French Fry Diary 616: Ancho Chili Cheeseburger Potato Chips

"Feel Alive!" is what's written vertically on the side of the bag of these chips. One might assume that this is because they're manufactured by Blair's Death Rain, a hot sauce company, which is owned by Extreme Food. I've tried the their Buffalo Wing chips before, and the heat definitely made me 'feel alive.'

Like my first try from Blair's Death Rain, this is also a 'meat' chip. Fully called Blair's Death Rain Ancho Chili Cheeseburger Cauldron Cooked Potato Chips, these chips have no MSG, no transfats, are gluten free, kosher, and are of only medium heat.

The 'cauldron' cooking gives them the same twisted shapes as kettle cooked chips, but what really makes them stand out is the heavy coating of spices and seasoning. I think there might be more seasoning than chip, and it's very hot. So hot, medium or not, these aren't for me.

French Fry Diary 507: Texas Roadhouse 2013

The last time (and the first time) I went to the Texas Roadhouse, most of our party got sick. I'm usually willing to give a place a second chance though.

The Bride and I were in Maryland babysitting the nephew and we could not decide on where to go for dinner. There were a few things we were each in the mood for, but we couldn't decide, so we tried to be fair. All the restaurants in the unfamiliar (to us at least) area were put in a bowl, and the kid chose. Texas Roadhouse. It wasn't on the top of any of our lists, but it was fair, so off to Texas Roadhouse we went.

It should be noted it was a Saturday night at dinner. I guess I underestimated the incredible drawing power of the Texas Roadhouse. Not only was the parking lot completely filled but so were the two adjacent lots as well. I even watched one guy in a monster truck make his own parking spot on top of a grass island. The place was packed, and we were told we had over an hour wait. The kid wasn't taking it well, cranky, impatient, and we didn't go where he wanted. 'S all right, we love him.

We were committed though, so we waited it out, just a little under an hour. We got our appetizer right away - the Cactus Blossom, their onion appetizer. The covering is more of a hot chicken batter, almost like a tempura. I thought it was very very good this time. After the wait, we were very hungry, and this just about hit the spot. Sadly, we think maybe it made the kid a little sick. Maybe the place is cursed?

Extra points for them having Coke products, and being on top of refills when they were so crowded. We also got these great buttered rolls as we sat down. The same rolls were used for the kid's mini-cheeseburgers, which in hindsight would have been delicious, had I not gotten what I got.

In lieu of the chopped steak I ordered last time, I got the Grilled BBQ Chicken this time, a huge breast of chicken with terrific BBQ sauce, which was also great on the natural cut steak fries too. Best part of the meal was soaking up the sauce with the fries. The chicken was the best I had had in a while. I will definitely be back, to this location at least - well worth the wait. All in all, it was a terrific meal, and the kid recovered pretty quickly from his stomachache.

French Fry Diary 498: Strategic Dripping and the Juicy Lucy Burger

I was reading about making homemade Juicy Lucy burgers this morning and it occurred to me that I had never talked about 'strategic dripping' on the blog before. But first things first, I know there are folks out there who are more interested in what a Juicy Lucy is before I get to strategic dripping.

The Juicy Lucy burger (also known as the Jucy Lucy), like the burger itself, and even the favorite fried food, has an iffy past. Many folks claim to have created it, but the name comes from Minneapolis where two different bars lay claim. It's basically an inside-out cheeseburger. The cheese is on the inside of the burger instead of on top of it. You take a bite of the burger and get a mouthful of hot cheese.

Right there, after that wonderful hot cheesy mouthful, that's where strategic dripping comes in. The idea is to drip the cheese (and if it's made right, trust me, the cheese will melt and drip out of the burger) right over your fries. Instant cheese fries.

This technique can also be used in almost any fry dipping situation. Cheese, barbecue sauce, ketchup if you prefer (I don't, but your mileage may vary), pretty much everything except ice cream or milkshake - cold doesn't work well. But the idea is to spread the joy, shall we say. There you go, strategic dipping.

Daym Drops Goes to Shake Shack

Since I haven't had a chance to get over to the fairly new Shake Shack in Philly yet, I figured I'd give you the next best thing. Here's my brother from another mother, Daym Drops, and his review of Shake Shack. Enjoy.



I think he likes the fries. They are solid gold UFC fighters and busted him all up in his mouth. Yeah, I think he liked 'em.

Don't forget to subscribe to his YouTube channel and Like his Facebook page. The man rocks.

White Castle Thanksgiving?

Catching up here, I haven't said anything so far about White Castle's fairly new Sweet Potato Waffle Fries. Here's a pic, and I'll have a review up as soon as I try them.

Speaking of White Castle, I have to pick your brains out there. Does anyone have the recipe for White Castle cheeseburger stuffing? I have heard rumors there are also WC fries in there as well. Anyone got it?

Random Tater Pic of the Day #60

French Fry Diary 274: Captain Cook's Snack Company 2011

French Fry Diary has visited Captain Cook's Snack Company at the Polynesian Resort before, waaay back in 2008, and it seems that things have changed a little bit. We came here on this trip to meet Dom and Cindy and family for a quick dinner - and for the promise of the perfect grilled cheese - that got The Bride on board. One lightning stormed boat and Monorail trip later we arrived at the Polynesian Resort, and Captain Cook's Snack Company.

I declined the grilled cheese because computer touch screen could not deliver a plain one, so I went with the Angus bacon cheeseburger, and fries, of course. I also grabbed a bag of BBQ potato chips - Disney brand chips, oh yeah!

The fries were the standard Disney park fries, natural cuts good when hot. The burger was good but the bacon too crispy and it was on a grain bun. Not one of my favorite meals on this trip.

Now the chips were Disney Kettle Cooked BBQ Potato Chips. Add to that a red silhouette of Pluto and the words "barkin flavor" on the and how can you lose? They were regular chips, kettle cooked with a nice crunch. The seasoning is light and sweet with brown sugar. On the good side they're gluten free and have no transfat.

Another nice night with friends at dinner. We talked "Torchwood," the behind the scenes tour that The Bride took, and, believe it or not, how Disney is on the decline. Despite that last bit, we still all love Disney, and we still all had a great time.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #19

This pic was yoinked from friend @gailyw on Twitter. Also be sure to check out her blog here.

See, French fries are a great side for anything.

French Fry Diary 142: Marriott Room Service

Unfortunately I am still recovering from surgery so I'm taking it easy for a bit. That's why the French Fry Diary has been so sparse of late.

So this week, while I'm resting up and catching up, I'll be posting pics of the favorite fried food that friends have sent me on their adventures.

Presenting today's edition of Somebody Else's Fries - Marriott Room Service...

My buddy Ray sent me this one from the road. It's a bacon cheeseburger and natural cut fries from Marriott's hotel room service. I remember being told this was quite good. I'll trust Ray on this one. :-)

Obama at Five Guys

Apparently the President is a Five Guys fan too…



To quote his associate, “Fries, yes, sir, thank you for caring.”


.

Meal of Champions

Just thought it was worth noting that after winning a Gold Medal or two (or three or five or eight), Olympian Michael Phelps had to refuel with a cheeseburger and fries at McDonalds.

Ha! Take that, health Nazis!