows you to customize your items.

Chad’s wife ordered a bacon cheeseburger, no onion, no pickle, and Rudy’s signature fat curly fries. Chad ordered their French dip on ciabatta with tater tots.

The ordering system assigns slots, so there are only so many orders in a given block. Chad arrived early, and the staff was happy to expedite his order so there was only a short wait. The food was excellent, as always. The French dip was rich and beefy, the burger a perfect medium. They were so good that both were half eaten before Chad remembered to take a couple of photos, so some judicious knife work was necessary to get a shot without bites showing.

Double thumbs up for Rudy’s and the skill with which they’ve adapted to the new reality of the restaurant business. — CW

Review #78 – Rudy’s Pub and Grill (Apex, NC)

July 19, 2018 michaelm

Gentlemen Who Lunch

Michael’s Review:

As I’ve gotten older, I have come to appreciate lunch. In my reckless youth, lunch was always something I wolfed down while usually working on something like answering emails or paying bills. I treat it for what it should be which is a break in the middle of my day. A time to listen to a podcast or some music or catch up on the news of the day.

Why not have a decent burger for lunch instead of going to a fast food place that is designed to get you in and out as soon as possible? It’s true. Fast food places purposely make their chairs and booths uncomfortable, so you’ll eat and get out. Come back, though, when you need as many calories as you can consume in 5 minutes.

Enter Rudy’s. Rudy’s is a good restaurant and bar that has TVs for watching sports. I’ve been to Rudy’s countless times on Tuesday nights for their wing specials, but I had never had their burger.

Unlike the real Wolfpack, this burger showed promise and actually delivered.

Going against my Demon Deacon roots, I decided on the Wolfpack. The patty was between five and six ounces which I think is the sweet spot for a burger. Four ounces just isn’t enough to sink your teeth into. Eight ounces is too much and hard to maintain enjoyment the whole way through. It was cooked medium as ordered. It had a nice char, but the meat was not seasoned enough. The classic hot dog-style chili was excellent. The pepper jack cheese was there, but it was not enough to overcome the sour cream and guacamole. It needed jalapeños, hot sauce, something to give it a kick. The brioche bun put forth a yeoman’s effort in holding it all together. I was expecting to go home and change before I went back to work, but my shirt remained crisp and clean.

Rudy’s puts together a solid burger. Add more seasoning, and it could be a TSB classic for the ages. I give it a 4.0.

Chad’s Review:

I have to admit that I was skeptical of Rudy’s. Since the much lamented passing of Cheeburger Cheeburger, this location in the Haddon Hall Commons shopping center in Apex has been host to a series of short-lived and easily forgotten strip mall sports bars.

From the outside, Rudy’s looks like more of the same. Then you get a look at the menu. Nearly everything is made in-house and with fresh, local ingredients. I ordered my burger with cautious optimism and was amply rewarded.

Of course we both had burgers, that’s what we do. However, the sports bar standards are all there on the menu, they are just executed with a level of skill and care that you don’t normally find in a joint with a dozen televisions. The burger is no exception.

Would you rather have this or a quarter pounder?

I ordered The Carolina Blue (garlic butter, bacon, and blue cheese crumbles.) The patty was about a third of a pound, which is the perfect size, especially if you don’t want to waddle back to your office and nod off in a soporific meat haze. It arrived cooked right in the goldilocks zone of medium with a hint of medium-rare. After a bite or two, my original caution was replaced with enthusiasm. This was a damn fine burger. The patty could have used a little more seasoning, but the bacon was nice and crisp and the other accompaniments were fresh and flavorful. The fries appeared to have been cut in-house, which always scores bonus points with me. The brioche bun was appropriately soft, but held up nicely to the rigors of burger containment.

All in all, this was a great lunch burger, and as Michael said, why not spend an extra buck or two to enjoy a good burger in a relaxed atmosphere. Let the other poor slobs stew in the drive through line while you sit back and enjoy your lunch. Rudy’s is an easy 4.0 on the Straight Beef Scale.