McDonald's Bacon Potato Pie

There's been a lot of talk recently about whether or not McDonald's really has a secret menu, officially or unofficially, but here's something that we can't get here in America, secret menu or not - the Bacon Potato Pie. Only available in Japan, this is bacon and mashed potatoes inside a deep fried baked pie covering. Not sure if that would be good or not, worth a trip to Japan? Maybe, maybe not... what do you folks think?

French Fry Diary 717: Manny's Original Chophouse

This is my new favorite restaurant. No ifs, ands, or buts, Manny's Original Chophouse is it. Recommended by our realtor Rusty on our first house hunting foray into Lakeland Florida, I fell in love quickly. We had been looking for a place comparable to The Pub (that's what we were in the mood for), but soon realized how much better Manny's was than The Pub. Welcome to Florida.

There's 'call ahead,' and we did, but we were seated right away on our first visit (as with our second and third as well). The waitress wrote her name in crayon, along with her manager's name, on the paper tablecloth on top of the real tablecloth so we wouldn't forget it if we needed it.

First came the bread. Fresh baked hamburger rolls are what they looked like with buttered tops and they were hot and wonderful. We could have eaten them like that and been happy, but they came with ramekins of both regular butter and sugar cinnamon butter. Adding the butters made these better than any sticky bun I have ever had, wow, melt in my mouth wonderful.

And the appetizers did not end there, then came the onion rings. We got the half-order, which was enormous. I can't imagine what the full order is like. These were super-thick sweet onions, lightly breaded with crushed fine Panko, a heavenly onion ring. Truly, these were the best onion rings I have ever had, ever. And on all three visits, the bread and the rings were superior every time. Consistent perfection. Even before the entrees came, we were full, and Manny's was our new favorite restaurant.

I got the grilled chicken smothered in Manny's BBQ sauce on rice, with hot natural cut fries. The fries were okay, and delicious in the sauce, but the second and third times I opted for the baked potato, which was huge and mouthwatering with butter. I found my potato target there, as well as the amazing onion rings. The Bride has tried the steak pieces and the fajitas and the garlic smashed potatoes. On future visits I can't wait to try the steaks and the teriyaki chicken.

Manny's family is from Greece, and they have several restaurants in the central Florida area. We've tried two of them and look forward to eating at the rest. I cannot recommend this place enough. For friends and family, when you come visit us in our new home, we'll be taking you to Manny's so you can see, and taste, for yourselves. This place is that good.

French Fry Diary 636: Lumiere's Dinner - TCM Cruise Day Five

What is it about people complaining? I told you about the woman at breakfast this morning, well, the man at dinner tonight, who split up our service team, and make a spectacle of himself in front of the entire restaurant was something else altogether. Apparently he was someone special, or thought he was someone special. The rest of his party certainly didn't agree and looked very embarrassed.

He had insisted on an oval or round table in a restaurant that only had square and rectangle

tables. I'm not sure how that can be rectified. He was also very unhappy that his party was in the corner - a nice private corner that I would have been very happy with. He was obviously not, and told anyone within yelling distance.

Well, he put on quite a show for a few minutes before the dust settles. His new seating being across the room, our service team was split, but it was okay. Dinner was very good, some beef, green beans (haricots verts for the fancy set), and garlic mashed potatoes. I also got a side order of those terrific steak fries. A great dinner, and a show.

French Fry Diary 633: Carioca's - TCM Cruise Day Three

The dinner on the third day on board the Disney Magic during the TCM Cruise 2014 brought us back to Carioca's.

For an appetizer I got something called Chicken Bastela. According to the menu, that's Moroccan Spiced shredded Chicken wrapped in Phyllo-dough and sprinkled with Powdered Sugar and Cinnamon, with a Vegetable Almond Slaw. These I liked quite a bit, yum.

For my entrée I got the Grilled Grain-fed NY Strip steak that came with Cheddar Cheese and Onion Smashed Baked Potato, Roasted Green Asparagus and a Red Wine Jus. Yeah, that's also from the menu verbatim. The steak was good, very delicious, once I got around the fat. This catastrophically picky eater was not digging the asparagus and tomato flavored mashed potatoes. So far, this has not been a terrific cruise food-wise. I'm digging the breakfasts at least.

Give Thanks, and Take Your Pick

If you're still wondering what you'll be making tomorrow for Thanksgiving beyond the turkey and the cranberry sauce, I might have something for you.

Click here for thirty-five amazing mashed potatoes recipes from the nice folks at The Cooking Channel. Enjoy!

Random Tater Pic of the Day #146

These were the mashed potatoes from this year's DIS Meet Weekend. They were pretty good, but much like last year, I found myself jealous of the kids who got chicken tenders and beautiful golden brown crinkle cut fries…

For more on the NJ DIS Meet Weekend, check out the Make Mine Magic Podcast's special episode on the event here.

French Fry Diary 571: Simply Potatoes Mashed Potatoes

Recently, The Bride got sick with a pretty bad stomach virus. After a harrowing night and day in the ER they let us go home. One of the provisos was a bland food diet for a few days. She expressed interest in mashed potatoes, and specifically requested the Simply Potatoes brand. I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone and review them for you.

We purchased the Diner's Choice Traditional Mashed Potatoes style, the ones thankfully 'made from fresh potatoes.' They are also available in Country Style, Garlic, Sour Cream & Chive, and also Mashed Sweet Potatoes. Simply Potatoes is usually a brand I like.

These gluten free potatoes come in a big plastic bowl for use in the microwave in four quick minutes, or to be transferred to other containers for oven or stovetop for a much longer cook. We went with the nuke for ease and brevity. They didn't look quite done after four minutes, so gave it a stir and another minute per the instructions. Not bad.

I kept them bland for The Bride, but it's notable that these mashed potatoes definitely do need some seasoning, especially butter. Once added, for me only, these were excellent. Even unseasoned The Bride, on her way to swift recovery agreed. Still not quite sure why these were a 'diner's choice' though.

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.

Evan Hilton Makes Mashed Potatoes on Vine

Animator Evan Hilton made these mashed potatoes for the Food Network, and their Thanksgiving Live series.

For more of Evan's Vines, check him out here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

French Fry Diary 530: Animator's Palate, Disney Fantasy 2013

We've talked about what happens in this Disney Cruise restaurant before, from the changing colors to the interactive characters. They lowlighted it a bit for our first meal there on this week long cruise. There was no big color changing dealie, but Crush the Turtle still made fun of me for being bald (the bastard). I have heard rumors that our return visit will feature some sort of new show. We'll just have to wait and see.

For tonight's meal, I had three different kinds of potato treats. As an appetizer, I got the bacon cheddar potato soup, which was thick and hot. It was good, but I didn't really taste all that much cheddar in it, and the bacon was just some crumble on top. Hot soup is always good however, and for me, not a soup person, that's really saying a lot.

It should be noted that these are all things I tried on my last cruise. With my ginger teriyaki dusted Angus sirloin, I got wasabi mashed potatoes and a side order of fries. The wasabi mashed potatoes were very hot, burn my mouth hot, make my eyes water hot. This was not the wasabi I love from Oh Yoko!.

The fries, while good, were not the ones I was expecting or wanted. The last few times at Animator's Palate I got the most delicious and hot steak fries with my meal. What I got tonight was the same old natural cut fries available from the snack counters upstairs and throughout the parks. The same old same old. Where were my steak fries from last time?

Food wise, this cruise was not turning out to be as wonderful as previous ones. I really hope that this is not a trend. Either way, we are still having a fabulous time. 

RIP Stompin' Tom Connors

Here's another one from Stompin' Tom Connors:



Once again, from friend Robin Renee at the French Fry Diary Facebook page.

Tom passed away last night. Hockey fan, potato friend, and one hell of a musician, Rest in Peace, Tom.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #74

French Fry Diary 397: The Mashed Potato Vending Machine

My buddy Terry hipped me to this one. Believe it or not, this machine, at 7-Elevens in Singapore, dispenses mashed potatoes, and yes, gravy, into a cup.

Apparently for one dollar (two if you pair it with a Big Gulp), you can get a cup of mashed potatoes, followed by gravy on top. The machine is made by Maggi, an international branch of the Nestle family of companies. The gravy, or it might be 'special seasoning sauce,' is also made by Maggi. Sources say you can also get Barbecue mashed potatoes as well. What, no butter?

No word if these amazing vending machines will be coming to the United States any time soon.

French Fry Diary 391: Maya Grill, Coronado Springs Resort

When planning our most recent excursion to Walt Disney World, a short family vacation (The Bride, her folks, her sister, her husband and their son, the last of which was seeing the magic for the first time), The Bride wanted everything to be perfect, and that included the meals. We got the Disney Dining Plan so that made some things easier, but we still had to pick the restaurants.

The Bride and I had stayed at Coronado Springs once before, and that was where we were all staying this time. When we had been there before we had a wonderful romantic dinner at the Maya Grill, the modern Latin-American restaurant at the hotel, so I suggested it for the whole family this time. The Dining Plan would handle it so no problems with price. It was a big hit.

We were also joined this night by a cousin and his ladyfriend who live in the area so we had a full party. Our waiter Berk delivered fast and quality service, although the bro-in-law didn't think so, but personally I think that's his problem. ;-) The atmosphere was great as a solo guitarist played simple acoustic tunes in the atrium, some oldies, some traditional, even some new stuff.

Thanks to my catastrophic pickiness with food, the menu was a bit daunting. I did find something good, but I am sure they would have provided whatever I asked for. This is Disney after all. I settled on the Arrachera, a Mexican prepared flank steak, that's a sirloin steak served with Yukon gold potatoes, and vegetables to me and you. You know me, I exchanged the vegetables for fries if they had them, and they did.

Our meals came rather quickly, I was impressed, the bro-in-law wasn't. But the conversation was good, as was the company, so perhaps I just hadn't noticed how much time has passed. The steak was very good, the mashed Yukon golds with garlic and other not-so-fun foreign objects (edible, don't get me wrong) not so much. It was a good thing I also got the fries.

The French fries in question were steak fries, just standard frozen steak fries. They were baked, not fried, and had that soft and hot potato-ey consistency inside the semi-crisp shell. Good and simple. Sometimes simple is best.

Dessert included a variety of things including the chocolate mousse shot that I got, as well as the coconut flan The Bride said was to die for. It was a terrific night out, and one of the best meals I've had in a while. Two thumbs up to the Maya Grill.

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.

French Fry Diary 342: The Chopped Challenge

A while back I talked about an episode of "Chopped" where frozen French fries were one of the mystery ingredients. My buddy Ray, who initially turned me on to "Chopped," noted several things about the episode after I posted my review of it.

Ray said, "I'm glad you picked up on how dull those chefs were with the French fries. There were so many things they could have done with them. I'm surprised someone didn't try remashing them, or coating them in Japanese bread crumbs to restore the crunch, or something other than what they did.

"I have a brilliant idea - you should recreate that Chopped event. Buy the four ingredients, get someone to film you making a dish, and then put it up on YouTube. I'll even eat it."

Now I'm not so keen on filming me cooking, but I think Ray's got a hell of an idea, and I think I might take him up on it. Let's call it the French Fry Diary Chopped Challenge. What do you folks think? Should I do it?

Bacon Potato Puff

Here's another great recipe from the [just-potatoes] Yahoo! Group, by way of Taste of Home:

If you're looking for ways to use up bacon, be sure to try this hearty and satisfying side dish. This company-worthy potato dish has down-home goodness.—DeEtta Rasmussen, Fort Madison, Iowa

6-8 Servings
Prep: 20 min.
Bake: 45 min.

Ingredients

1/2 pound sliced bacon, diced
4 eggs, separated
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 cups warm mashed potatoes (with added milk and butter)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

Directions

In a skillet, cook bacon until crisp; remove to paper towels to drain. Discard drippings. In a bowl, beat egg yolks until light, about 2 minutes. Beat in onion, mustard and pepper. Place potatoes in a bowl; fold in egg yolk mixture. set aside 2 tablespoons bacon. Fold cheese, parsley and remaining bacon into potatoes. In a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff; fold into potato mixture.

Transfer to a greased 1-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with reserved bacon. Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 45-50 minutes or until set and edges are golden brown. Serve immediately. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 each) equals 175 calories, 11 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 128 mg cholesterol, 379 mg sodium, 10 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 9 g protein.

Bacon Potato Puff published in Taste of Home April/May 2002, p45

Random Tater Pic of the Day #27

A few days late, but better late than never. These are the mashed potatoes from this year's Thanksgiving dinner. This year the the event I attended was at The Bride's aunt's and her partner cooked for us, the in-laws and a dozen or so of his family, a wonderful family occasion as it should be. Oh yeah, and the potatoes were good too. ;-)

Random Tater Pic of the Day #20

This one was taken by friends Dom and Cindy while on vacation with us in Walt Disney World. It's from the Norway pavilion in Epcot, where they took their little girl to the 'Princess Storybook Dining' at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. The little princess got meatballs and green beans and gravy on a nest of mashed potatoes, with lingonberries - shades of Ikea!

French Fry Diary 271: Enchanted Garden, Final Night

For our final night's dinner on the Disney Dream, we returned to the Enchanted Garden. As with any Disney Cruise, and I suppose any good cruise, the final night is bittersweet. And with an excellent waitstaff that has handled us for the entire trip - Goncalo, Charlie and Fitz - it was sad to see them go. Well, actually we're the ones going, but you know what I mean.

I got the aged angus beef tenderloin that came with something called a William potato, and I also ordered steak fries cuz I'm just like that, ya know. The steak was the best I have had in some time, almost perfect. The fries were the steak fries I had had throughout the cruise and were even better with the au jus from the steak.

The William potato was a breaded pear-shaped animal that was soft and hot inside like mashed potatoes. It also had a sweet kick to it, very delicious. Further questioning of Goncalo revealed that it is shaped mashed potatoes, covered with spiced breadcrumbs and deep-fried. It's fantastic, and highly recommended if you see it on a menu.

The evening was topped off by the Flags of All Nations dance (you have to see it to believe it) and a wonderful baked Alaska for dessert. I'm going to miss the Disney Dream.