When I joined FFC last month, I began with Burger King’s Rodeo Cheeseburger. From that glowing review, you might have guessed I’m a big fan of “western” style burgers, and you’re right. Most every version of these type burgers contain two crucial elements: barbeque sauce and fried onions. Another staple is bacon, and even though BK’s Rodeo Cheeseburger is a smaller value menu burger that doesn’t include bacon, it’s still delicious. From reading the review feedback, I noticed some people chiming in about bacon. So here you go folks, a bigger western style burger with pork.

The Checkers Smokehouse Buford is a double cheeseburger topped with hickory barbeque sauce, a giant fried onion ring, cheddar cheese, lettuce, pickles and slice of tomato, on a toasted sesame seed bun. Bacon is an option, and of course I added it. This burger was stacked. When taking my first bite I noticed how flavorful the bacon was. They did this bacon right, at least in the taste category. It was cooked a tad uneven, soft in the middle and crunchy on the ends, but it tasted great throughout. The double stacked all-beef patties are sure to satisfy meat lovers with big appetites, and the ground beef at Checkers is hand-seasoned, has good flavor and fairly juicy.

The hickory BBQ sauce they use is a bit sweet, which I like, and the cheddar cheese had a nice smoky flavor, and was melted around both patties. The sesame seed bun was a standard fast-food burger bun and even though it’s advertised as being “toasted” I honestly don’t think mine was toasted at all. I was disappointed with the giant onion ring. By appearance alone I was anticipating something great. It’s a big, thick, crunchy fried onion ring but it’s flavor never really popped. This is probably due to many unnecessary ingredients, which is my biggest gripe about this burger.

I don’t understand the inclusion of lettuce, tomato and dill pickles. For one, the lettuce is only noticeable because it reminds you that less-is-more. The tomato was a little runny and simply not needed. And pickles have a strong bitter taste that take away from the foundation of what makes a western-inspired burger unique. Note to western burger makers… lettuce, tomato, pickles do not belong. If that’s your sort of thing personally, then you should be able to order them as options, but they shouldn’t be standard ingredients on this type of burger. You wouldn’t put ketchup, mustard and mayo along with the BBQ sauce now would you? Yet I’ve had places make it like that. Wrong Wrong Wrong. There is such a thing as too many toppings.

At a price of $3.89, you’re getting a really good sized burger. This is a two-hander, and things will get messy. Although I do have a few negative things to say about Checkers’ Smokehouse Buford, my overall experience was positive. It tasted very good, and satisfied my big burger hunger. I would definitely order it again, although it’s only available for a limited time. I’m recommending that you hold the lettuce, tomato and pickles to achieve the maximum “western” flavor. That should also help the giant onion ring stand out. This is a solid burger that has potential to be great.

Price: $3.89 / Website: Checkers.com

Fast Food Critic Score: B

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Nutrition Facts - Checkers, Smokehouse Buford.

Calories - 650
Calories from Fat - 330
Total Fat - 37 grams
Carbs - 44 grams
Saturated Fat - 13 grams
Trans Fat - 0 grams
Cholesterol - 90 milligrams
Sodium - 1610 milligrams
Protein - 36 grams

NOTE: The nutrition facts above do not include the added bacon. Checkers has not published the numbers for that optional topping.