Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Random Tater Pic of the Day #205
If you've seen the new Disney/Pixar release Inside Out, you know what lurks just inside the gates of Imagination Land… a forest of French fries!
For more of my thoughts on Inside Out, my review is here at my pop culture blog Welcome to Hell, and The Bride and I discuss the film in depth on the latest episode of The Make Mine Magic Podcast. Check it out.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Monday, November 24, 2014
French Fry Diary 629: Carioca's - TCM Cruise Day Two
Another of the renovations of the 're-imagined' Disney Magic is the replacement of Parrot Cay, always one of my favorite restaurants on board with Carioca's. It has roughly the same flavor, only now with an animated mascot.
By name, Jose Carioca was one of the original Three Caballeros, with Donald Duck and Panchito, from the film of the same name, Saludos Amigos, and other features and shorts. Jose is unfortunately one of those characters forgotten to the mists of time, but thankfully, and hopefully on his way to a comeback. I'll miss Parrot Cay, but still this isn't bad.
There has been really only slight remodeling and repainting. They have added lots of Chinese lanterns a la Tangled hanging from the ceiling, but really not much else. The restaurant still a tropical flavor, all it's really had is a name change,
some new lighting, and a brisk rebranding.
On the surface however, one thing that hasn't changed much is the menu. This may as well have been Parrot Cay. I got the Roasted Honey BBQ Chicken Breast, and it was very good, and the sauce was also very good. If there was any crushed sweet potato, as advertized, on the plate, I couldn't find it, or rather, taste it. I probably should have gotten a side order of fries like I did the previous night if I wanted to appease my tater jones.
Friday, December 06, 2013
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Evan Hilton Makes Mashed Potatoes on Vine
Animator Evan Hilton made these mashed potatoes for the Food Network, and their Thanksgiving Live series.
For more of Evan's Vines, check him out here.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Monday, November 25, 2013
French Fry Diary 543: Ore-Ida Simply
This is another step in the recent bandwagon toward healthier French fries. Ore-Ida has come out with a new sub-brand of frozen French fries called Simply. The varieties include Olive Oil and Sea Salt Country Style French Fries; Cracked Pepper and Sea Salt Country Style French Fries; Olive Oil and Sea Salt Homestyle Wedges; and Roasted Garlic and Herbs Homestyle Wedges.
I was able to get hold of the first type listed above, and it's worth mentioning that both 'country style' and 'homestyle' are just fancy ways of saying natural cut, or with the skin on. On the healthy scale, these fries are gluten free, with less fat, less calories, less carbs, but unfortunately a whole lot of sodium, more than usual actually. Something to watch for the health conscious.
The 'simply' part of the product name is that the only ingredients are the ones mentioned above in the product descriptions, so the Olive Oil and Sea Salt Country Style French Fries are just that - olive oil, sea salt, and potatoes. Simply also has its own new cartoon mascot, Ore-Ida Mae, made up only of natural ingredients.
Wow. Once prepared, pun intended, they were 'simply' the worst fries I have had in quite some time. I made them per the directions and they were more than a little overdone, and the directions for other Ore-Ida products work fine in my oven. Where they weren't overdone, they were limp. I could taste neither olive oil nor sea salt in or on these natural cuts. Their most outstanding quality, I have to add, is their blandness and lack of any flavor or seasoning.
These fries were terrible. Granted, I may have just gotten a bad bag I suppose, but based on this experience, it will be quite some time before I try another Ore-Ida Simply product. Sorry, Mae.
Friday, November 08, 2013
Animation and Potatoes
I was not feeling well at all this night, but wanted to come to dinner at Animator's Palate to see the show. You draw a little guy and then it is animated into the show on the screens throughout the restaurant. Here's what it looks like:
As I was not doing well that night, I ate light, a baked potato. Our servers insisted on bringing two baked potatoes. Never argue with people who handle your food. I enjoyed what I could of one of them. I wish I could have enjoyed more.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Crazy Fries
From the "Teen Titans Go!" TV series... Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Robin eating French fries in crazy ways...
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Hostess Potato Chips
Does anyone else remember this? I'm drawing a blank, and I'm wondering if it's just me…
Tuesday, April 02, 2013
DragonBall Z Fries
My friend Ray hipped me to these - "DragonBall Z" French fries from Japan's Ministop.
The full story is here.
Mmmm... DragonBall Z fries...
Wednesday, May 02, 2012
Random Tater Pic of the Day #46
Daphne at the Bloody Stake restaurant in the "Scooby-Doo!: Mystery Incorporated" episode "The Secret of the Ghost Rig."
One wonders how she keeps that girlish figure after twelve hands full of finger fries. Doesn't matter, I'm more of a Velma guy anyway.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
French Fry Diary 309: Looney Tunes French Fries
It may just be a matter of my not liking the new character designs or how the pacing is slower and less effective in my opinion, but the sitcom setup of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck being mismatched roommates just hasn't charmed me. Notably however, I do like the new CGI Road Runner shorts and the Merry Melodies music videos that appear semi-regularly.
At this point you're probably wondering what this has to do with the favorite fried food - well, I'm getting to that. A recent episode was titled, wait for it, "French Fries," and dealt with a feud between Daffy and Porky Pig over French fries.
Bugs, Porky and Daffy are at lunch. Everyone gets an entree, and Daffy gets a side of fries with his sandwich. We've all been there. You all know what's coming. Sometimes fries are community fries and sometimes they are MY fries. When Porky has some Daffy's, guess what kind of fries they are? Yep, you got it, and Daffy defriends poor Porky.
My personal favorite part of the episode is when Porky calls, Bugs says, "It's Porky," and Daffy says, "Hide your fries!" Great tunes, great fries, I might give this show another shot.
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
French Fry Diary 307: Mr. PotAto headZ
Here's a great video by PantyMython, check it out…
Here's what the creator has to say about the video: "Mr. Potato Head is like the funnest toy ever.
I spent a week on this. The music is from audionautix. The voice is mine, and the screams are MrCapo68 and I. I bent the pitch on everything, and I did all the sound effects.
The animation is 350 still shots.
Every potato is moving something in every single shot.
It's chroma-keyed (green screen, this is the reason I didn't use any green parts in the video - the hats are exactly the same color as my screen), with a background I made in sony vegas.
My neighbor let me borrow her Potato Head collection for this. thx Monica!
I think the whole thing is pretty explanatory, but for the person who doesn't get it and puts "wtf?" as a comment, this is what this video is about....
One by one, each Potato head brings in a new potato body to put together. Each time they work together to complete the Potato person. But, the last Potato Head is kind of different, he doesn't really have the standard Potato Head parts. Instead of returning to the group with a Potato Body, he returns with the remains of a Potato Body - French Fries. He asks if anyone wants a fry, declares that he has enough for everyone, and that he has them in his compartment. The other Potato Headz are very alarmed at this, realizing that they have a cannibalistic, murderous Potato Head in their midst."
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
French Fry Diary 67: Animator’s Palate, Disney Magic
The Animator’s Palate on both the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder is a thing of both magic and wonder. It’s a restaurant that gives you the sensation of experiencing a Disney animated feature from start to finish, from sketches to full animation – literally from black and white to color.
In fact when you enter Animator’s Palate the entire restaurant is in black and white and set up with props like giant paint brushes holding up a ceiling of artist’s palattes and walls filled with black and white preliminary sketches of various Disney characters and movie scenes. Even the wait staff are wearing black and white.
As you order your meal and enjoy the company of your companions and eventually eat, some of the wall fixtures come to both color and animated life. Finally in a blaze of color the entire restaurant is transformed, including the wait staff, vibrant colors soak every corner of the room as an animated video and music show transpires around you. When it ends, you can enjoy your dessert in the vibrancy of the new atmosphere. It’s a truly wonderful experience. 
The themed menu at Animator’s Palate has some great stuff on it, including some penne pasta, veal and salmon, but as anyone who has traveled on the Disney Cruise Line knows – ask and you shall receive. I asked for fries and I got fries. These were steak fries, general variety, probably frozen from a bag, but they were so tasty. Obviously the chefs here on the Magic know their stuff even when it comes to the easy stuff.
And of course, the best thing about eating on the Disney Cruise is that your wait staff follows you from restaurant to restaurant. They get to know what you like, what you don’t like, and how to specialize a meal to you. This is only the first night of the cruise. I suspect by tomorrow, I’ll be happily getting fries with every meal. Vacation is good.
Steak fries, mmmm. Ask and ye shall receive.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Addicted to Spuds
Not sure if this is the 'official' video for “Addicted to Spuds” by "Weird Al" Yankovic, and I kinda doubt it is, but it sure is by someone who’s addicted to spuds.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Skillet Skating
If there’s anything better than animated French fries, it’s figure skating animated French fries... happily skating to their deep fried doom...
Don’tcha just love advertising logic?






















