French Fry Diary 745: Mix and Match

At the recent journey to Whataburger, it was brought up in conversation that sometimes folks, in areas where fast food restaurants are prevalent, folks will mix and match foods from different places to create sort-of-patchwork meals by hitting multiple drive-thrus. 

Now back when we were dating, The Bride and I would sometimes mix Burger King and Taco Bell, mostly because at the time I liked Burger King and didn't like Taco Bell.  We'd go through the Burger King drive-thru for my meal then we'd eat it at the Taco Bell where she got hers.  That's not what we're talking about though, that's just two different meals at one place. 

I'm talking about when you want a Whopper but don't want BK's crappy new fries, so you go to McDonald's for their perfect golden fries.  Then you like to dip them in a Frosty, something you can't do any longer with Wendy's crappy new fries.  One meal, created from three drive-thru stops. 

I'm sure there are many other combinations.  Like for instance, wouldn't Chick-fil-A's waffle fries be awesome sandwiched in a burger?  Or does a Frosty have better dippibilty for burgers than Burger King shakes?  And does the fact Roy Rogers BBQ sauce would go well with anything count? 

What are your favorite mixes and matches?  Let us know! 

Poll Reminder

For those of you who are unaware, to the left of this post, and all ongoing current posts is a special poll it might be fun to participate in.

The question of the moment regards Favorite Fast Food French Fries, specifically when you are on the road, and you get that craving for French fries, which drive-thru (or if necessary, go inside) is your destination?

Will you hit the first McDonald's you see, or will you go the extra mile for Chick-fil-A, or even do a bit of searching around for that elusive KFC or Checkers? What's your go-to Fast food stop for fries?

You can choose multiple choices if you want, but please vote, and let's see who comes out on top.

French Fry Diary 683: Wendy's Baconator Fries

Recently on the way home I had the munchies and on a whim I pulled into the Wendy's drive-thru. As long as I was there, despite not really liking their fries any more, I decided to get an order of Wendy's Baconator Fries, if for no other reason than to write about them. Yes, I'm doing it so you won't have to.

Wendy's Baconator Fries are named after the burger of the same name, and is a regular order of Wendy's crappy new natural cut sea salt fries, with cheese sauce, shredded cheese, and bits of applewood smoked bacon. As expected, these were the same crappy fries, half-covered in yummy cheddar cheese, and bacon. The bacon was the biggest surprise - thankfully not burnt or crunchy, but good perfectly done bacon.

If I'm being honest, this was a nice snack, really good hot, and not so much (except for the bacon) as they got colder. I still can't help wishing for Wendy's to bring their old fries back. That would have made them perfect.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #197

After a quick run through the McDonald's drive-thru, I found this rare McDonald's Golden Fries mutant freak. Definitely potato, definitely edible, but very rare. Mmmm... freak fry...

French Fry Diary 566: Church's Chicken

Church's Chicken is the fourth largest chicken fast food chain after KFC, Chick-fil-A, and former partner Popeyes. They are currently often co-franchised with White Castle, which is what their fries most resemble. Most folks only know two things about Church's, and neither is very nice. One, that they are mostly located in lower class minority areas - not true, and two, that the Ku Klux Klan owns them and they are slowly poisoning minorities - also not true, Snopes even says so.

The Church's I visited was quite small, had a tiny eating area, and so I went through the drive-thru. There seemed to be much contention over my order, as if they didn't hear it, record it, or cook it. With only two customers inside eating, two employees working the store, and no one in the drive-thru but me, I had a good fifteen to twenty minute wait for just fries and a soda.

I ordered the large fry, not realizing how big large actually was. The large fry order is a whole box of them, making the previously thought $2.79 price actually a pretty fair bargain. The French fries themselves, as I said above, are much the same as at White Castle. These are standard crinkle cuts, deep fried, and quite probably had spent some time under a heat lamp for a while. The fries were a bit too crispy/crunchy for my tastes, but that might be because of their time in heat lamp prison. Because of that, reheating them at home later was just not possible either in the oven or microwave.

Also notable is the side menu at Church's that includes fried okra and mashed potatoes. Maybe next time. As I wrote this review in the car (because I went through the drive-thru), I have to mention that Church's mobile phone website is nigh impossible to navigate. Many details had to be filled in at home later. Someone needs to call IT.

This was not a great visit, perhaps a second chance is in order, but not for a while.

McNugget Rage in Toledo

This 24-year-old woman, Melodi Dushane, wanted some Chicken McNuggets from a McDonald's drive-thru in Toledo, but it was 10:30 AM, and the restaurant, as it has always been for as long as I can remember at least, still serving breakfast. She apparently could not deal with that fact, and yeah, she just lost her mind.

The police caught Dushane, and she was sentenced to sixty days for felony vandalism - assaulting two employees and smashing the drive-thru window. She was apparently drunk, and was also made to pay for the damaged window. I love how the next car pulls up like nothing happened. I hope they didn't want McNuggets too…

The following video contains violence and profanity, not suitable for the kids or for work. You've been warned.



Wow. Don't make her assume her ultimate form. Just imagine if she wanted fries too…

French Fry Diary 449: Burger King Seasoned Sweet Potato Curly Fries

I know, insanity, but the very same day I blasted the customer service at a local Burger King, we decided on BK for dinner.

Upon arrival at my local Burger King, Marlton, not the infamous store #9865, my friend Jeff and I found ourselves in a non-moving line of one. The shift manager Tom was handling a very picky customer buying the last of the Cinnabon. The transaction was not the easiest, for either of them. But there was more to it than that.

Apparently we had just missed a verbally abusive exchange in the drive-thru. The customer came to straighten it out, and got in line behind the Cinnabon lady. Tom managed to handle the situation, not without drama, providing a bit of pre-dinner theater before my friend Jeff and I got to order.

We were there to try Burger King's new Seasoned Sweet Potato Curly Fries, and that we did. They were a bit thinner than most curly fries. I wasn't sure if it was because they had been overcooked or if it was something to do with them being made from sweet potatoes. They had lost a bit of their sweetness, and were not very good. I wouldn't get them again.

I also got the new Popcorn Chicken, and was similarly unimpressed. At least they still had the Coke Freestyle machine. I should have gotten a burger, or a chicken sandwich (which this store does have). I have to say, I was disappointed on almost all fronts on this trip, save the floorshow of course.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #44

Today's Random Tater Pic comes to us from I Can Has Cheezburger.com by way of my Twitter buddy CKscullycat. Obviously it's a cute play on Jack in the Box, but cuter. I'll have a medium kitty fries to go, please.

French Fry Diary 362: Checkers Rally's Famous Fries

I was surprised and delighted to find these in my grocer's freezer section as I like Checkers quite a bit, and with Checkers Rally's Famous Fries, now I can have them in my own home without the run through the drive-thru. Props to the Checkers folks.

Now the directions offer the option to either bake or deep fry these spicy batter coated babies, but let me tell you - don't deep-fry them. Just chalk that one up to I did it so you won't have to. These are not good deep-fried.

Now baked is a whole other thing. Not only is there less grease than deep frying (or even from the restaurant if I'm being honest), but these large shoestrings are near perfect from the oven. You can regulate the crispness, and they are always soft and hot in the inside. The seasoning on the outside make any additional seasoning pointless. These are just great baked.

If you're making dinner, these pair well with a burger, and the fries are skinny enough to stack on the sandwich, and also add that great seasoning flavor to it as well. Thumbs up for Checkers Rally's Famous Fries.

French Fry Diary 361: Checkers

Checkers and Rally's are the same place, and essentially the same food, but here in the South Jersey/Philadelphia area, we only have Checkers.

Checkers is predominantly a drive-thru and/or walk-up restaurant, even though there are a few tables outside, I don't think they get much use - its not Sonic. The lunchtime I visited the place was dead, no drive-thru traffic even - which is a shame because the food is pretty good. And notably, the customer service is also very quick, and usually pretty accurate too.

The burgers are big and tasty, although this time it did take some effort to get a plain burger. Speaking of Sonic, I think the shakes at Checkers are thicker and better, and excellent for fry-dipping. They also have the usual fare of chicken, fish, and hot dogs as well, but it's the favorite fried food we're here to talk about.

The French fries at Checkers are long (sometimes very long) regular natural cuts with a thick crispy batter coating, salted and black peppered. This orange colored spicy skin gives them an extra zing and crunch that contrasts the soft hot potatoey insides. These are darn good fries, but make sure you have a beverage handy to balance the heat. It's a good heat though. They're also great for sandwiching and, as I said, shake dipping, which will also cool some of that spicy fire.

The Checkers fries also nuke well in microwave once you get home, at least twice, sometimes three times, making them an excellent drive-thru fry that can be had later. Recommended.

French Fry Diary 188: Roy Rogers

To quote Tommy Kiefer and Cinderella, the local glam metal band of that sadly lost era, "you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone," and that's kinda how I feel about Roy Rogers restaurants and their fries.

They used to be everywhere, and I enjoyed them a lot, but then a few decades back, they all disappeared, except for on the turnpikes and on the way to Baltimore and Washington DC. Founded by the singing cowboy actor of the same name, Roy Rogers used to be the number three fast food place behind McDonalds and Burger King, a slot now held by the fry-switching folks at Wendy's.

I have fond memories of Roy Rogers, believe it or not. I played Dungeons & Dragons there. I read my comics there after picking them up on payday. I took dates there, yeah, I know, I was a cheap bastard. It was where I went with friends after the funeral of another dear friend. And the local Berlin Roy Rogers was once a Gino's where I got one of my first jobs. Roy's was a mainstay of my youth.

Roy's also has a special place in my heart if for only one non-favorite fried food reason - they serve their hamburgers plain. Being a catastrophically picky eater I like my burgers plain, 'regular grill' as some fast food places call it, just the burger and the bun as I have to stress whenever I go through a drive-thru or even go inside. As anyone who has asked for a special order at a fast food place will tell you - I might as well be robbing them at gunpoint, they don't want to hear it.

McDonalds is a major offender for getting orders wrong, White Castle is almost impossible, and despite what their ads say about 'having it your way,' Burger King has a shoddy record as well. And Checkers, just don't even bother, it ain't happening. Roy Rogers is the plain hamburger godsend in an apparently incompetent world.

Roy Rogers Restaurants have some of my favorite fast food French fries. They are golden brown regular cuts, crispy on the outside, and soft and hot on the inside. They're good for sandwiching, dipping and especially for running through a drive-thru for a quickie snack. Don't forget to get some of the bbq sauce from Roy's Fixin's Bar for dipping, some of the best.

These fries reheat well at home either in the microwave or the conventional oven, same for the burgers, I might add. They're terrific sandwiched in your burger and Roy Rogers bbq sauce is the best for dipping. And best of all, in true western tradition, the fries come in a holster. Now really, how cool is that?

In recent years, Roy Rogers has also gotten into the curly fry business with standard natural cut curly fries covered with that also standard spicy orange seasoning. Nothing special here, but I don't care as long I can still get their regular fries.

Come back to South Jersey, Roy Rogers, and I don't mean to the turnpike, back to somewhere we can actually get to when we want to, and with a drive-thru too. We miss you, come back!

Jack’s New Fries… Free!

Special press release from the folks at Jack in the Box:

After years of research, months of planning and several hours of trance-based meditation, I've decided to reinvent my French fries. I call them . . . My New French Fries. Felt like it was more important to spend time crafting the fries themselves, not the name. They're crispy, golden, delicious and salted just right for your tasting pleasure.

In honor of this groundbreaking news, I've decided to have a FREE Fryday on Friday, April 16th. All you have to do is walk in and ask for them. No coupons or anything. And just to be clear, everyone gets one free small fry. Like, an order of them. Not just one single fry. That would be silly.

Jack

Well, thank you, Jack. Nice hat.

Jack in the Box changing their fries is a bit of a quandary. Their fries have been alternately voted both unhealthiest and most fulfilling drive-thru item.

Jack’s fries previously (or most previously, they’ve had several different styles over the years) were natural cuts or curleys. The new ones appear to be shoestrings. Too bad the nearest Jack in the Box is about 500 miles away or I’d be there for the free fries on Friday too.

French Fry Diary 81: Burger King at Home 3

We’ve tried out the King Wedgez and the King Krinkz, so the only variety (so far) of the new Burger King microwave fries to try are the King Kolassolz.

I do the Shake, Vent and Zap, and once again, like the King Krinkz, I smell something burning. I can’t tell you how worrisome this is for me. It’s enough to shoo me away from buying these things again before I’ve even tasted them. Just for the record, I’ve used the microwave since this event and no smell – it was the fries.

When I do the Tap and Rip, again I notice there are not many fries inside, but at least the ‘frypod’ stayed together. Because the fries are bigger and longer, a few actually stick out of the ‘frypod’ giving it that fast food container illusion despite there not being very many of them.

These fries are wide crinkle cuts, not quite Nathan’s Famous but bigger than regular crinkle cuts. They are quite mushy and possibly not all the way cooked. I find that odd as I used the same microwave oven and temperature for all three batches of these Burger King fries. They’re really not good, they taste like bad microwave fries, or worse yet, bad TV dinner microwave fries. But at least they aren’t the crappy fries you get at your BK drive-thru, but they’re not much better.

Do You Want Fries with That?

"Do You Want Fries with That?" by Tim McGraw, a humorous musical interlude as a send off as I leave for vacation on the Disney Cruise. I’ll be back in a week with more French fry adventures - from the cruise ship the Disney Magic.

See you then, and until then, don’t forget the fries. Mmmm... fries...

I Got Fries on It

“I Got Fries on It” by Big Cheese, a song parody of “I Got Five on It” by Luniz. Niiice.

Details' Most Fulfilling Drive-Thru Stuff

Deatails Magazine has recently presented this article proclaiming the "The Best Fast Food in America: The 25 Most Fulfilling Things to Order at the Drive-Thru."

Among them, of course, are quite a few varieties of the favorite fried food. There are the seasoned curly fries at Jack in the Box, the onion rings at Carl Jr.'s, McDonald's French fries, Sonic's tots, and in sixth place - Chick-fil-A's waffle fries. Mmmm... fries...

Fast Food Chain

Snedge45 offers up this brilliant (to me at least) parody “Fast Food Chain” to Tay Zonday’s internet classic "Chocolate Rain."

Hmmm... they say imitation is the highest form of flattery. I wonder if the same goes for parody?

And I further wonder if a number seven comes with fries?

French Fry Diary 39: Sonic Hysteria

I knew there was something weird when I drove past the site of the new Audubon Sonic Drive-In a month ago and people had their hands on the chainlink fences just staring at the nearly built structure. I think the folks at Sonic have put something in the water in this area of New Jersey…

Now they are open, and it’s dinner time in early September, and traffic is lined up around the place, past the Chick-fil-A next door and into the intersection of the Black Horse Pike. There are at least three police cars in attendance, and everyone, and I mean everyone, wants to get into Sonic.

I’m not sure about why this particular site is getting so popular. Yes, Sonic is fairly new to this area, but there are others. There’s been one in Vineland for a while, one just opened in Mount Holly and I’ve even reviewed the one across the river near Philadelphia Park. But somehow, this Audubon location is driving folks to hysteria.

As I turn into the Sonic, an employee tells me all the stalls are filled, would I like drive-thru or patio. When I say drive-thru, she checks via headset if that’s doable. Two more employee checkpoints along the trip to the drive-thru do the same. It’s like crossing over into Canada, but a much smoother operation.

Yep, Sonic is prepared for this as if it’s some well-planned invasion. Someone should check the water. I think we’re under attack. Now if they could only bring this military precision and quality control to their less than stellar fries…

Who Put the Freak in French Fries?

Who put the freak in French fries? Not Jack in the Box because this isn’t a real commercial. Maybe it was Jack Nicholson? Either way, enjoy.



Now I’m off to the drive-thru, for some real fries... Mmmm... fries...


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French Fry Diary 22: Sonic Drive-In

Sonic Drive-In is a unique dining experience that used to be everywhere in the 1950s and 1960s but has since receded into the depths of time – the drive-in. Sure there are still drive-ins around, but finding a good one is harder than it sounds. Sonic is easily at the top of that list.

Sonic has taken the drive-in experience to the heights of ‘fast’ food the same way McDonald’s pioneered the drive-thru concept. You pull up to a parking spot with an entire drive-thru menu next to your car, then you stay and eat. Place your order (when you want, there’s no rush here) and a carhop (for lack of a better word, but it is the correct term) will bring your food out to you. And it happens fast, really fast, and on an equally impressive level, your order is accurate. As someone who normally has special requests on his order, I can tell you this is an admirable talent. Special orders really don’t upset them. Some fast food places will say that, but Sonic means it. All A-plusses for service.

The food is much better than I thought it would be. As a Jersey resident, I had heard fabled stories of Sonic, which up until very recently none existed anywhere near me. Opportunity knocked with the discovery of one nearby Philadelphia Park on Street Road in Bensalem. The burgers are very good, the desserts amazing and the drink selection (they claim 168,000 possible flavor combinations, woo-hoo!) is unparalleled – but what I’m sure you really want to hear about is the favorite fried food.

The sad news is that Sonic fries are unimpressive. They come in shoestring variety, just a bit larger than McDonald’s and Burger King, thankfully not very greasy, but unfortunately not very hot either. Not awful, mind you, but neither are they spectacular. They are great for putting on your burger, and I wouldn’t turn them down, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for Sonic fries either.

Sonic also has Tator Tots (spelling in context from the receipt). While an interesting and unique choice as many fast food and franchise restaurants don’t carry them, Sonic’s tater tots (my spelling, and I’m sure the correct one) are only adequate, even with cheese added. Honestly, frozen tater tots from your grocery are better than these baked in your own oven. Not of interest to me of course, being a purist, but both the Fries and the Tots can come in a cheese or chili cheese variety. Beat that, McD’s and BK.

But we can’t shut Sonic out completely in the side dish category as they also have more than a few other selections. Among them apple slices and bananas (to make the Health Nazis happy), mozzarella sticks, corn dogs, popcorn chicken, and even French toast sticks as their breakfast is available 24-7. Topping the list of alternative sides are the Sonic onion rings. Similar to Fatburger’s o-rings (and that’s good thing), these are hot and very tasty. Unlike Sonic’s fries, I would go out of my way for their onion rings. Yep, they’re that good.


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