Random Tater Pic of the Day #288

Today's random tater pic of the natural cut fries with Old Bay seasoning from Joe's Crab Shack comes courtesy of my bro-in-law Bruce, thanks!

French Fry Diary 738: Power Air Fryer

I got my QVC addiction from my late and much-missed mother-in-law, but really we each watch for very different reasons.  Mom was a shopaholic, so the entire channel was a vice, but as a foodie, I find myself drawn more to programs like "In the Kitchen with David" with the delightful David Venable.  Recently from that show, and pitch man Eric Theiss, we purchased a Power Air Fryer, and we love it. 

I had always been wary of some of the air fryers I had seen on TV, shopping oriented or not.  They never seemed to cook the food all the way through, fries Looking soggy, etc.  The first time I saw Eric on David's show with the Power Air Fryer, there was a sound the fries made when they hit the plate out of the inner fryer pot - the same sound fries make when shaken to disperse salt in a metal bowl - the sound of crispy fries.  They had my attention. 

After seeing them and the fryer on QVC a few more times, we made the purchase of, for an excellent price, the Power Air Fryer XL Pro.  We passed on the cookbook by Eric, but we did also get the barrel pan and the grill rack with the package.  In a few days the Fryer arrived, and we have been thrilled ever since.

Of course the first thing I made was French fries, Nathan's, which have been an air frying favorite ever since.  Following the simple picture touch screen directions - 400 degrees for 18 minutes - for fries, they came out perfectly golden brown.  I thought at first maybe a bit too brown, and that I had actually made charcoal, but no, they were perfect, crispy outside and soft and hot inside.  Near perfection. 

Over the next few days, hell, the next couple weeks, we had a whirlwind of experimentation, seeing what we could and could not cook in the Air Fryer, and there's really not much that you can't.  I learned that with those wonderful Nathan's fries, if you shake them halfway, and use more uniform sizes (I cut the longer fries in half) so they cook more evenly.  You can also adjust time and temperature as you wish as opposed to using the touch screen options.  These techniques are good tips for almost anything you cook.

I tried many different frozen fries options - shoestrings, steak fries, potato wedges, curly fries, waffle fries, tater tots, crinkle cuts, regular cuts - and also tried onion rings, as well as other stuff not usually covered in this blog like hot dogs, biscuits, hot pockets, motz sticks, scallops, shrimp, chicken, steak, burgers, hush puppies, cakes, and corn on the cob, that last one a particular favorite. 

There is of course a learning curve. As opposed to food being underdone as I assumed would be a problem, it's very easy to overcook, so keep an eye on what you're cooking.  Onion rings especially are easy to overdo.  You can even do handcut fries, which come out amazing.  So far the handcuts are the only item to which I've added oil, and then only a quick spray if at all.

The Power Air Fryer has been one of the best things we've purchased since we've been down here in Florida, besides of course the grill, which is my baby.  That said, I love my Air Fryer.  I don't miss our deep fryer, which we left in South Jersey, at all.  Thank you, QVC! 

Random Tater Pic of the Day #269

This random tater pic comes from my bro-in-law Bruce, who took this photo of his favorite brunch made by my enabling but loving big sister Bobbie. Bruce added to me in a text, "Here are the home fries and ham brunch your sister makes. Eat your heart out!" Mmmm...

Random Tater Pic of the Day #260

Today's image is another place I miss from South Jersey. My big sister sent me this pic of her lunch at Donkey's, home of the best and most unique cheesesteaks in the area, as well as some darn good chicken tenders and fries too.

French Fry Diary 693: O'Lordan's Irish Pub

On a recent trip to see the in-laws, and especially see the nephew rock the house as part of his school's chorus, we stopped for a late night dinner at O'Lordan's Irish Pub. It being a pub and it being Friday night meant it was very loud, but we were seated behind the stage where the atmosphere was much quieter - and apparently less traveled by the waitstaff.

As the company was good we didn't mind the long wait time, much. I got my regular, a burger and fries, but what I really wanted to try was the Onion Cone. It's described as "Spanish onions in a seasoned batter and fried golden brown." However in my current altered diabetic state, those types of deep fried delicacies are certain death by carb, and calorie, and cholesterol. Maybe next time.

The burger, ordered medium well, was on the charcoal side of very well done, but still tasty on the inside, as long as one could get through the blackened exterior. On the plus side, it was on a sesame seed bun, which I usually prefer.

The fries that came as a side were waffle fries similar in cut and first glance to Chick-fil-A, but that's where the resemblance ended. If one took those great Chick-fil-A Waffle Fries, battered them, deep-fried them until they were crunchy on the outside and greasy on the inside, then over seasoned them... yeah, you got it. They were that bad.

That said, potatoey products purchased by other members of our party (how's that for alliteration?) were quite good, including the Bangers & Mash and the Potato Skins, the latter of which were made from huge Russet baking potatoes. The Irish Whiskey chicken Tenders also looked very good, maybe for next time. And I'm not adverse to coming back, they could have been having a bad night - not as bad however as the singer who was soundly butchering David Bowie and Tom Petty on the other side of the wall...

French Fry Diary 692: Chocolate Covered Potato Chips

Chocolate covered potato chips. As it says on the bag of Trader Joe's Milk Chocolate Covered Potato Chips, "Can you imagine?"

I remember the first time I saw such a thing. I was maybe nine and my big sister Bobbie had taken me to Strawbridge's in the Echelon Mall and among the other exotics inside the glass candy counter like rock candy and fancy cashews and orange jells (the last both still favorites), were rippled potato chips covered in chocolate, both milk and dark. Can you hear the trumpets?

Nowadays you can find them at most indie and chain candy stores, and at Trader Joe's. Of course Joe has them, he even has, wait for it, chocolate covered orange jells. I know, madness. And it's supposed to be a health themed grocery store. Shhhh... don't let the secret out.

Joe's chips are also ripple chips, very crunchy and salty, and drenched in luscious milk chocolate. These are so good. You get about a dozen chips in a bag, which is fair, but my favorite way to eat them makes more (well, maybe). I put 'em in the fridge then smack the bag on the counter - instant bite-size pieces.

These are great, a terrific sweet and salty snack. Recommended.

French Fry Diary 684: Steak Fries on the Disney Magic

I have mentioned our waitstaff from our two Disney Cruises this season before. Brendon and Andrene are the best.

At our first dinner at Animator's Palate I ordered French fries of course, and got the terrific steak fries one usually gets on board toward the beginning of the cruise. I mentioned how much I enjoyed them, but my brother-in-law went the extra mile, saying that if I got fries with every meal I'd always be happy.

This triggered what I like to call the Creme Brûlée effect. On a previous cruise, friends Dom and Cindy had raved about the Creme Brûlée dessert and their waitstaff made sure they always had it, even when they came back on a later cruise.

Because of the bro, we had steak fries every night of the cruise and when we returned two weeks later for the TCM Classic Cruise. Yeah, they are that good, and I was in French fry heaven, whether I liked it or not. Who am I kidding? I loved it.

Farewell Cool Dog Cafe

I woke up this morning, some 1200 miles from home, but still with the connection to Facebook, to some very sad news.

The Cool Dog Café in Cherry Hill NJ has closed their doors.

Here was the message on their Facebook page:

"COOL DOG IS CLOSED

"We are sad to inform all of you that today, Oct. 31, was the last day for Cool dog Café. As with many things, time can change people’s outlooks and desires. So it is with Cool Dog. Partners Shawn and Ira will be moving on to pursue their individual dreams. Shawn is now working with the Stephen Starr restaurants in Philly and enjoying his new culinary experience very much. Ira is working on a new venture in the area and will let you know when something is definite.

"We want to thank you for your loyalty, friendship and support over the past 5 years. A restaurant couldn’t ask for a better group of people as their customers and we’ll miss you. But we’ll be in touch. Meanwhile, have a wonderful holiday season and again, from all of us at Cool Dog Café… THANK YOU."

This came as a shock to me as it did to many folks. Not only was Cool Dog an awesome place for hot dogs, French fries, burgers, and fun - it was a place for family. And truth is that Ira and his wife in the front, Shawn in the back, and the entire staff - they were friends, and family too. Coming to Cool Dog was like coming home, like being welcomed by family.

They certainly treated us like family, through good times and bad, this was a restaurant that made everyone welcome. Every time we had friends from out of town, they always wanted to go to the Cool Dog Cafe. And I know many folks upset they won't be able to have one last dog at their favorite place.

That said, best of luck to Ira and Shawn in the future, looking forward to the next big thing from each of you. We will miss you, Cool Dog!

French Fry Diary 679: Hamburgers in Sausalito

Guest post by my big sister, Bobbie, one of the coolest ladies I know.

So on our recent trip to San Francisco we were on a tour that stopped in Sausalito. We were hungry and had about forty minutes before the ferry would take us across the Bay and back to Fisherman's Wharf. We saw a restaurant across from the ferry called Hamburgers and decided to give it a try.

The restaurant was about ten feet wide and thirty feet long. There were no tables everything was to go. As you entered there was a round iron grill going in round like a turntable and the chef was putting burgers (and chicken) on the grill as it spun. We ordered our burgers and of course fries. Then went outside until our number was called.

The burgers were juicy and spiced and the best I've had in a long time. But the fries were fantastic. They were crinkle cut, deep fried and then tossed in a bowl with salt and spice. The outside crispiness reminded me of those Potato Sticks that come in a can, but inside was soft potato goodness. I thought of my poor brother who was missing this wonderful treat and snapped pictures of the meal and restaurant.

And if you are a vegetarian their second restaurant in Sausalito is called Veggie Burger.

Thank you, Bobbie, you rock!

French Fry Diary 689: Red Robin Birthday

This weekend I turned (choke, gasp) fifty-one years old, and The Bride put together a birthday celebration for me, a dinner at the legendary original home of the bottomless steak fries, Red Robin.

I have to admit being a bit gun shy of having a gathering, especially a large gathering, at a restaurant after putting together an event at a restaurant for the South Jersey Writers a couple weeks ago that resulted in several tables not together and one single check, and let me assure you, writers are not good at math. In contrast, the management and wait staff at the Cherry Hill Red Robin were extremely helpful, and got everything right - huge props!

So many friends, fellow writers, and even some family showed up. Apparently I'm more loved than I think, but more likely I suspect folks were there for the fries. Kidding. The meal started with, as it always does at Red Robin, with the tower of onion rings. Much like the Bloomin' Onion at Outback, how can you not get it?

I ordered my usual, a plain burger, which was fantastic, and a side of the bottomless steak fries. My big sister loved the fact that she could customize her meal online before arriving at the restaurant, so she was ready. The Bride got the garlic herbed fries which were also awesome, and a friend got a poutine fries concoction, seen below.

At one point, I had finished my fries, and was left with a lonely metal ring…

…but that was quickly remedied, Red Robin is after all the home of bottomless steak fries.

I had a terrific birthday, made extra special by friends and family, and the staff of Red Robin. Thanks to all!

French Fry Diary 688: Oscar's Alehouse

On a recent trip to Maryland to chill with the in-laws and see my nephew blow everyone else off the stage in "Mary Poppins," the bro-in-law took us to a very cool place called Oscar's Alehouse in Eldersburg.

According to the bro-in-law, this nice restaurant/low key sports bar is the best place in the area for craft beer, which was not exactly in my wheelhouse, but when he recommended the burgers and onion rings, I was on board. Our server and the staff were very friendly, and not just because the bro is a regular, because I watched as everyone is the restaurant got the same treatment. If I was a resident to the area, I think I might be a regular too, just based on that.

I ordered the Naked Burger (code for plain with nothing on it, my usual preference), with the recommended onion rings, while The Bride got fries with her meal so my bases were covered. I should add that despite my ordering my usual pub fare, Oscar's actually has a pretty varied selection on their menu, including specialty pizzas, salads, and entrees, most highly recommended. This is not your average pub, their menu takes it up a notch.

The burger was perfect and juicy, possibly the best I've had in quite a while. The French fries were golden brown natural cuts, soft and hot on the inside with just the right amount of crunch on the outside - very good, but the onion rings were the kicker. First, they used purple onions, tossed in a batter of just flour, salt, and pepper, and deep-fried. Simple, but great, I loved them. The smooth spicy batter was crunchy and awesome. Best onion rings I've had in some time.

Thanks to the brother-in-law for an excellent recommendation, and I can't wait to visit again so I can return to Oscar's. This was a terrific meal and a great time, two thumbs up.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #212

This terrific twice-baked potato (so good I had to try a bite first) was served with dinner at a recent family gathering at Villari's Lakeside. Dinner was great, just the tip of the iceberg of the fun had at the event.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #208

These baby grilled potatoes came from my big sister Bobbie this past Fourth of July. Mmmm… nice. Thanks, Bobbie!

Random Tater Pics of the Day #203 and 204

These Somebody Else's Fries again come from my big sister Bobbie on a recent trip to the Hard Rock Café in Orlando, Florida. This first pic is from The Kitchen, a restaurant at the Hard Rock Hotel. From Bobbie, "The Kitchen's fries were shoestring, very crunchy and didn't need any salt at all, very good."

This second pic is from the Hard Rock Café proper. Bobbie said they "were regular fries, crispy on the outside, with a great seasoning. They were the best!"

Random Tater Pic of the Day #201

Today's Somebody Else's Fries comes from my big sister Bobbie who took this photo at a Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. somewhere in the South. She described them as "skinny, crisp and tast(ing) like restaurant fries." Thanks, Bobbie!

French Fry Diary 645: Laundromat Luncheonette

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.

There's an AutoZone where the Sears used to be. I have fond memories of the Wish Book catalog at Christmas, and my dad getting his boat there, with what my childlike memory says were S & H Green Stamps. Bonus points if you remember them. And the liquor store at the other end of the strip is now a Risqué Video.

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.

French Fry Diary 618: Richman's Ice Cream

Richman's in the Echelon Mall was my first real job. When I say real, I mean I was paid above the table and I actually needed a Social Security number for it. I was at the mall, saw the 'help wanted' sign, and asked for an application. I remember the kid at the counter, Dave was his name, first guy I ever met with a rat tail (yes, I'm dating myself), said manning the ice cream counter out front let you see all the girls walk by in the mall. This would be an awesome job!

I got it, and after buying a couple pairs of white pants, white shirts, pinning a badge on and topping it off with a paper hat, I was ready to go. The first day I spent scooping ice cream, weighing and putting it back in the bucket. I had to get the weight right before I could scoop for the public. For the next week, I rocked the front counter, meeting girls, and getting digits. As I suspected, awesome job.

Then counter training ended, and busboy/dishwasher training began. Star in the front to troll in the back overnight. This job was not fun. It seemed like I would never get back to the front, and as the holidays approached, I scored the primo job at the top of the mall food chain, at a record store.

That wasn't the first time at the Echelon Mall Richman's however. My cool big sister took me there once years before. In a lesson of learning the value of money, I had to earn enough to go to this 'grown up expensive restaurant.' I also learned things later while I was employed there. The government takes a lot out of your paycheck, and always carefully examine your food - you never know when a fly will die unnoticed in the rum raisin ice cream. I have never had that flavor, ever, since then.

I've told the story of the other thing I learned on an early episode of The GAR! Podcast, but I'll tell it again here. My first day on my dinner break, I ordered the Basketburger, and the waitress and multiple cooks kept calling back in the kitchen "Basketburger" and "Employee meal." I would later learn it meant to do it right, not mess with it, and if it fell on the floor, to throw it out. Yeah. Glad I was an employee.

Not a Richman's Basketburger, but you get the idea...

The Basketburger was a bigger than McDonald's burger on a sesame seed bun, a pickle, cole slaw, and crinkle cut fries. I didn't know then, and believe it or not, I never saw into the kitchen, but I'm pretty sure the fries were frozen and deep fried even though they didn't taste that way. They were pretty good and didn't taste greasy.

Working at Richman's was an educational job, fun at times, and the fries were pretty good too. Well worth it for the short time I was there.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #163

These steak frites were the special at Toscana in Cherry Hill a few weeks back. The Bride and I were going to go but family stuff kept us otherwise busy. We will get there soon though.

Added bonus, Gigio Longo of Toscana Cherry Hill also has a very cool comic out called Adam 12 that you should all check out. Fries and comics, always a good match.

French Fry Diary 608: The Competing Dogs at Cool Dog Café

While of course I'm rooting for The Bride's entry, Larry's South Philly Retro Dog to win Cool Dog Café's 3rd Annual Create-A-Dog Contest, it should be noted that there are some entries that may be of interest to readers of this blog.

Being voted on through this weekend are the Frenzy Fries Dog, which features crinkle cut French fries, hot sauce, cheese sauce, blue cheese dressing, and celery salt - and it's up against the Breakfast Dog which has pepper jelly, scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns.

Later in the month, the Snack Attack Dog with cheese sauce, crushed Cheetos, pretzels, and potato chips, faces off with the Stuffed Tater Dog with tater tots, sour cream, chives, and bacon. Wow, some interesting combinations there.

I'm still biased for Larry's South Philly Retro Dog, don't forget to come in and vote when it's time at the end of August!

Vote for Larry's South Philly Retro Dog!

Remember a little while ago when I told you about the 3rd Annual Create-A-Dog Contest at Cool Dog Café?

Well, The Bride entered the contest with a special hot dog in honor of her late father - Larry's South Philly Retro Dog, and made it to the finals!

She designed this special hot dog to be reminiscent of the legendary classic hot dogs at Levis Hot Dogs that used be in South Philadelphia, a favorite of her father's.

So get on over to the Cool Dog Café and get Larry's South Philly Retro Dog, try the others too, but vote for the Larry Dog, and don't forget the fries!