Everything you wanted to know about French fries, and more - potato chips, recipes, restaurant reviews, onion rings, fast food, and good food - all aspects of the potato and fried food, and especially where the two meet.
This memory is a very old one. When I was a little kid, my family didn't have the kind of things that other families had. We weren't poor, we were never poor. But let's just say we were a bit slower on the curve from everyone else.
It was a long time before we had a color TV, a stereo, a microwave oven, a dishwasher (well, maybe we had one of those, it was me), cable TV, an air conditioner, and a washer and dryer. Actually a few of those things we never had, but for the purposes of this entry, it's the washer and dryer I want to talk about.
No washer and dryer meant weekly (at least) trips to the local laundromat in the next town over in Berlin. All the dirty clothes would be put into pillowcases, packed into the car, and a few hours would be spent at the laundromat. There are many things to remember about that place. There were the full color picture Bibles chained to the bottom of the chairs, the Canada Dry Sport Cola in the soda machine, meeting an African-American boy for the first time and playing under the folding tables, and the penny gumball machines that also had peanuts and pistachios in them.
Despite all that, it was easy for a little kid to get bored. Sometimes I would go watch the car wash, and sometimes I would walk around the entire strip mall building the laundromat was in. It also included a dry cleaners, a paint store, a luncheonette, a liquor store at one end and a Sears pick-up center at the other. Honestly I think only the laundromat still remains, everything else has changed.
Every once in a while my mom would send me up to the luncheonette to get a snack to share while we waited for the laundry to get done. The snack? What else? The favorite fried food. I still remember the luncheonette, like a tiny diner squeezed into a strip mall-sized store - a store length counter with maybe half a dozen small booths along the opposite wall. The name however escapes me. Was it Nan's Luncheonette? Maybe. It could've also been Pat's, or Lynn's or something completely different.
The crinkle cut French fries, probably deep-fried, in a small paper box - circa the very early 1970s, were thirty-five cents, a quarter and a dime. At the time, with a comic book costing a quarter, this seemed like a fair price. It certainly beats the eight-dollar fries at the Old Homestead Steakhouse.
This is a very old memory, sharing French fries with my mom at the Berlin laundromat, but it's a very good one. I'm going to go do some laundry now, and maybe have some fries too. And I definitely miss my mom, and my childhood.
I have been hearing about this place for quite a while from friends and family, and from Foursquare, so we finally decided to try it. If I'm being honest, all the Chinese restaurants we have fairly local are... just adequate. You know, they're not bad, but they're not great either. So we have been tentatively on the lookout for a new good Chinese restaurant, and Pineapple was supposed to be great.
Pineapple is a small place, not unlike our normal Chinese food place (which does not have French fries, it should be noted), and it's tucked into a just as small shopping center I'm actually familiar with. Along side the Berlin's Gaetano's, Stormwatch Comics, and Los Amigos, if you look close, you can find Pineapple. It's not easy to find if you don't know where to look.
On our first trip, we ordered online (a handy thing, and a definite plus) and picked it up to eat at home. I got the teriyaki chicken on skewers (which can be ordered with all white meat if desired, which I did), with broccoli and rice. The chicken was really good, better than I usually get at Chinese restaurants. The terrific teriyaki sauce also comes on the side. I saved some of it for later to use on other stuff, including the French fries Pineapple also has.
The fries in question were regular cut deep-fried frozen fries delivered in a classic diner styrofoam container, and they were awesome. They were especially awesome when dipped in the teriyaki sauce. I think we have definitely found a new Chinese restaurant locally. Pineapple lives up to their rep, and we'll be back.
Today's "Somebody Else's Fries" comes from my big sister Bobbie. This past week she and her husband Bruce visited the Fat Tomato Grill in Berlin NJ. Here were her thoughts:
Everything is made to order. The shoestring natural cut fries were crisp, hot and they had a smoky flavor that reminded us of the potato chips we had as kids. (Wise). The fries come tossed with balsamic vinegar but I ordered them dry. They were perfect.
The burger was also very good. The restaurant is located on a strip mall but you would never know that from the cozy welcoming interior. Looking forward to a second trip.
A couple months back I reviewed the House Made Chips at Arby's. I was delighted, not only by the chips, but also the customer service. Notably, this was at the Arby's in West Berlin NJ.
I had several folks confront me both here and elsewhere about how they did not like the chips at all. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I was a bit taken aback. I thought the chips were great, and even returned to the scene of the crime to try them again, still great.
Today, however, I visited the Marlton Arby's, where I got a bag of the overcooked chip debris you see pictured. Wow, these sucked.
It just goes to show you not every fast food outlet will prepare and cook an item the same way. Even though consistency is what fast food is supposed to be about, it's really about location location location!
As part of their promotion for their King's Hawaiian roast beef sandwich, along with their Triple Berry Shake, Arby's has also introduced House Made Chips. The ads claim they are made fresh daily with Arby's sauce seasoning.
A new fried potato product at Arby's? Guess where I'm going for lunch. When I first got to the restaurant, the counterperson was helping a handicapped lady to her seat, and getting her food and drink for her. What FourSquare says about the West Berlin Arby's having "the nicest fast food staff ever" is right on target. Serious props to Sabrina who took my order and the lady's before me.
For only $1.79, these kettle style potato chips come in a very large portion, and in a wax paper bag like old fashioned chips back in the day, nice touch. As far as 'made fresh daily,' I suspect they're made in batches early in the day and kept under heat lamps. That's not a bad thing though, chips don't have to be fryer hot. Although if that's what you like, plan an early lunch.
At first glance it appeared a few of them were burnt, but that's not the case at all. These have just the right texture for homemade chips, crispy yet meaty at once, like well done fried potatoes. The Arby's sauce seasoning they are tossed in provides a delicious and unique, not quite barbeque flavor. Good stuff.
These are so good, I had almost eaten the whole order without even thinking about it. Truly the mark of a good potato chip - you can't eat just one. Thumbs up. Way to go, Arby's.
Thanks to my friend Bryan who hipped me to these new chips via the Facebook, and to Sabrina who has changed my mind about how I feel about Arby's.
This place, Good To Go, just opened recently in West Berlin on the site of an old McDonald's. The McDonald's formerly here moved up the road when the powers that be demolished the Berlin Circle. No circle, no traffic, no traffic, no business - and the new pattern made Good To Go fairly difficult to get to. The dead strip mall that surrounds it is evidence that McDonald's was right to move.
Good To Go promises great fast food and healthier choices. I have to admit, I had not heard good things about this place, but decided to give it a go anyway. The McDonald's was pretty much intact inside, and it was clean but fairly empty at lunchtime. The counter service was quick and friendly, and I was asked at least once how my meal was.
As far as the favorite fried food goes, they have pretty standard natural cuts. They were hot and just a little greasy but flavorful. They came in a paper bag a la McDonald's small fries, which is a nice touch. The fries also come in bay and cheese varieties as well as sweet potato fries.
The rest of the menu has burgers, sandwiches, chicken, tacos, salads, and the like. They also had Pennsylvania Dutch Birch Beer on tap, a big plus in my book. Not at all as bad as I'd heard or expected, but pretty good. I would definitely come back again. I hope the location doesn't kill them.
When I was a kid, fast food was slow coming to my hometown. In fact, even today, Atco has no fast food restaurants in its city limits. The first to show up in the area was Gino's in Berlin, the next town over, which I've talked about before. We'd had McDonald's up in Lindenwold and down in Hammonton, but that was it as far as choices until the mid-seventies. That's when the McDonald's opened in Berlin, and everything changed.
Where there was McDonald's, there was Burger King, because the burger wars always escalate, and Burger King opened right across the White Horse Pike from the McDonald's. Taco Bell, Wendy's, Arby's, Roy Rogers, etc. all followed in Berlin, but when it comes right down to it, it's always about the big two.
Today, we're talking about Burger King however, the Burger King of my youth, and their original French fries. Burger King recently changed their fries, ending a reign of crappy fries they had had since the early nineties, but before that, they had really good fries, really good fries. When I first encountered BK, I fell in love with their charbroiled burgers, so much better than McDonald's. This is also where I started dipping my burger in my milkshake, BK being best for this practice, and notably best with a plain burger and a black and white shake. This remains the case to this day.
Burger King is also where I started stacking or planking. Those two words might mean something else these days, but to me, and in reference to French fries - stacking and planking, also known as sandwiching is the act of putting fries on your burger, creating a layer of potatoey goodness across your burger. In my years of doing this blog, I have happily found I'm not crazy, and I'm not the only one who does this, or shake dipping for that matter. BK's original fries were perfect for sandwiching.
About those original BK fries, they were shoestrings, similar to McDonald's, only less crispy and slightly more greasy. They were just short of a limp shoestring French fry, but unlike Wendy's new fries, BK's were substantial enough for dipping in shakes without breaking or bending. They were also delicious, and addictive. Whereas the old BK fries, I could barely eat one or two, the originals I would sometimes finish off two orders in a sitting. They were that good. They are still very much missed. I wish they'd bring them back.
Unfortunately, the original Burger King fries, being pre-internet, are extremely hard to get images of, so I have compensated with this blog entry. Find below a vintage BK commercial from the 1970s, plus above a glass featuring the old animated and much-less-creepy Burger King, as well as one of the BK ashtrays that everyone in my high school had snatched from the restaurant and had one in their bedrooms - smokers or not. Enjoy the nostalgia.
These are so-called "Jo-Jo Potato" fries from Cheska's Deli at the Berlin Farmer's Market (known to the locals as the Berlin Auction). They appear to be batter-fried potato wedges with an option for cheese.
Cheska's Deli specializes in chicken and "bar b-q" ribs. Down the market from Cheska's Deli are two different Cheska's Snack Bars, which have deep-fried crinkle cut fries. I've never tried any of them, maybe someday, but for now, just not in the stars... or the fries.
As a rule, I am not fond of buffets. They are either very good, or very very bad. There is the whole idea of several people possibly touching your food before you get it. And yes, I know, food is always touched before you get it - but you don't see it, and it's not other customers touching it. I know, I'm on the brink of OCD here, but the same-spoon-for-everything thing gets me too.
And then we come to Golden Corral, and hope that the above does not apply. Those of us in the area who regularly use Route 73 have watched this particular Golden Corral in West Berlin be built and gave anxiously awaited its opening. First of all, it's hard to miss, as the sign is gigantic, and can be seen for miles.
The buzz has been very good from friends and family about the restaurant and the food, but things being what they are it took a while to get there. A lazy afternoon with the in-laws and the promise of baby back ribs, and we were off to Golden Corral. Sadly, since the visit, we've heard that quality has gone downhill in the short time they've been there. To make matters worse, the baby back ribs we all saw on TV ads, was a special that had ended. No baby back ribs at all.
For a late Saturday afternoon they were packed but we were greeted by the friendly and helpful waitress Julia. The picky eater then trekked to the buffet to see what they have to offer. I ended up with a very tender steak cooked on a grill, a cheese garlic biscuit that looked just like the bread things at Red Lobster (not the same taste but still quite good), and something called "Steakhouse French Fries."
These were standard steak fries, probably frozen and baked, but hot and very good. With those kind of fries and this kind of place - hot is important. Also available were mashed potatoes, baked potatoes (sweet and regular), and tempura onion rings.
They had a lot here to choose from, almost everything except baby back ribs and chocolate soft serve. Still, it was quite good, and despite my initial OCD fears, it turns out the buzz was right. Golden Corral was pretty good, and so were the fries.
Postscript: Golden Corral makes up got its buffet reputation in the restroom department. No operational stalls in the men's room and no toilet paper in the ladies' room. I guess we won't be back. I can make steak fries at home.
This Berlin NJ restaurant was not my idea. From the outside it looks like a fancy place but once you're inside, you realize it's just a diner. I was here, twice now, for a family get-together. Nice to see folks I haven't seen in a while, but just wish it was at a different venue.
The service was pretty miserable. I wonder if they cared that thanks to our party they had about forty people in their otherwise deserted restaurant. For my meal I got a chopped steak, onions and fries. The steak was very good but the fries, freezer burned regular cuts were not. Some were overdone, some were underdone, hardly any were edible.
The highpoint of the Oceano's visit was the placemat, one of those typical diner thingies with ads from local businesses. One such ad promised a "free chair message". Truly the highlight.
I'm a professional writer and a reviewer of popular culture in all its forms. I've done stints in radio, journalism and video retail. Ask me anything about movies, television, music, comics or especially French fries and you’ll be hard pressed to shut me up.
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