Photo: Pal's Sudden ServiceBig Pal
The flagship burger: a 5.33-ounce all-beef patty with mayo, lettuce, tomato and white onion. It is simple and fresh, and it arrives fast, which is the whole point of a place called Sudden Service. Add cheese or bacon, or make it a double, if you want more.
The story
Fred Barger went to a restaurant convention in Chicago in 1955, met Ray Kroc and Fred Turner, studied how the first McDonald’s was being built, and opened his own place in Kingsport, Tennessee, a year later. Pal’s never spread far from the Tri-Cities, and it is famous out of all proportion to its size for one thing: in 2001 it became the first restaurant company to win the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, on the strength of flashcards, quizzes and more than two hundred hours of training per employee.
What’s inside
Make it at home
There is no copycat of the Big Pal yet. Until there is, these recipes on the site come closest to it, judged by what goes into the bun.
- Shares beef
McDonald's Bulgogi Burger (Copycat) - Shares beef
McDonald's Quarter Pounder with Cheese Deluxe (Copycat) - Shares beef
Skip Marooch's Chutney Burger - Shares beef
The Fuddruckers Ranch Burger
Similar burgers at other chains
Built around the same things as the Big Pal.- Friendly's · beef
SignatureAll American Burger - Hungry Jack's · beef
SignatureWhopper - Byron · beef
Classic - Johnny Rockets · beef
SignatureThe Original
More from Pal's Sudden Service
About Pal's Sudden Service
Fred “Pal” Barger went to a restaurant convention in Chicago in 1955, met Ray Kroc and Fred Turner, and studied how the first McDonald’s was being built and equipped. A year later he opened the first Pal’s in Kingsport, Tennessee. The chain has stayed close to home ever since, concentrated in the Tri-Cities region.
About 30 drive-thrus in northeast Tennessee and southwest Virginia, around the Tri-Cities.
Not affiliated with Pal's Sudden Service. Trademarks belong to their owners. The photo is credited under it and is used to illustrate this menu item; it comes down on request.