In New Orleans, even the Super Bowl Champs, the Saints, fell in love with Rally's and took up their hysterical commercial's slogan, "Cha Ching" as their own.
We all love Rally's in New Orleans, we love them more when they get our order correct.
Once we ordered a cheese burger and we were asked if we wanted cheese on it-
Good luck if you ask for anything other than the standard thing- i.e. no mayo, only ketchup- usually you have to scrape off all the things you didn't want and replace them with things you did want- but all that hassle is worth it, cause the fries are so good.
But, I would say you have great luck if you're the one who gets to hand over everyone's order, it is a rule that those lagniappe fries at the bottom of the bag belong to you. This Mardi Gras, I saw Rally's selling buckets of fries for $5! Man, that would be good right about now.
Being in Hong Kong, and in particular, being on an island away from the hustle and bustle of the city, there is not much choice in scrumptious burgers and fries. So, I set off to make my own version of Rally's fries.
When I was growing up, we used to make homemade fries all the time, so I had a slight idea of what I was doing. My brother and I would help peel and cut the raw potatoes, although this time, I left the skin on. We would carve our initials or doodles into the potato wedges. My mom would give us each our own brown bag with flour and seasoning and we would shake our fries until they were covered and ready to be fried. It was always fun to rummage through the servings and see who's fries we got, then trade them. I did not scribble on these fries today, but hope to do that with my son when he is a little older.
I found regular potatoes and Japanese sweet potatoes at my local super market and turned them into magnificent french fried potatoes. See below for pictures and how to do it your self.
Here are the raw potatoes, cut into strips. You can play around with the thickness to see what you prefer. I like them thin and crispy usually, but I am not that great at uniform chopping, so you get what you get. This is the stage where you would carve words or whatever into the strips. Leave the others soaked in water while you do one batch at a time.
Next throw the damp wedges into a bowl with your seasonings. Flour, salt, fresh ground pepper, Tony's ( if you have it, I dont. boo hoo.) and other seasonings like garlic powder or even rosemary. Use your right hand to cover the potatoes with the seasoning, keeping your left hand clean and free for other duties.
Throw them into hot oil. (Or bake them if you must) I used a wok, of course, but if you have a fryer or just a pot with a thick bottom, that would work just fine. To test the oil, and make sure it is hot and ready, drop a bit of flour in, if it sizzles up real loudly and bubbly, you are good to go. Let them fry for 3 minuets or until they are brown. Use a slotted spoon to spin them around a few times. I like mine dark brown, like Rally's. The darker they are, the better you can see what you've carved. 
When they are ready, use a slotted spoon and place onto a plate with paper towels or even a brown paper bag to soak up the excess grease. Now is when you season with salt. 
That looks like a Rally Fry to me!
Next up...Japanese Sweet Potatoes.... Do the same steps as above. But when these come out of the oil, dust with brown sugar instead of salt. The Japanese sweet potato is a lot more chewy and sweet (duh) than a normal potato, and they are less starchy, so the four doesnt stick as well, and the seasoning was a bit clumpy, but they were delicious.
Look for Japanese sweet potatoes your super market and try this at home. Or, just run over to your local Rally's.
can't wait to write on Fries with Hoyer.Love GG
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