French Fry Diary 575: Raglan Road

Usually every trip to Walt Disney World for me includes a journey to Downtown Disney and Cookes of Dublin, which until recent years has had the best French fries, pardon me, Irish chips I have ever had. Lately though, they haven't been so great. Whether it's because of changes in the cooking process or just general laziness in prep, I don't know, but they ain't what they used to be.

As a change of pace, this trip, we decided to try the big fancy sit-down restaurant attached to Cookes of Dublin called Raglan Road this time. It's the same folks doing both places, but rather than a walk-up counter service, this was a nice sit-down place. We had planned on having a whole group of folks with us, friends and family, but one by one, people dropped out for various reasons. I was beginning to wonder if I should change my deodorant.

At first, as it was just myself, The Bride and her mom, we were thinking of just going to Cookes of Dublin as Raglan Road was so much more expensive, and Cookes was easier. Thinking of the folks who couldn't make it, we bit the bullet, and went to Raglan Road for a full meal and experience - and it was an experience. Absent friends and family don't know what they missed. No regrets.

The restaurant is pretty big, like most places in WDW, it's like a TARDIS, bigger on the inside than it looks outside - a large dining area and bar area, with one big stage and a center stage as well. We had heard there were shows, and bands, but we did not think, being so early (it was five-ish) we would see them. We were wrong.

I got my usual, a plain burger, as well as an order of the chips and an order of the onion rings which I had been told I should definitely try. The burger was very good, and came on a weird roll that had strips of ham? Or onion? Baked and threaded through it, very very tasty. As far as the food goes, it needs to be said. They may be next to each other, and they may be the same operation, same management etcetera - but Raglan Road is not Cookes of Dublin. Raglan Road is vastly superior.

As we were beginning to enjoy our meal, the entertainment began. It was as if Riverdance erupted around us, on the large stage in front of us, and a small center stage spot behind us. Propelled by the music of Creel, the tap group known as Our Darlin' Dancers put on an amazing show. So terrific, and later kids from audience were brought up on stage, shown moves, and danced along. Everyone had a great time especially the two little kids who were dancing next to our table.



Back to our meal, especially the French fries and the onion rings, the stuff you're here to read about. Both the rings and the fries (I mean chips) came in proper paper cones, although other tables had them dumped on to plates, which was also kinda cool. The onion rings were fine in the cone, but the fries were kinda wedged in there pretty tightly. The cheese was like a glue holding them together. Note the shape of the pile once we dumped them onto a plate ourselves.

My friend Dom was dead on about the onion rings. They had the same wonderful batter as the Cookes of Dublin onion rings, with big thick and juicy onions, and a very crunchy exterior. To die for, these were fantastic. However the fries were a bit different from the fare at Cookes. These natural cuts were bigger than usual shoestrings, with good amounts of cheese, garlic, and something that always needs a careful measure - just the right amount of truffle oil. Near perfect fries. Raglan Road more than makes up for Cookes of Dublin's recent decline.

Since it was The Bride's birthday, we also got as a dessert the bread pudding that one of our absent friends had recommended. We didn't order it, it came on its own - that's just how Disney rolls. This was a luscious dessert, and the vanilla and caramel cream over it was sweet heaven. What a wonderful birthday gift. Thank you!

There was a lot of food, so we ended up taking some of it back to our happily microwave equipped hotel. The onion rings were a bit soggy the second time around, but based on my experience, I think these would have been awesome if baked when reheated, rather than nuked. I might say the same about the fries, but for the record, they were an inedible disaster in the nuke. Definitely bake leftovers.

Raglan Road is awesome, one of my favorite restaurants in WDW, and it gets my highest marks. Very highly recommended, and I would definitely come back. As a matter of fact, I look forward to it. Raglan Road rocks.

French Fry Diary 490: The Chips of West Virginia

Usually it's my friend Marni who finds the odd and out of the way potato chips for me to write about on this blog. This time, she put her boyfriend/partner/common law husband, Bob, to work for me. He was hiking in West Virginia and picked up two different bags of WV-based barbecue flavored potato chips. Surprisingly both of these regional brands I had tried before, but not these flavors.

First up were the Smokehouse BBQ potato chips from Miss Vickie's. Believe it or not, I had encountered this brand before, pretty far from West Virginia at the Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney, Orlando FL. Granted, it was a different kind of barbecue potato chip at the time, but still.

The Smokehouse chips are kettle cooked and claim to be all natural. They have the weird funky shapes that mark kettle cooking yet are quite small. While built for dipping, they might indeed be too small to do so.

And although the smokey flavor is hyped on the back of the bag, the sweetness of the seasoning is overpoweringly delightful from the brown sugar and molasses in the ingredients. These chips rock, I liked them quite a lot.

Next up were the barbeque potato chips from WV's Mister Bee. A bag of the sour cream & onion were included in the Anchor O'Reilly's Food Finds bag o' rare chips that The Bride got me for Christmas. They were not my cup of tea. I hope these might be more to my liking...

But alas, that hope would be for naught. These chips, just like the other Mister Bee's, are overseasoned and grainy, and the barbeque flavor is unpleasant and overpowering. I coukd only eat a couple of them. They had so much seasoning, at least a handful of the dusting was at the bottom of the bag. These did not make me happy.

Happily I don't think they cost Bob much, or at I hope they didn't. Either way, thanks, Marni and Bob!

French Fry Diary 403: Cookes of Dublin 2012

This has just become tradition. Every time we come to Walt Disney World, we have to make the trek out to Downtown Disney to experience Cookes of Dublin, simply the best fries, or more accurately, chips, that I have ever had.

This trip however, I had been put on the spot. Previously on the trip, at a dinner at the Maya Grill, I was asked who has the best fries. I answered immediately Cookes of Dublin. When the bro-in-law found out this place was in town, we had to go, I guess to prove it. I had no problem with it, they are the best, and screw him, if he doesn't agree, after one of those doh-bars for dessert, he'll forget all about it.

Some background on Cookes of Dublin, as I don't think I've talked about that before. The original Cooke's of Dublin was actually in, duh, Dublin City, Ireland and founded by George Edward Cooke in 1934. The same traditional Irish cooking methods used then are the ones used today in the Walt Disney World, Downtown Disney location.

Like the last trip to Cookes, this was a family and friends excursion. We again met my friend Terry at what's left of Pleasure Island. We walked around a bit, finally regrouped our wandering party and went to a late lunch at Cookes.

I got my usual, the chicken and chips. The Bride got a fish sandwich that had chips on it. I have to confess that the chips were not so great this time, definitely not their best, nor my favorite as they have been every time I've been here in the past. The chips were only warm, and the problem is they are best hot. To reiterate if you've missed all the previous times I've reviewed Cookes of Dublin, the chips are thick cut fries, double fried and toss salted. Still, even just warm they beat the heck out of most fries out there. But on the bad side, I don't think my Anglophile brother-in-law was impressed. Shame.

On a side note, when I last wrote about Cookes of Dublin here, commenter JustinM, from the very cool Barbecue & Baseball blog, asked about what dipping sauces were available. When I asked I expected the usual, but the answer was a bit more exotic. Cookes has a curry dip, and an Irish vintage bacon and cheese dip. How 'bout that? The Dalkey mustard, a white spicy not-hot mustard, on the table also seemed quite popular. It was used on the fries, and Terry also had some on his battered sausages too. The doh-bar for dessert was perfection.

I would liked to have tried some of the other fried treats they have at Cookes of Dublin, like the skinny fries or the double dipped onion rings. But given the choice, and not knowing when the next time I'll get to WDW will be, I always go for the traditional Irish chips instead. I believe when next we come, we are going to try to get reservations for the big restaurant attached to Cookes of Dublin, Raglan Road and see how that is.

All in all this was a good time, a nice late lunch with family and friends. That's the part that counts - the company, not the food. Hopefully the food will match up next time.

French Fry Diary 272: Cookes of Dublin 2011

This was a special occasion, the 2011 trip to Cookes of Dublin. This trip wasn't just the traditional pilgrimage The Bride and I (well, I go, she just tags along cuz she, ya know, loves me and stuff) make to Cookes of Dublin every time we visit Walt Disney World. This became a group outing, and then a Real Life Tweet-Up.

From the Disney Cruise, friends Dom and Cindy were already traveling with us, and even though we weren't staying at the same hotel once back on the mainland, the promise of the best fries the 'fry guy' had ever had intrigued them. We had also made tentative plans to meet up with Terry, who lives in Florida. Y'all know Terry, he's done a few guest blog entries here and over at Welcome to Hell. We've known each other for years online, but have never met in person. There were even tentative plans to meet up with another friend from Twitter and a writer local to me, but that didn't work out.

In the end there were six of us on this French Fry Diary multi-state road trip, so we met up at Cookes of Dublin on the far end of what was once Pleasure Island in Downtown Disney. It was great to meet Terry in person for the first time, but it's weird, we already knew each other pretty well. It's another way the Internet is bringing the world closer together.

I got my usual, the chicken and chips, hot and wonderful. The chips/fries were crispy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside, still the best fries I know of. The consensus at the table was pretty unanimous and led to a discussion on fry making. The Bride and Dom's son Anthony tried the battered deep-fried burger, and their reaction was "Awesome." Now I love me some deep-frying but I'm not sure I could go for that.

Speaking of deep-frying, the meal was topped off by a couple Doh-Bars - deep-fried Mars candy bars... Mmmm... Battered heaven on a stick... Good friends, good food, good times. I look forward to doing this again, soon!

French Fry Diary 50: Cookes of Dublin 2009

When we were planning our latest trip to Disney World, we had to make a stop at Cookes of Dublin in Downtown Disney to get a serving of (so far) the world’s best French fries. I had been there more than a few times before, reviewing it once from my 2005 trip. This return journey was two-fold – getting some more of those fries/chips, and trying those fabulous doh-bars for dessert.

The fries/chips were as good as ever. I’m a traditionalist, so I got the chicken and chips, again – fourth time in a row, although the chicken was not on a stick this time. The Bride was brave and got something different, and dangerous – a battered and deep-fried burger which she pronounced as very good. As I said, she’s braver than me. This time we also tried the ‘doh-bars’ – deep-fried Snickers bars on sticks. OMG. Food of the gods.

Cookes of Dublin remains a must stop destination on any Disney trip, and it’s still the champion of fries/chips.

French Fry Diary 34: Cookes of Dublin

One question I have been asked time and time again since I started this blog is “What are the best / your favorite French fries?” This is the entry that answers that question – at least so far.

Cooke’s of Dublin at Walt Disney World, or to be more precise, it’s that Disney West Side / Disney Marketplace / Downtown Disney / Pleasure Island (or what’s left of it) multi-mega-plex shopping center. This is the fast food side of the Irish Pub operation called Raglan Road.

You can get fish and chips, chicken skewers and chips, or a ‘lurry-load of chips.’ A truckload I suppose, but I always thought trucks over there were called lorries rather than lurries. It should be noted that the Irish-accented staff had no idea either. Oh those Irish, they can’t even speak the Queen’s English. ;-)

The chips, as fries are called on the emerald isle, were long and thick, without skins, sometimes surprisingly long. They were also cooked to order, no waiting under heat lamps, fresh from the fryer. While they were deep-fried, the chips have a very cool (and I don’t mean temperature) baked French fry texture, not greasy at all. On the inside they have a wonderful baked potato taste, obviously brought on by the thickness of these chips. They were sooo good, we made two trips to Cookes on this visit.

There is also a lot to be said for the authentic Irish atmosphere. The music, the accents, the food and everything else combine to make you forget you’re in the middle of the Disney sphere of influence. Even the condiments add to the atmosphere as vinegar is provided for the chip traditionalists.

Other bonuses include ‘doh-bars’ for dessert... the insidious deep-fried candy bars we in the north have heard so much about. I like my danger foods but even I didn’t dare this one. Maybe next time. And of course, being in the south, you get to sample Mr. Pibbs instead of Dr. Pepper. Viva la difference.

And there you have it, the best French fries in the world (so far, and I’m still searching) are the distinctly Irish chips from Cookes of Dublin. Give ‘em a try when you visit Orlando, Florida or Disney World.

*reviewed from my 2005 trip to Walt Disney World.

French Fry Diary 31: Earl of Sandwich, Downtown Disney

Earl of Sandwich in Downtown Disney doesn’t have French fries, but gosh darn it they should. It’s an upper class Subway type place that specializes in, duh, sandwiches.

As I said, no fries, but they do have potato chips and it should be noted that chips are merely an extra slice away from being fries. It’s almost the same animal.

At Earl of Sandwich, they have Miss Vickie’s chips, a French crunchy kettle chip that appears to be all fancy-schmancy due to the French thing. The flavor I sampled, one I might add isn’t made any longer, was "Mesquite B-B-Q/B-B-Q Champetre." They were very crunchy, spicy and tasty – and must be consumed with a beverage, preferably milk.

Closer inspection does lead to a disappointment however. Hidden on the back with the bilingual (French and English) ingredients and back story is the wicked truth that Miss Vickie is actually a subsidiary of Frito Lay. It doesn’t change the taste but it does mess with the whole French fantasy thing...

*reviewed from my 2005 trip to Walt Disney World.