Happy National Onion Ring Day

Today is National Onion Ring Day, or depending on how many you eat, National Onion Rings Day. So get out there and celebrate by having some of the second favorite fried side, onion rings!

Some of the best I've tried are at Red Robin, Manny's, Sonic, Bahama Breeze, Zaxby's, Red Lobster, Square 1, Long John Silver's, and the much-missed Little Shanty. Where will you be celebrating?

French Fry Diary 691: I Hate Answers.Com

For quite some time I have planned a post over at my other blog, Welcome to Hell, about Answers.Com, and why I hate them so much. But the opportunity presented itself here at French Fry Diary first, so here you go.

The culprit that brought me here is the 'article' (and I use the term loosely) called "10 Food Things Only People That Grew Up in the Midwest Understand," and no, I'm not giving out any URLs in this blog post, because I don't want anyone going to Answers.Com. I hate them that much. Do not go there.

Here's my problem. They present 'articles' that are usually countdowns or top tens that are really series of twenty or so clicks and pages long. I do understand why they do this. It's so you see twenty or so different ads, and might, just might, accidentally click on one of those ads as you monotonously click through to see the rest of the article. I hate it. For instance, getting back on the topic, this article has in excess of twenty-five pages to click through to see all of the '10 Food Things.'

Among the 'Food Things' listed are mayonnaise on French fries, more European than Midwestern, but really, when has simple fact-checking ever stopped Answers.Com? They claim it adds a little different flavor than traditional ketchup. Really? What a revelation!

They also say that Midwesterners know that onions belong in fried potatoes. Well, yeah, onions and potatoes are friends. The much-missed Little Shanty taught me that. Man, do I miss those fries… Of course Answers.Com insists it's only a breakfast thing, they don't know how to live. They also mention fried cheese curds, distant cousin of the French fry and the onion ring.

So if you want to spend twenty minutes to a half-hour clicking through some mindless ads and 'facts' that aren't checked, just to learn that soda is called pop in the Midwest, go for it, but me, I'm out. I am officially boycotting Answers.Com, and no amount of pictures of the favorite fried food will lure me back.

French Fry Diary 607: No More Satisfries

This has not been a good week for the favorite fried food. First I'm losing one of my favorite restaurants, Little Shanty, and now Burger King has announced they are discontinuing their Satisfries.

The Satisfries were a lower calorie alternative to the normally crappy and constantly changing regular fries at Burger King. These crinkle cuts were awesome when hot and even reheated, and quite frankly, a reason to actually go to Burger King rather than someplace else. After less than a year on the menu, BK has decided to pull the plug on these great fries because sales were apparently less than 'satisfrying.'

This coincides with Burger King's reintroduction of their Chicken Fries. BK claims they are back by popular demand and further says, "Get yours before they're gone!" perhaps implying that nothing on the BK menu is safe or permanent.

Chicken fries, meh, I'd rather have Satisfries. At least Burger King is consistent in their bad calls.

French Fry Diary 606: Farewell to Little Shanty

There's nothing more heartbreaking for a foodie like me than when a favorite restaurant closes. It's even worse when it's someplace that you can't get to on a regular basis to support them if they're not doing well, because hell, you would be in there every day if you could. Such is the case with Little Shanty in Warren NJ.

I love this place. I've only been there three times, and I love this place. You want the best onion rings and some awesome fries? Here they are. Great burgers, shakes, desserts, and terrific service? It's all here. And sadly they will be closing this weekend.

We played hide and seek missing each other the first two times I had been to Little Shanty, but the third time was a charm and I finally met the owner, Jonathan Lidz. He's a great friendly guy, full of enthusiasm and has his heart in the right place - and knows his fries (a big plus as far as this blog is concerned), but he just couldn't make it work at that location. Jonathan has hopes to re-open at a new location. Let's hope it's closer than an hour and a half away.

If you want to stop by in the next few days and experience great food and service, please do while you can. Little Shanty cannot be beat. Please check out the website, the Facebook page, and the Twitter for re-opening news, and look back on my reviews of Little Shanty here, here and here. Thank you, Jonathan, and hoping for the best for you.

National Onion Rings Day 2014

Sunday, June 22, 2014 is National Onion Rings Day, so how are you going to celebrate?

Maybe you could go out to dinner to your favorite restaurant, or better yet, your favorite restaurant that has your favorite onion rings.

Some of my favorite rings include those at Little Shanty, Raglan Road, Long John Silver's, or those great coconut onion rings at Bahama Breeze.

French Fry Diary 550: Little Shanty 2014

No more Smashburger for New Year's Day, not since discovering Little Shanty in Warren NJ. Now we have a new tradition. I love this place. We arrived just after they opened at noon, and I was surprised and pleased to find them quite busy.

Our mission this time out was to try the homemade chips. I'm glad I brought my appetite because we ordered big - burgers, fries, a shake, sea salt and vinegar chips for The Bride and BBQ chips for me. We were both pretty psyched for the chips.

You know that sound a vinyl record used to make when you pulled the needle off of it suddenly? Yeah, that screeching brake sound. Just a moment after I typed that last part into my iPhone, we were informed by our server that they 'didn't have any chips made right now.' As substitute we got the fabulous onion rings and a side salad. I can't say I wasn't disappointed, but hey, what could I do?

The burgers were awesome, as were Grandma's Fries, natural cut shoestrings with deep fried onions. That combination is something else. These are formidable fries, among the best. And the onion rings, specifically Angus & Patty's Almost Famous Onion Rings, are also among the best.

Jonathan the owner came out, it was nice to put a face to the name. He was busy doing prep when we came in. He apologized about the chips, having had a couple employees call out. It was New Year's Day after all. Very nice man, we talked a bit about Pomme Frites in NYC and the demise of Olga's Diner down near me.

He even gave us dessert on the house, including the luscious and decadent deep fried Twinkie (they also have Oreos and Milky Way candy bars), that alone is worth the trip. The batter they use is perfect for this kind of dessert, rivaling similar treats at Cookes of Dublin and the British Chip Shop. Good stuff.

We didn't finish our lunch and had to take some home with us. A pleasure to walk out with Little Shanty bags of food for later (the burger and rings were still pretty awesome reheated at home). We will have to come here more often. Jonathan, good to finally meet you and thank you so much for taking care of us. Everyone else, you have to check this place out. Excellent food, excellent service, highly recommended.

You can find Little Shanty at their website, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

French Fry Diary 548: Return to Little Shanty Fries

This one is from a while ago, but still relevant as Little Shanty Fries always rocks. The Bride and I don't get to North Jersey as much as we'd like despite having friends up there. Our trip to the NJ DIS Weekend Meet offered up a little bit more time in the area than we usually have. And it's not just friends who are the draw, one of my absolute favorite restaurants is in Warren, New Jersey.

I loved Little Shanty Fries the first and only time I was there, on New Year's Eve 2012. I have to admit that before that visit I wasn't expecting much, but Jonathan Lidz' terrific little restaurant blew me away with some of the best food, and best fries around. I have been counting the days until I could return.

We arrived in Warren early and had lots of time to kill before they opened. The anticipation was killing me, taking a nap, browsing a flea market, perusing the Little Shanty menu online, and mostly, trying to forget the pretty lousy breakfast The Bride and I endured at the Time to Eat Diner earlier that morning.

Once again, like last time, when we arrived, there was no Jonathan. We keep missing each other. He's the wizard behind Little Shanty Fries, and we've chatted a few times back and forth on the Facebook, but I'd like to meet the guy in person to shake his hand and tell him how much I like his food. Maybe next time.

For our meal, I got the onion rings and French fries again, because really, who knows when we'll be in Warren again, and I loved them so much the first time. The gluten free onion rings were just as great this time, if not better honestly. They were crispier. I can't say enough how really good these rings are. The fries, natural cut shoestrings mixed with grilled (or deep-fried?) onions were just as good as the first trip, but it seemed like they had less onions this time, which took away a bit, in anticipation at least. Still it was a terrific meal.

The Bride tried the sliders, which she liked, and even though they may have confused the order a little bit, we were both very satisfied. And we both got the milkshakes, a welcome refreshing blast on an unseasonably hot Spring day. And now I'm back to counting the days until the next trip to North Jersey. Hey Jonathan, open one down here in the South Jersey area!

You can find Little Shanty at their website, on Facebook, and on Twitter. Highly recommended.

French Fry Diary 455: Smashburger 2013

Here it is, the report from the annual trip to Smashburger on New Year's Day. I had anticipated this year getting together a whole expedition to go from folks at the NYE party the night before, but it didn't work out. Hangovers do that. And the couple we had wanted to come with us passed because of vegan issues.

I countered with the argument that Smashburger had a wide variety of vegan and/or vegetarian offerings, including a veggie burger and several flash-fried veggies as sides. I was told that just going to Smashburger, and giving them their business, would be like saying what they do is okay, and for them - it's not.

I understand completely. No harm, no foul. We're cool. But it did get me thinking. I suppose there are a lot of folks who feel that way, and it made me wonder. Are the fast food burger outlets just wasting their time by making vegan/vegetarian offerings available, when those folks won't be coming in any way? I would love to hear the thoughts of folks out there in the foodie blogosphere.

Now, on to the regularly scheduled annual Smashburger visit. Unlike the last two years we had been here to the Riverside Square Mall location, the place was packed, and hopping for New Year's Day lunch. After placing our order and sitting down, The Bride and I busied ourselves on our iPhones playing the BurgerSmasher game. You can test your skills here making burgers the Smashburger way.

Our shakes came to the table first. I got a big thick chocolate shake, as thick as McDonald's used to have, and Sonic still does. The Bride thought her Oreo shake was very good. They come in a glass, with more in the mixing cup so you know they did it right. In hindsight, this was the best part of the meal right there.

After the last two trips here, I elected to skip the Smashfries this time, in favor of the delicious Haystack Onions. These thinly sliced and deep-fried onions are a bit greasy, but very good. I ordered my Smashburger plain, as usual, but piled some of those onions on top of the patty. Both the burger and the onions were awesome. The burgers are always good.

Of course, the burger and onions only brought to mind the lunch of the previous day, and I have to say, Smashburger paled in comparison to Little Shanty in nearby Warren NJ. Now I hope to get there sooner, but I think next year we'll have a new tradition, lunch at Little Shanty both New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Sorry, Smashburger.

French Fry Diary 453: Little Shanty

I was actually invited to Little Shanty by the owner Jonathan Lidz via the Facebook, and he promised to reimburse gas money if I didn't like the fries. If there's anything I like more than a challenge, it's a man who's confident in his fries. Or in this case, they're his Grandma's fries.

The Bride and I normally spend New Year's Eve with friends in North Jersey. The last few years it's become a New Year's Day tradition to hit Smashburger and then take a look at the always-closed American Bandstand Grill on the way home. I figured since it already was sort of a FFD road trip anyway, why not stop in to Little Shanty on the way up? Thanks to various social media and a GPS, it was a done deal.

We finally found it on New Year's Eve afternoon, in a strip mall in Warren NJ, a small but cozy place. And right there on the sign, there it was, "Grandma's Fries." Yep, I couldn't wait. There's a simple but very varied menu available, with vegan and gluten free options as well. I went for my usual, a burger and fries, and a side of onion rings. We ordered and took a seat where we could see our food being cooked in the kitchen, and before long the friendly waitress brought it out to us.

After trying the fries, rings, and taking a bite of the burger, The Bride and I both said to each other, "We're not getting our gas money." The food was just not that good, the meal was fantastic.

The onion rings, properly named Angus & Patty's Almost Famous Onion Rings, are truly among the best, if not the best o-rings I've had, period. Thin and thick at once, very crispy, I think these sweet onions were beer battered, but they didn't taste like it, a good thing because I don't usually like that. These are the best.

Grandma's Fries were thinner than usual natural cut shoestrings with fried onions mixed in - a great combination. The fries were hand cut, pan-fried, crispy on the outside and soft and hot on the inside. I loved the addition of the onions, a simple thing, but the just the right zing for the fries. These perfectly crispy fries were great for sandwiching on the burger, which was big and juicy, the best I've had in a while. It was cooked to order and served on a brioche bun. I loved this entire meal, they even had Coca-Cola products, bonus.

The Bride would have liked her burger a bit more well done, but hey, that's her. And even still, she thought it was excellent. She also thought the fries a little salty, but again, there was nothing left on the tray at the end of the meal if you know what I mean. If I had any complaints, it would be I hadn't tried the fry dipping sauces, or the homemade chips, or the hot dogs, or the shakes. They also have Funnel Cake Fries, as well as Deep-Fried Oreos and Milky Ways. Oh well, I know we'll be back. Little Shanty is too good to stay away for long.

I loved Little Shanty. It gets my highest recommendation. I have found a new favorite restaurant. Check them out on Facebook, Twitter, and their own website. I just wish they weren't so far away. Hey, Jonathan, any thoughts on opening a Little Shanty down in South Jersey?