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 406: Irish Potato Nachos

I was hipped to this concept by friends Brian and Taryn, who visited Toronto recently and posted on the Facebook about one place they had seen that served them. The idea is basically nachos, but with some variation of potatoes instead of chips - called in some places Irish Potato Nachos. This restaurant, in Toronto, has sadly apparently since closed.

But never fear, most Irish pubs serve some version of this dish. Pictured is the style of Irish Potato Nachos served at The Druid Irish Pub in Edmonton. Hmmm... Edmonton, Toronto, maybe this is a Canadian thing?

French Fry Diary 284: Dublin Square, Cherry Hill NJ

After my visit to Kelsey's Irish Pub in Maryland, I was wary of trying another so-called Irish Pub, but so many friends had hipped me to this new local place, and happily recommended them, I just had to try Dublin Square in Cherry Hill.

I stopped by alone in the late afternoon. The bar was full but the restaurant not so much. The waitress was very friendly, had quite a lot to tell me about the multitude of specials on deck. While she was wonderful and did a great job, I had to wonder if I would have gotten the same treatment if the restaurant had been packed.

On the table were Colman's Mustard, HP Sauce and Sarson's Malt Vinegar, all imported from England. So it seems like their heart is in the right place when it comes to authenticity. It was decorated in wood and green, and football (that's soccer to you and me) on the big screen TVs around the restaurant. And the Irish and/or seeming Irish music playing overhead was incessant.

The fries, I was told, were deep-fried and tossed in curry powder. Interesting. So I guess I should be expecting some heat. As I waited for them I looked at the specials listed at the table. I did notice that the fries are $4 in the afternoon but $3 at night. I wondered if there was a difference in portion size, or if I was a schmuck for going in the afternoon.

The fries arrived, and I could smell the heat even before I tasted them. They were natural cut steak fries, nothing special or even Irish about them at first glance. The curry powder was interesting but seemed to have more bark than bite, as they weren't necessarily all that hot. The fries themselves were only just warm - as in heat lamp warm, and in the middle of an empty afternoon, not a good sign.

These fries were really a bit of a disappointment. Well, at least they called them fries, steak cut fries, and not chips - that would just be an insult. Now I realize that I am a bit of a French fries nut, but if you are going to go to all the trouble to make an Irish pub franchise, why would you skimp on the fries? I mean, chips/fries are a primary Irish pub staple. Just my opinion.

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 137: Bar Food Paradise

Usually when I talk about a cable channel here at French Fry Diary, it's the Food Network or even the new Cooking Channel. Not today, today we're looking at a program on the Travel Channel. It's called "Bar Food Paradise" and they highlighted two places of great interest to enthusiasts of the favorite fried food.

I'll let the folks at the Travel Channel take it from here:

"In 1979, nachos underwent an Irish rebirth. At J. Gilligan's Bar and Grill in Arlington, Texas, Irish potatoes, cheese, peppers, onions and jalapeños are combined in a skillet to create an unlikely bar food favorite. The dish caught on instantly, and now J. Gilligan's goes through 3,600 potatoes and 80 pounds of cheddar a week. Whether it's your game-time snack, your dinner or a late-night indulgence, the Irish nachos never fail to satisfy.



"Sunny Santa Monica, California may seem a bizarre setting for an Irish pub, but Finn McCool's is the genuine article. Owner Geraldine Gilliland painstakingly brought every piece of the famous bar over from Ireland, including the timber for the bar, the artifacts on the walls, and the lads and lasses slinging pints behind the bar. It's not just the Irish cheer and the Guinness that bring people to Finn's -- it's their potato skins. The secret ingredient that makes these skins so good is lean Irish bacon. Topped with freshly grated horseradish in sour cream, they simply can't be beat."

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.