Random Tater Pic of the Day #240

Wow, those are some expensive fries...

French Fry Diary 672: Marlton 73 Pizzeria & Bar

For our usual Sunday take-out dinner, The Bride and I decided on Casa Carollo's because we enjoy their food and especially the portion sizes. We got a bit of a surprise when we called, and especially when delivery was made.

Casa Carollo's was no longer Casa Carollo's as they had new owners, a new menu, and new food. The new name is the Marlton 73 Pizzeria & Bar, featuring a new streamlined menu with steak and seafood eliminated. The place has always been pretty good to us, so we were willing to give the new version a chance.

The new food extends of course to the favorite fried food. Whereas lately we had been getting steak fries more often than the batter fries I talked about here, these batter-covered fries, much crunchier and less appetizing than usual, came with my steak sandwich.

The steak sandwich, it barely qualifies as a plain cheesesteak, because of the construction, was very different. The roll was different, with the ends cut off, and with considerably less meat. It was still very good, but nowhere near as good as it used to be. The Bride reported a similar difference in her chicken parm.

It's only one experience, and they're just starting up, but I have to say there's a marked difference. We may have to find a new Sunday night take out place.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #219

A menu from the Titanic... apparently the favorite fried food was on board too...

Random Tater Pic of the Day #196

My friend Matt sent this one along, a snippet of a menu featuring something called "The Call of Cthulhu," that of course, comes with a side of fries. Mmmm... Lovecraftian horror...

McDonald's After Midnight, and More

McDonald's has been doing breakfast for over four decades, and for the most part, the rules have always been the same - breakfast is served until 10:30 AM. Then things changed, and McDonald's started going 24/7 and things got blurry with exactly when breakfast really started. Depending on where you went, it was either five or six in the morning. Recently though, the rules changed yet again.

Do you want fries with that Egg McMuffin? Or better yet, the rarer, cooler treat - would you like a Hash Brown to sandwich on top of your burger? Some of the McDonald's, including the one nearest me, started making breakfast available from midnight on, but still ending at 10:30 AM. The After Midnight Menu was a hit, and so it has made the chain consider further action. They're now doing it all over the place.

So if you're hungry after midnight, and your McDonald's is one of those participating, get in the car and go wild!

French Fry Diary 544: Donkey's Place, Medford

Rob from The Treehouse in Audubon NJ, where the South Jersey Writers' Group hold their Blogfests, open mikes, and other events, recommended this place to me, and it has become my favorite new place. I'm talking about Donkey's Place in Medford.

The original Donkey's is on Haddon Avenue in Camden, in unfortunately not the best of areas. Started by former Olympic boxer Leon Lucas, whose punches were said to have the force of a donkey's kick, thus the nickname. Second and third generations of the family have since opened a suburban Donkey's in Medford where we visited. Joe, the owner, treated The Bride and I like royalty, and he gave her a rose because that's what they do on Sundays. Notably, we did not get special treatment, everyone got the very best customer service while we were there.

Donkey's II is a cozy little place, in one of the major crossroads in the woods of Medford. Sunday football was on flat screen in the corner, our table had a console Donkey Kong machine next to it, and we loved the simple menu with only a handful of items. Joe noted that the Camden location had an even simpler menu. There was a fridge with Mexican Coke, Sprite, and Fanta.

Regular readers know I have a weakness for Mexican Coke which has sugar instead of fructose, and is like tasting the 1970s. Mexican Sprite is incredible. Drinking it for the first time since I discovered the imported sugar Coke, was like having a Sprite for the first time in decades. I don't know what that crap I've been drinking called Sprite is, but it ain't real Sprite. They also had Slush Puppies, sort of a Slurpee, that The Bride was excited about, a piece of her childhood from the old Cherry Hill skating rink.

The cheesesteaks themselves are incredible, and unlike any other cheesesteak I, or probably you, have ever had. Served on a large poppy seed Kaiser roll, real pieces and chunks of steak, onions and provolone, this is a fantastic and different steak sandwich. I loved it. Rather than chopped beef, this is sliced, and there are so many onions, and also a wonderful au jus that makes the sandwich perfect. Be sure to specify cheez whiz if you want it. I loved the provolone, but like The Bride, I'm a whiz guy. I really loved this sandwich, and as I couldn't finish it there, I took it home, and it nuked perfectly.

Now the part you're reading this for, the French fries. These are standard regular cut frozen fries, deep fried, with a crisp seasoned coating. That would be the 'secret' Donkey Seasoning, also available at the table as well, good stuff, I taste some Old Bay, maybe paprika, maybe other seasoned salts, but very tasty. Crisp outside and soft and hot inside - everything a good fry should have, very good.

I gotta give Rob at The Treehouse thanks for hipping me to this place, and Joe at Donkey's in Medford. I have found my new favorite cheesesteak place. Awesome, and recommended. Get over to Donkey's and try the cheesesteaks, terrific food, and terrific customer service.

French Fry Diary 492: Perkins Restaurant & Bakery

Flashing back to a few months ago when my friend Ken came into town for a few days, here is yet another Ken entry. As I've mentioned before, not many of my friends are non-health-conscious enough to go on FFD excursions with me, so these trips are usually rare or done solo. Ken, while on vacation, is unofficially also off diet, but don't tell his wife that, wink wink.

We had one lazy day where we both slept in and then worked for most of the afternoon, he telecommuting and me writing at my desk. Around three Ken decided he wanted breakfast. Breakfast at three in the afternoon. If that's not a screaming definition of 'on vacation,' I don't know what is. We went off in search of breakfast.

I had an errand to run up in the Moorestown area so we were in the neighborhood and decided on Perkins. Perkins Restaurant & Bakery is IHoP's biggest competitor in the we-do-mostly-breakfast-but-we-really-want-to-be-Fridays-or-Applebees business, and I had never been there before, so it seemed like a worthwhile place to go. I knew they had to have potato products of some kind.

We were served very quickly, mostly because it didn't really appear to be anyone else in the restaurant. It should be noted that the service was also very courteous and friendly, as well as very welcome and refreshing compared to how Ken and I had been treated earlier in his trip.

Everything on the menu looks good, everything. It looks delicious, water watering, and stomach growlingly tasty. But it's like a rearview mirror, some things look a bit different than they really are. The onion rings for instance, are very different from the only onion ring-like item on the menu. What I wanted was the crunchy little Onion Tanglers they put on their burgers. What I got was big old greasy beer battered onion rings, I was not happy.

I did not try the fries, which were regular natural cuts. They also had standard shredded hash browns, but I opted for the breakfast potatoes instead, another decision based on the pictures in the menu. They looked glistening and hot, but what I got was big chunks of potato with a very crunchy outer skin, almost like batter fries. They came in a large portion, most of which I took home. For the record they also have standard shredded hash browns as a breakfast option.

Lesson learned, know the menu, and know the difference between the picture in the menu and what really comes to the table. Also, either bring a big appetite, or a big doggy bag, because the portions are huge. We'll be back again, maybe this time more prepared.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #102

From the On the Border menu - Avocado Fries.

Denny's Hobbit Menu

In anticipation of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Denny's has introduced an entire Hobbit/Middle Earth menu. Pictured above, Gandalf's Gobble Melt, full of magical turkey, stuffing, and cheese among other culinary wizardry. Don’t forget the Hobbit fries (not made from real Hobbit, I swear).

French Fry Diary 440: Houlihan's

The original plan was for my buddy Ray and I to go to the new pub attached to Aloft up in Mount Laurel, called Miller's N.J. Ale House. Once we arrived and saw the ridiculous amount of people outside the restaurant carrying those fancy table-waiting beepers, we decided to look elsewhere. I drove around and around, almost driving Ray to madness (no restaurants there, unfortunately), until finally we settled on Houlihan's in Cherry Hill, in the Wegman's shopping center where the Garden State Racetrack used to be.

I really didn't know what to expect. The first and last time I had ever been to Houlihan's, was when it was at the Cherry Hill Mall, on a very bad double date from well over two decades previous. I'm going to guess that things had changed. If nothing else, Ray was a better dining companion.

This new Houlihan's was a bit of a maze once inside, and it was very dark. Restaurants that are dark always make me nervous. Is there something they don't want me to see, or worse than that, see clearly? I shouldn't have worried. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the menu however. It was as big as a Sears catalog. Seriously, sixteen pages. It not only could stop a frigging bullet, but it also would've made Chef Gordon Ramsey crazy, as he is always an advocate of a short, concise one page menu.

However on one of those sixteen pages was a wonder in itself - a frites bar - six different types of fries. Oh boy, says the fry guy. They had Disco Fries, more or less a Jersey specialty, but these sounded more like Canadian poutine. Also Parmesan Frites, Truckstop Fries, Pickle Fries (made from pickles, ick), American Fries, and Sweet Potato Fries, topped with cinnamon sugar. Hmmm… cinnamon sugar. I'll have to try that next time I make sweet potato fries at home.

The waitress was very nice, and said everything was made from scratch. So after I ordered my usual, the burger and fries, I asked for onion rings, not on the menu. I know, I was being a pain in the butt by doing that, but I was in the mood for onion rings. She said they didn't do onion rings, but offered up onion straws. That was cool, but… Is it just me, but if you make everything from scratch, why would onion rings be a problem?

After a relatively short wait (although it was kinda long considering how few people were in the restaurant, but they do make everything from scratch, so…), our food arrived. The burger was fairly good, and served on an egg washed challah soft roll, which made for an interesting contrast to your average burger.

The French fries were natural cut shoestrings, deep fried but not too greasy. The problem with them was the same thing I contended with at The TapRoom & Grill - pickle juice fries. There were two big pickles on the plate next to the fries. Just not my thing. The onion strings were really just very thin deep fried onion rings and strings for the most part. Tasty.

After a two decade hiatus, I would definitely come back to Houlihan's, if only to try the rest of their frites bar, but seriously, all kidding aside, it was a good dining experience.

Random Tater Pic of the Day #58

Even in Hogwarts they love their fish and chips. Image courtesy of OrlandoInformer.com on FourSquare.

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 370: T.G.I.Fridays 2012

After a movie with The Bride and her parents recently we went over to the Marlton T.G.I.Fridays to get a late night meal. It wasn't in my mind at all to be writing a review as I had done Fridays at some point last year. I guess I could have ordered and written about the crispy green bean fries, I suppose, but honestly it slipped my mind.

Anyway, I was surprised by new fries on the menu. I've complained about Fridays' ever-changing menu before. I'm a firm believer that if you do something well, keep doing it. Don't change it or do something else. I still miss their steak on a stick. Among the new menu items were sweet potato fries and Parmesan steak fries.

Now as we learned on our last trip to Fridays, what they call steak fries are not actually steak fries but potato wedges. I know I know, semantics, but it's important fry semantics.

These new fries are simply the old potato wedges with Parmesan and parsley on them. Notably there's too much Parm and pars if you don't like that stuff, and not enough if you do. Weird. They were okay when hot, and very potato-ey, although The Bride thought they were kinda dry. They microwaved well when we got home.

I'll save the sweet potato fries, and the crispy green bean fries for a future visit.

McDonald's Doesn't Love Us Any More

Apparently McDonald's doesn't love us any more. It was announced today that McDonald's is removing their tasty French fries from their Dollar Menu, and also later this month from their Extra Value Menu.

Hopefully that doesn't mean the end of the fry at the Big M, after all that would be corporate suicide. You can still get the Mickey D's fries at the usual prices from the standard menu, just no bargains.

Read the article from The Village Voice here.

French Fry Diary 299: T.G.I. Friday's

A while ago I was seduced into reviewing T.G.I. Friday's by my buddy Ray raving about their new menu and especially their new Steak Fries. Now the prospect of a new menu at Friday's doesn't phase me so much as it seems like they change their menu every other week, but new Steak Fries, yeah, I had to see that. And so we went.

Usually T.G.I. Friday's is one of my favorite restaurants but the customer service varies and sometimes ends making us avoid the place for months at a time, until we get a craving for something there, or have forgotten how badly they treated us last time. They have a lot of meals I like, but also a constantly changing menu, so sometimes they don't stay around for a while. Notably, over the years, I have loved their steak on a stick, Jack Daniels chicken and burgers, and the onion rings. Half of those items are currently gone from the menu, for the record.

The night we went we had a very enthusiastic waiter, who was very eager to sell me on the then-new fries when the option of sides came up. He described them as "KFC potato wedges, only fresh." So, right out of the starting gate, before they even came - I knew they weren't even steak fries, but potato wedges. Talk about false advertising…

As encouraging as the waiter was, the service really wasn't. The salads came with uncooked bacon and no fork. We were not off to a great start at all. Of course all of the wait staff had vanished. We finally flagged down an employee in a dress shirt (a manager?) sans flair, who promised to fix things and after a short wait, did.

Friday's has a variety of fry options currently. The usual fries are of the natural cut type and really nothing special. When dipped in the Jack Daniels barbeque sauce, they are amazing, but as far as I'm concerned, anything dipped in that stuff is amazing - I love it. They also have the Crispy Green Bean Fries - flash-fried green beans - not really fries, but actually a nice interesting treat.

They also have less than satisfying beer-battered onion rings. Friday's seems to change their onion rings/straws once a week just to flummox me. They never have the kind I want when I want them. They used to have very crispy thin onion rings and onion straws that were to die for, but seemingly not anymore. I guess I'll have to wait for another menu change.

My meal finally arrived, and it came wrong. Instead of the Jack Daniels Chicken I ordered, I got the chicken and shrimp. Again, after a short wait, the right dinner came. Remember what I said about customer service? Anyway, on to the favorite fried food. The regular cut natural cuts came hot, and were salted and peppered, with way too much salt actually. And when I say too much salt, you know it's waaay too much salt. And then there were the "Steak Fries." Our waiter was dead on when he described them as KFC potato wedges but I would actually give KFC the win on this one. They were not hot, and as opposed to the regular fries, these had too much pepper. They also come with the option of parmesan cheese.

The customer service continued to drain me. While our waiter was friendly and cooperative, he was no so good in the execution of his job. He was not only slow with the utensils, napkins and drink refills, but hard to find when we needed him. And he spilled hot Jack Daniels sauce on me too, not his fault, but it didn't help.

Now my correct order came far too late for me to enjoy it with my dining party, so I ended up taking most of it home. The chicken and the regular fries are always good later whether nuked in the microwave or heated up in the oven. The potato wedges did not do well in either area, and were trashed.

A few more words on the Jack Daniels barbeque sauce - I love this stuff. I love it so much that I have tried on occasion to recreate it at home from online recipes. It's never quite the same. Our waiter was cool enough to give me two small containers of it to take home with my chicken and fries. It's darn good on other fries, burgers, steak, etc. as well. It's one of my all time favorite dipping sauces for the favorite fried food. Friday's, if you want to do something right, bottle that stuff.

French Fry Diary 193: Oceano's Family Restaurant

This Berlin NJ restaurant was not my idea. From the outside it looks like a fancy place but once you're inside, you realize it's just a diner. I was here, twice now, for a family get-together. Nice to see folks I haven't seen in a while, but just wish it was at a different venue.

The service was pretty miserable. I wonder if they cared that thanks to our party they had about forty people in their otherwise deserted restaurant. For my meal I got a chopped steak, onions and fries. The steak was very good but the fries, freezer burned regular cuts were not. Some were overdone, some were underdone, hardly any were edible.

The highpoint of the Oceano's visit was the placemat, one of those typical diner thingies with ads from local businesses. One such ad promised a "free chair message". Truly the highlight.

French Fry Diary 167: The New Gino's

After hearing about Gino's reopening in King of Prussia PA, I quickly put together a French Fry Diary road trip. The Bride's folks, her aunt and her friend came along, and after seemingly endless hours on the horrendously packed and unmoving Schuylkill Expressway we finally made it.

The new Gino's is an oasis of nostalgia, between the giant photos on the walls of days gone by and the vintage WFIL-style oldies (interspersed with newer oldies and old Gino's commercials) on the overhead sound system. There was a steady stream of folks coming in and out, but it was not crowded by any means. Busy, yes, packed, no. The atmosphere was very upbeat and happy, the staff pleasant, quick and helpful. The kitchen, as advertised, was open, but you really couldn't actually see anyone cooking.

The counter area was set up as a line, starting at a wall with a simplistic menu, like the fries visually at least, very similar to the simple menu at Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Honestly, not a bad successful business to emulate, but shouldn't Gino's be trying to rebuild or build their own brand? There was always a bottleneck at this menu before the line went to the 'order' and 'pick-up' stations.

We were eating in, so we took a number to our table and waited for our food to be brought to us. Take-out fries were served in cups (also like Five Guys) but eat-in orders were poured into a basket with your sandwich. But there's no way to really know whose fries are whose in this concept. It was almost like eating family style despite the fries all being ordered individually. Imagine my frustration when my burger arrived alone in a basket with no fries.

My burger was very, very good, better than Five Guys, and not conjure their specter again, it had two patties, just like they do. The two hand-formed beef patties on the sesame seed bun made for perhaps the best burger I have had in quite a while. Coke products were offered as was locally produced Hank's root beers and sodas.

The fries were not great at all. My Aunt Ellen nailed how I felt about the fries with her initial assessment of them - greasy, but at least you can taste the potato. These thick natural regular cuts were unimpressive, and tasted of peanuts, possibly from the oil, but if that was so, where were the warnings for those allergic?

The Bride liked that the cheese for the cheese fries was Cheez Whiz. My mom-in-law was surprised (as was I) by the lack of coffee or tea on the menu. We didn't try the chicken, or the milkshakes made with Edy's ice cream, and unfortunately the fries don't have enough pull to bring me back.

The fries were less than satisfying, but all in all, it was a great fun day out with the family, and a successful French Fry Diary road trip.

French Fry Diary 11: Five Guys

Five Guys Burgers and Fries, wow.

These guys, these ‘five guys,’ are definitely hardcore. They are serious about burgers and fries. If you check their menu you’ll see that’s all they got and in very precise, concise and simple ways. You get four kinds of burgers, and two kinds of fries, drinks and condiments (and maybe a dog or two for the non-conservatives). Keep it simple and it’ll always be good.

The burgers are good, always well done, and always tasty. The patties are all the same and if you get a large, you actually get two patties which is a nice change of pace. But as usual, what we’re here to talk about is the favorite fried food.

Five Guys fries are natural cuts, cut fresh every day from potatoes delivered weekly from different places in potato country. Most of the time – as with anything this depends on who’s working the fry station – they are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, the prerequisite of all good fries. You’ll need to get two orders if you’re ordering to go or you won’t have any when you get home. These are definitely eat as you drive fries.

The crowning moment for Five Guys in this French fry aficionado’s opinion comes the second after the Styrofoam cup of fries has been placed in your brown paper order bag. The fry cook will take one more metal scoop of fries and drop it right into the bag. Yeah, you heard me, another heaping scoop of fries on top of what you already ordered. Does it get much better than that really?


.