Gordon Ramsay's Fish Fingers and Chip Butty

From "Gordon's Ultimate Home Cooking" on YouTube, here Chef Gordon Ramsay gives us a quick lesson in a British classic - Homemade Fish Fingers with a Chip Butty. Fish fingers, obviously are what we might call fishsticks, although much bigger and seasoned here a little differently, more like tenders, or fingers, because of their size. The chip butty is actually a bit of a French fry sandwich, and it just doesn't get much better than that, does it?

French Fry Diary 372: Mastoris

Recently a friend of The Bride's, and a Trenton local legend, Randy Now opened up his Man Cave & Consignment Shop up in Bordentown New Jersey. We, along with her parents, looking for a nice drive to get out of the house, attended the grand opening. Great place, wonderful stuff, and there was a rocking band there opening day. If you're in the area, definitely stop by, it's worth it.

Afterward, we were still up in the Trenton area and we had the munchies, so after much discussion (there are so many different places to eat), we decided to go to Mastoris. This place is legend among New Jersey diners, in fact, it is probably one of the most famous, and the classiest of the New Jersey diners. I had never been, so this was an experience. I have heard both good and bad about the place in my time on Earth so I was interested in finding out for real. I also wanted to try the, duh, what else, the French fries.

Mastoris is a landmark, a piece of history. In existence since the 1920s, it is both a fancy and homey diner with extra rooms for larger parties, fireplaces in each room, and some folks even have their wedding receptions there. And as if to secure your having dessert one way or another, you have to walk through their luscious bakery just to get to your seat. They hit you here or on the way out, you will get dessert. We got a nice table near one of the fireplaces and our waitress seemed very nice and eager to please, especially to prepare our food however we wanted it. Regular readers know that's a plus for me, the catastrophically picky eater.

I was stunned when the waitress handed out the menus however. It was huge. I kid you not, this was a twenty-page menu, plus a two-sided one sheet with today's specials on it. Lifting the menu was a workout. They have to have everything, or at least that's what one would think, based on the menu. I shudder to think what Chef Gordon Ramsey would say. Frequently on "Kitchen Nightmares," that's one of his pet peeves, and he always cuts the menu down to one sheet. Mastoris would probably give him a conniption.

One of the things that Mastoris is most famous for is their cheese bread, and to a lesser extent, their cinnamon bread. Like the restaurant itself, the cheese bread is a thing of legend. I am always hearing stories of folks who will drive for hours to get some of this bread, and then take some home with them as well, thanks in no part to walking out through the bakery, I'm sure. I couldn't wait to be served, especially with that kind of build up. Now I might be blasphemous saying this, but here I go. The cheese bread is good, no doubt, but as far as I'm concerned, the cinnamon bread is to die for. Keep your cheese bread, just leave the cinnamon bread for me, okay?

When my burger and fries arrived (Oh come on now, you knew that was what I was going to get, right? If not, you haven't been paying attention.) the first thing that hit me was the sheer size of it. The burger was gigantic. I had to cut it in half just to attempt to eat it. This is where Mastoris gets an A+ for portion size, with the burger. It was good hot, but not so much when just warm. Despite the size and look of the ginormous hamburger, I have to say, it was only just okay.

The French fries were steak fries, standard from the grocer's freezer and deep-fried. They were really good, as good as those kind of fries get, mind you, and I really would have liked to have had more, but. And this is a big but, so big, Sir Mix-a-Lot would be happy. The fries came in such a ridiculously small portion compared to the giant portions of everything else. Not as small as at Denny's last time, but still. Speaking of the big portions - on everything but the fries - we walked out with five Styrofoam containers, none of them containing fries.

Just so you don't think I'm being psychotic (well, not that psychotic) about the portion of the fries, it should be noted my father-in-law also got the steak fries, and there weren't enough for him either. The mashed potatoes were also quite good, although they weren't from my order.

On a side note, I thought the service was quite good, but my mother-in-law felt it was the worst service she'd ever gotten at Mastoris. She said that they were usually more attentive and personable. I was floored by this. Our waitress was twenty times nicer than at, say a Denny's or an Applebee's, but then again, I guess that says a lot, doesn't it? We must have gotten our waitress on a bad day, I'll have to go back. All in all, it was a good family afternoon dinner. Good times.

Gordon Ramsay's French Fries

I'm a big fan of Chef Gordon Ramsay, and his various TV projects. Invariably I have seen him make the favorite fried food on many occasions but rarely does he take the time to show how or give any details. However, in his book Gordon Ramsay's Fast Food, he provides the following recipe. Check it out.

Gordon Ramsay’s Chunky French Fries

These home made French Fries are a welcome change to the soggy, oversalted French fries most of us are accustomed to. I’ve prepared these fries and my only caution is to make sure you don’t over-boil the potatoes or you end up with hash browns instead of french fries.

You can find this recipe and many more like it in Gordon Ramsay’s Fast Food. Make sure to get a copy if you don’t already have one.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 lbs potatoes (scrubbed or peeled)
sea salt and black pepper (I just used kosher salt)
5 garlic cloves (unpeeled)
few thyme sprigs
few rosemary sprigs (leaves only)
Olive Oil

Cooking Instructions:

Pre-heat the oven to 425 with a roasting pan inside.

Cut the potatoes into 1/2 inch thick French fires. Parboil in a pan of salted water for about 5-7 minutes until just tender. Drain and pat dry.

Put a single layer of potatoes on the roasting pan and scatter the garlic and herbs over them. Drizzle generously with olive oil (this step is important if you want crispy fries) and sprinkly with salt and pepper. Use a pair of tongs to toss the potatoes and coat well with your seasoning mixture and the olive oil.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until the fries are golden brown and crisp, turning a few times during the baking. Drain on paper towels and serve! These go really well with Lela’s Famous Burgers.

Mmmm... fries...

French Fry Diary 106: Ninety-Nine 99

A few weeks back we were headed to Deptford anyway for a movie date night, so we figured we’d try something new, the Ninety-Nine 99 restaurant.

This place is right where the old Ground Round in Deptford used to be, and it was kinda weird as I was seeing ghosts of the Ground Round frequently on this visit. It didn’t look like there had been much remodeling done, save for the signs throughout with reasons 1-99 about (I guess) why 99 is so great. Interesting idea, but why sell the restaurant to people who are already inside?

The ghosts continued as we were brought popcorn as an appetizer, just like GR used to do. The place has a huuuge menu, Gordon Ramsey would hate them, and served Pepsi rather than Coke. The Bride and I also learned that discount movie tickets came with the meal and that made our date night even better.

I got the sirloin tips and chicken tenders, which not only came with fries, it also came with a thick honey bbq sauce. It was tangy with just a hint of citrus, and hot enough to stay with you, so have that Pepsi handy. The fries were unspectacular natural cuts. They were supposed to have Old Bay seasoning, but I never tasted it.

The serving sizes were just as huge as the menu, and we had to take it home. Yeah, Gordon really would have hated this place. I didn’t think it was too bad, I kinda liked it. All around great dinner and experience – discount movie tickets were a bonus – and the fries were just okay.

We may be making a return trip however based on recent ads about 99’s "Real Size Entrees," one of which features different-looking fries served in a metal cup along side a steak. Those fries look interesting...

French Fry Diary 100: Hot Potato Café

I found out about the Hot Potato Café in perhaps one of the more notorious and uncool ways to find out about a restaurant – on Chef Gordon Ransey’s "Kitchen Nightmares" TV series on Fox. The show frequently uncovers at most horrifying and at least disturbing conditions in restaurants before Ramsey helps to turn the place around in his own unique way. Luckily, the Hot Potato Café was only suffering from business woes, and not anything sanitary.

The episode itself wasn’t that bad as Gordon dealt with the three sisters who are owners and the chef niece. It was a decidedly popular episode, having taken place some months before and covered widely in the local press. It was so popular that for days after it aired, the restaurant’s website was unavailable. It’s notable to mention that many folks will hit a restaurant’s website the night it appears on "Kitchen Nightmares" to see if it’s still open. Trust me, the Hot Potato Café is.

Another plus about the Café is that it’s local to the Philadelphia area. That and the name itself, made it a prime destination for French Fry Diary. As a matter of fact, on the episode they appeared in, Ramsey even employed a ‘potato expert,’ Richard Marsh, head chef of Cherry Hill’s Andreotti’s Viennese Café, to help them with their potatoes. Hmmm, something tells me I’ll be going there soon as well.

We decided to make our visit to the Hot Potato Café something special so The Bride and I made reservations for Valentine’s Day night and braved the scary snow-piled streets of Philly to get there. We were between blizzards so this was not as easy as you might think. Still, all in all I think it was well worth it.

Once seated, we were greeted with complimentary Parmesan fries in a metal cup. These were natural cuts with flakes of Parmesan just sprinkled lightly – quite hot and quite tasty. The fries that are packed inside the cup under the top layer are extra special as they are even hotter and the cheese is melted just right. Complimentary fries? Wow, what a wonderful phrase. That is certainly a winning start to any meal as far as I’m concerned.

The drinks came in Mason jar jugs. Nice touch, and you can see mine, full of Coke, next to the complimentary fries. Refills on the drinks were quick and friendly. Our waitress, Erin, was very nice, cooperative and informed - and she made our evening a joy. The décor was interesting and fun. One nice bit was that the restrooms were marked ‘Spuds’ and ‘Sweet Potatoes.’

Our appetizers were the Hot Potato Chips. These were some of the best homemade (or restaurant-made for that matter) that I have ever had. They were the perfect thickness between a scalloped potato slice and an actual potato chip. The cheese however – a tasty Parmesan cheddar sauce – has a sogging effect on the chips, so not cool (that it made them soggy, not the sauce - that was great). These were also topped with scallions and bacon, but nowhere near enough bacon.

While enjoying the appetizers and the complimentaries, we had time to look around a bit more. While some of the décor that Gordon Ramsey had put in was still there, the menu was different – different from his menu, but also different from their original menu. No worries though, the current menu was just great. I ordered a burger, a choice not available on Ramsey’s revamp, and I’m glad it’s here. The placemats were fun, filled with various potato facts and oddities. I knew about a third of them already, vast storehouse of useless knowledge that I am – especially when it comes to the favorite fried food. Yeah, I know, I’m pitiful.

The Fishtown Fries came as both a side order with my burger and in a basket as well. I couldn’t taste the promised Old Bay seasoning at first, but they were very good – once again natural cuts, kinda reminiscent of the Pop Shop. They came with sides of ketchup and cheese. The burger was handformed and also very good. The basket, also much like the Pop Shop, was a large portion – so large we took them home afterward. That was where we found the Old Bay seasoning – not evenly distributed but hot and yummy, and it was a good hot.

Our Valentines night at the Hot Potato Café was a wonderful experience, and we would definitely go back. Again and again. One hundred percent recommended.